"Dear Heart" is more interesting for its examination of cultural and gender norms of the 1960s than it is as a movie. It's about two lonely souls (Geraldine Page and Glenn Ford) who meet in a hotel where they are both staying for business reasons and find comfort and understanding in each other that neither finds elsewhere. Glenn Ford is really winning in a lighter and more comedic role than I'm used to seeing him, and it's refreshing to see Geraldine Page take a break from the heavy roles she was most often associated with. The film is kind of slow and a little blah actually, but it does manage to create a satisfying feeling of melancholy and capture that unique quality that business trips have when the realities of one's real life seem far away and moments seem full of the potential for excitement.The warbly title song, written by Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston, and Ray Evans, was nominated for an Academy Award.Grade: B-

Every so often, I see a movie that seems to have been a real enjoyable undertaking for the actors. Such is the case with "Dear Heart," especially for Geraldine Page, but also for Glenn Ford and the rest of the cast. Page plays Evie Jackson, a postmaster (was it postmistress back then?) from a small town attending an annual convention. This time it's in the Big Apple. She's not married, in her mid- to late-30s, and clearly looking for a husband. "Hoping" for a mate may be a more accurate description. I read a couple of reviewers who saw loneliness in the main characters – Evie, Harry Mork and Phyllis. Ford plays Mork and Angela Lansbury plays Phyllis. I can see that. But in Evie's case, we also have a person who may have some problems with self- confidence and self-esteem. Why else would she have herself paged so frequently in the movie? She also sent phone messages to herself at her hotel, and sent flowers to herself. Her gregarious persona and overt friendliness with everyone is a nice touch and admirable quality in any person. But, that may mask the character's insecurity that needs to have recognition by her frequent paging, messages, etc. Clearly, Page brought much of this to the character, and she does a tremendous job. I can understand how her manner could become irritating after a while to some people. I would love to have heard an interview with the actress to understand how she interpreted the role. In any event, she clearly seems to be having a great deal of fun in the making of the film. Glenn Ford's character, on the other hand, seems preoccupied at times. He's hankering to settle down himself, and met a widow (a "tomato in Altoona") whom he proposed to on the spur of the moment. So, how clear his thinking about settling down is suspect. Especially when he then tries to take out a "tomato" working at a hotel sales counter. Other characters in the film add a little color. And, the film gives a picture of a convention with many middle-aged and older men who enjoy their time away from home with some heavy drinking and wandering eyes. I can't see the perfect romance that some reviewers apparently see in this film. It's a light romantic comedy at best, and that's OK. It's somewhat fun, and a very good acting job by Page. But it's nothing special.

Hollywood created some nice romantic dramas and comedies in the 1960s, and sometimes the movies were backed by beautiful Henry Mancini scores. There was the Apartment (1960), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Charade (1963), and Dear Heart (1964). Mancini had hits on the charts with the last three of these. Dear Heart is a pleasant romantic comedy about two mature loners who meet and fall in love. Staying at the same hotel are Evie Jackson (Geradine Page) – in town from Ohio for a Postmasters Convention – and Harry Mork (Glenn Ford), greeting card salesman just recently promoted to marketing executive. Both are amiable and easygoing. Evie, who indeed does have a good heart, is a bit wacky on the outside and despondent inside. She is so lonely that she leaves messages for herself in hotels and train stations. Harry, from Pennsylvania, has had many relationships without meaning. Engaged to be married within the month, he is happy to be settling down finally – to the widowed and worldly Phyllis (Angela Lansbury), whose appearance is fairly late in the movie. Phyllis' zany son is Patrick (Michael Anderson Jr.), a bearded beatnik (who would be considered a hippie just a few years later). Anyway, Harry and Evie's relationship begins to take off when they share a luncheon table at the hotel's restaurant. They do not seem to have much in common, but then … there is no need to go into further detail. But one may have a complaint: why does Harry continue to insist that he is married when he is not? Is he afraid of ruining his relationship with Phyllis? His insistence even comes at the point when he must suspect that he and Evie are right for each other. There is great supporting cast spearheaded by such endearing folks as Barbara Nichols and Richard Deacon. These characters – and the main ones – are well-developed. A special treat is the previously mentioned title song by Henry Mancini (also popularized by Andy Williams); Mancini would receive an Oscar nomination in 1965. In all, the film is pleasant and enjoyable.

Dear Heart finds Glenn Ford and Geraldine Page as a pair of late thirty somethings who find true love at a New York convention. The convention is one Geraldine's attending, she's the postmaster of her small Ohio town and it's a Postmaster's convention. By the way at that time these were political positions in every postal area of the USA so in 1964 Geraldine would have to have been a good organization Democrat in her town.Glenn's a traveling salesman, greeting cards is his line and he's spent his young years just on the road and now wants to settle down. He thinks he's found what he wants in Angela Lansbury, a widow with a son from Altoona.Almost a third of the film goes by before Ford and Page even meet and we get a good background into their character. Makes what happens in the film almost inevitable. Although this is far from the exotic setting of The African Queen, Dear Heart is like that film showing that love can certainly come at any age. And in this case from unexpected quarters where you least expect it.The code was still in place or the postmistresses played by Ruth McDevitt, Alice Pearce, and Mary Wickes would be far more explicitly lesbian. The three of them eye Page as possibly a member of the fraternity. As for Page she gets an offer from Charles Drake with whom she had a fling before she found out he was married and a more crude offer from Ken Lynch in the hotel elevator.The very lovely title song of the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. A whole flock of people recorded it back in the day, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, and Jack Jones come immediately to mind. It lost to Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins, but while that song is known it certainly can't be separated from the film it came from. I think Dear Heart has more staying power.And I think the film Dear Heart has a lot more staying power as well.