Via 1955’s Oscar-winning Marty, director Delbert Mann looked at middle-aged loneliness. He took on the topic from a different perspective with 1964’s Dear Heart.

Midwesterner Evie Jackson (Geraldine Page) goes to a postmaster convention in New York City. While she enjoys many friendships, she lacks romantic commitment.

In the Big Apple, Evie meets Harry Mork (Glenn Ford), a former womanizing travelling salesman who now plans to settle down and marry Phyllis (Angela Lansbury). Evie and Harry strike up a connection that leads her to fall for him, a twist that creates complications.

Perhaps it doesn’t seem right to call both Marty and Heart tales of middle-aged people due to the ages of their actors. 48 at the time, Ford clearly qualified, but Ernest Borgnine was 38 when they made Marty and Page was 39.

Granted, late 30s probably seemed more “middle aged” in 1964 than it does now. Still, it feels somewhat off-putting to view these as folks past their primes.

In any case, Marty led me into Heart with fairly high expectations. It created a compelling character piece and I hoped Heart would follow suit.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t. While it comes with a handful of good moments, it lacks consistency.

Some of this relates to plot threads that can meander. In addition to the basic Harry/Evie dynamic – and how it impacts his relationship with Phyllis – we also see Harry with a young man named Patrick (Michael Anderson Jr.)

Phyllis’s son, Patrick tracks down Harry at the NYC hotel and tries to bond with him. This feels like an entirely different movie and one that would better have fit into its own separate film.

Not that we get a whole lot of Patrick – or his mother, as she doesn’t appear at all until well into the movie’s second half. Whereas Heart wants to offer a simple tale of “middle-aged love”, it tosses in these unnecessary beats and they don’t work at all.

Granted, the basic Evie/Harry focus sputters as well, mainly because neither character becomes particularly interesting. Harry seems without much real personality, as though Ford was a good actor, he fails to add much.

At least Harry doesn’t actively annoy us. While the film intends to make Evie seem charmingly quirky, instead she becomes downright insufferable.

Page just creates a collection of tics and mannerisms in search of an actual person. I don’t know how anyone could stand her given how self-consciously weird she feels.

The collection of supporting roles manages to add sporadic life, but they don’t turn into enough to make this a compelling program. A character tale with insubstantial characters can’t succeed.

Dear Heart appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Warner Archives releases are money in the bank, and this becomes another fine presentation.

Sharpness appeared positive, as the movie consistently seemed nicely detailed and distinct. Only a few minor soft shots materialized.

Jagged edges and shimmering failed to appear, and I noticed no edge enhancement. Source flaws also remained absent.

Black levels looked very good throughout the movie. Dark tones came across as deep and tight, and shadow detail also was appealing.

Low-light scenes appeared concise and well defined. Contrast also seemed strong, as the movie exhibited the appropriate balance between light and dark. Overall, I felt very pleased with this consistently solid transfer.

The DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Dear Heart seemed perfectly fine for its age and scope. Speech remained reasonably natural and always came across as clear and intelligible.

Effects played a small role in the proceedings but they were perfectly clean and distinct given their background participation. Music also was a minor element and sounded good when it appeared. This was a limited mix that suited the material well.

Along with the film’s trailer, we find two vintage shorts. The disc includes The Iceman Ducketh (6:16) and Hawaiian Aye Aye (6:07).

In the first, Daffy wants to rake in the bucks that come with animal hides, so he tries to nail a rabbit – or a Bunny. That story essentially does little more than cast Daffy as Elmer Fudd.

This seems like an odd choice, particularly because there’s something sort of creepy when we see animals hunting other animals, as at least the human vs. critter dynamic of Elmer vs. Bugs seems more natural. “Ducketh” becomes mediocre.

Aye takes Granny and Tweety to Hawaii, where the little bird deals with a hungry Sylvester. The setting offers some pizzazz – along with a dog-like shark who protects Tweety – but it doesn’t bring much new otherwise.

Although Dear Heart wants to give us a warm look at middle-aged romance, it never connects. The movie turns into a sluggish and scattered road to nowhere. The Blu-ray brings very good picture and appropriate audio along with minor supplements. Chalk up this one as a forgettable dud.