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Young at Heart Movie Review

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Sci-Fi/Fantasy Comedy & Personal Dramas Action Dramas
Actors: Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Fraser, Dorothy Malone, Gig Young
Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Young at Heart
Music professor Gregory Tuttle and his three musical daughters live an idyllic life in the Connecticut suburbs, looked after by Aunt Jessie. The oldest daughter Fran has just got engaged to reliable realtor Bob Neary, Amy is admired by the romantic plumber Ernie, and bubbly Laurie is pursued by composer Alex Burke. Alex is boarding with the family while working on a Broadway musical and all are charmed by his breezy self-confidence.   

Into their life wanders half-starving piano-player Barney Sloan. Alex, who has brought him from New York to work on the musical, gets him a job playing in a bar. Aunt Jessie takes a liking to the cynical musician and makes him welcome. Laurie admires his talent, and tries to cheer him up and inspire his ambition, but he has been too discouraged by life even to finish a song he has been working on. When he sings at the bar (he is of course heartbreakingly good), he notices that only Laurie is listening.

At Gregory's birthday party Laurie and Alex announce their engagement; neither Amy nor Barney is happy at the news. While Amy stifles her feelings for Laurie's sake, Barney avoids the family, spending his time mooning over the piano at the bar. On her wedding day, Laurie visits him there to ask him to come to the ceremony. He movingly admits his love for her, and also reveals how Amy feels about Alex. When Laurie later sees Amy crying, she jilts Alex and elopes with Barney to New York.

--Maureen Evans, Resident Scholar




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Analysis of Young at Heart
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Plot
Time/era of movie: - 1930's-1950's
Romance/Love/Hugging Yes
Kind of romance: - love triangle/polygon
Job/Profession/Poverty Story? Yes
Job: - musician

Main Character
Identity: - Female
Profession/status: - homemaker/wife
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Hair color? - blonde
Hair type - (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
Body type - (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more... - sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - musician
Eccentric: Yes - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 60%
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair type - (man) short/standard wavey
Body type - (man) skinny
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - healthy but a geeky weakling

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Any profanity? - None
If lots of song/dance... - lot of singing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE... - Broadway musical
Is this movie based on a - book
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