A slightly too obvious vehicle for two of Hollywood's biggest stars at
the time, Young at Heart promises
much but delivers surprisingly little. Doris Day and Frank
Sinatra must have seemed like a dream billing but the two lack the
requisite on-screen chemistry to make this romantic drama work,
although both give creditable performances and pack great emotional
power into their musical numbers. Director Gordon Douglas
did a far better job with his sci-fi horror classic Them!, which
was released six months before this film (although some would argue
that Doris Day is far more terrifying than a hoard of giant ants).
Sinatra is particularly good here as the jaded loner who has enough chips
on his shoulder to open a chain of fastfood outlets. It is the kind of
rough-edged anti-hero role for which Ol' Blue Eyes is best remembered and which he
plays with immense pathos and conviction It is a shame,
that towards the end, the film drifts off into tacky melodrama,
exposing the vacuity of the plot and leaving the spectator feeling
somewhat cheated. With so much talent on offer, Young at Heart could so very nearly
have been a great film rather than a minor Hollywood classic.
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Film Synopsis
Laurie Tuttle and her two sisters, Fran and Amy, live an idyllic life
with their composer father and spinster Aunt Jessie in
Connecticut. When an aspiring young composer, Alex, enters the
household, to work on a musical with their father, Laurie and Fran fall
instantly in love with him. Alex invites his friend Barney to
help arrange the score. Laurie is immediately struck by Barney's
cynical attitude to life and tries to help the sad loner see things in
a more positive light. On the day of her marriage to Alex, Laurie
discovers that Fran loves him more than she does and decides to elope
with Barney...
Script: Julius J. Epstein, Lenore J. Coffee, Liam O'Brien, Fannie Hurst (story)
Cinematographer: Ted D. McCord
Music: Ray Heindorf
Cast: Doris Day (Laurie Tuttle),
Frank Sinatra (Barney Sloan),
Gig Young (Alex Burke),
Ethel Barrymore (Aunt Jessie Tuttle),
Dorothy Malone (Fran Tuttle),
Robert Keith (Gregory Tuttle),
Elisabeth Fraser (Amy Tuttle),
Alan Hale Jr. (Robert Neary),
Lonny Chapman (Ernest Nichols),
Frank Ferguson (Bartell),
Wanda Barbour (Restaurant Patron),
Marjorie Bennett (Mrs. Ridgefield),
Ivan Browning (The Porter),
Celeste Bryant (Little Girl),
Kathleen Casey (Lightning),
Cliff Ferre (Bartender),
Joseph Forte (Reverend Johnson),
Beth Hartman (Restaurant Patron),
Jay Lawrence (Restaurant Patron),
John Maxwell (Doctor)
Country: USA
Language: English
Support: Color
Runtime: 117 min
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