Main Cast: Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Dorothy Malone
Release Year: 1954
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
Young at Heart is a soft-pedaled, musicalized remake of 1938's Four Daughters. Robert Keith takes over the Claude Rains role as paterfamilias to a family of musical prodigies, all girls: Doris Day, Dorothy Malone, Elizabeth Fraser (the fourth daughter was written out of proceedings, no great loss). Keith's new boarder Gig Young, a musical-comedy composer, becomes the three daughters' heart balm, whether he wants to our not. When he gets stuck creatively, Young invites his tempestuous pal Frank Sinatra to help him finish his score. Sinatra essays the old John Garfield role, retaining a generous supply of Garfield's chip-on-shoulder edginess. But whereas Garfield's character dies in Four Daughters, Sinatra survives for a happily-ever-after clinch with Doris Day. Most of the songs heard in Young at Heart were already standards in 1954--with the notable exception of the Johnny Richards-Carolyn Leigh title number, which of course became a part of Frank Sinatra's standard repertoire. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Young at Heart is a bit of an oddball musical, one in which the songs seem to have been shoehorned in merely to take advantage of the talents of stars Doris Day and Frank Sinatra rather than to add emotional heft to the proceedings or to expand upon the inner workings of the characters. Yes, the creators have seen to it that the numbers being sung -- "One for My Baby" or "Just One of Those Things," for example -- fit in with the mood of the scene at the moment, but they don't really contribute to our understanding of the characters or their relationship. As a result, there's a bit of a hole in the middle of the film, for one never really buys that Day would fall for Sinatra in the way that she does. It just seems that they get together because the script says that they should. That flaw aside, however, Heart is good entertainment, with solid performances (both musical and dramatic). Gig Young is especially good, combining arrogance and charm in equal amounts. Even better is Ethel Barrymore, who somehow adds weight and strength to Aunt Jessie with nothing more than a quiet, but penetrating, gaze. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
When song-writer Alex Burke (Gig Young) enters the lives of the musical Tuttle family, each of the three daughters falls for him. His personality is a match for Laurie Tuttle (Doris Day), both she and Alex seemingly made for each other. Soon they are engaged, although, when a friend of Alex's, Barney Sloan (Frank Sinatra) comes to the Tuttle home to help with some musical arrangements, complications arise. His bleak outlook on life couldn't be any more contradictory to that of Laurie's and Alex's, and although the family welcomes Barney into their lives, a feeling of genuine self-worth escapes him, even after both he and Laurie fall in love and marry. Barney, with a black cloud perpetually hanging over his head, decides one evening to kill himself by driving on a snowy night into traffic with his headlamps turned off. Barney lives, and with a new found affirmation of life, finally writes the song he had been working on, finding his self-esteem in the arms of Laurie.
Original ending
The character of the self-destructive Barney Sloan was originally written to die at the end of the film when Sloan drives into on-coming traffic during a snow-storm. Sinatra, whose characters in his two previous films - From Here to Eternity and Suddenly - perished at the end, thought Sloan should live and find happiness. Sinatra's growing influence in Hollywood was enough to have the ending re-written to accommodate. Just the opposite would happen a decade later when Sinatra had the ending of Von Ryan's Express changed.
Songs from the soundtrack were released as an album by Frank Sinatra and Doris Day, also titled Young at Heart. The album peaked at #11 on Billboard while the single reached #2 and was considered as Sinatra's comeback single after several years away from the top of the pop singles chart. So popular was the song "Young at Heart" that the film was also titled Young at Heart, having had no title until the song's success. The song's popularity led to its being used not only for the title, but also for music over the opening and closing credits.
Also, when this film was released, the conductor, Ray heindorf, was not given credit, because of the new ruling at that time that stated that he had to be credited as a "Music Supervisor and conducted by" policy, which he disliked. This is one of the Warner musicals that bears no credit to any composer or conductor as well.
Sinatra and Doris Day's husband at that time, Martin Melcher, did not get along at all.
Iconic resonance
Frank Sinatra's persona in the film Young at Heart helped somewhat cultivate the image of the romantic loner that was often personified in the singer's albums. Sinatra's outstanding musical solo-pieces alone at a piano with shot glass, tilted hat and dangling cigarette, helped establish an oft-identified image with the singer/actor.
