Young at Heart

Once again Gordon Douglas deals with characters faced with moral dilemmas. In this case the three sisters and their infatuation with Gig Young, Doris Day's commitment to Frank Sinatra, and Sinatra's decision. From the opening scene of the neighborhood in which they live to the very end this movie is much more then it seems. Within the artificial look of the sets,there's no hiding the many themes that meander throughout this somewhat dark (musical?). For those who don't get it, take another look. These characters are far deeper then the picture perfect world they live in might make you believe.

Hold on now... this isn't how it sounds. This is by far one of the richest and best performed roles made by Ms Day. Far from her usual happy go lucky character, which we do see, Day (Laurie) shines through a dark and true to life narrative. Accompanied by none other than Old Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, both create a dynamic duo of dreams and one curses that they were never to come together again.

A truly beautiful story captured on film.

To be enjoyed alone or with close friends and family as feelings may be stirred and wine may be drunk. Can be watched again and again or saved for seasons of woe. Absolutely brilliant and a must see for any Day fan.

This film features Sinatra relishing some great songs and some fine dialogue which suits him perfectly. The scene where he sings "Someone to Watch Over Me" at the cafe piano is quite unforgettable. This is a very re-watchable movie with a fine cast - Doris Day, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Brian Keith etc.

The standard songs are joined by some new ones written for the production - and they too are a total delight. A fine example of 1950s Americana as seen by Hollywood.

This is not a classic film. It won't be on any "Best Of" Lists. It is simply a wonderful film that you can enjoy when you want to see a good movie. I keep returning to this one, because it provides pure, unadulterated enjoyment. It is glossy entertainment, and unabashedly romantic. A perfect rainy afternoon movie.

Before reviewing the movie proper, I'll just mention that the YouTube upload I watched of this was off-sync after the first 30 or so minutes. So much so, my mom was very confused at the narrative but I managed to figure out what was going to happen about 30 seconds or more ahead of time. This was the only time popular singers Frank Sinatra and Doris Day teamed up for a movie and it's pretty entertaining if not quite as great if it could have been. I mean, Sinatra doesn't appear until about 30 or so minutes have passed and when he does, he's not quite the happy-go-lucky fella he was previously in other movies, instead he's quite depressed because of his character's attitude. Ms. Day, in contrast, is quite the opposite considering the family she lives with. I know this was a remake of a straight drama called Four Daughters and that the fate of the character Sinatra plays here was different when he was played by John Garfield. I'll reserve actual judgement until I see FD and perhaps watch this again, hopefully with a more perfect print than the one I just watched. While Sinatra sang some standards, Ms. Day sings some new songs. I'll just now say that despite those technical flaws I just mentioned, I enjoyed Young at Heart. I think my mom did as well despite her confusion...