Young At Heart Film Soundtrack

[Johnny]

Having recently discovered a track (There is A Rising Moon For Every Falling Star) from Young At Heart that was not on my soundtrack, I was incredibly moved by the beauty of this song.

The song is sung by Doris as Gig Young plays the piano in a Christmas scene in the film. The reflective and serene looks on all the family faces, especially Ethel Barrymore as Aunt Jessie and Dorothy Malone as sister Fran Tuttle are especially moving.

You My Love sung by Doris and Frank is a really tender song. There is also the song, Till My Love Comes Back To Me sung by Doris that is extraordinarily beautiful.

Young At Heart is a romantic pleasure to hear. I intend to watch the film again to appreciate it even more. The film has a really good cast.

[Jas1]

Yes Johny, i love this film too - it is a gem [to me]. The songs Doris sang in the film are great - in particular I love "There's a rising moon..." and "Hold me in your arms..." - and Doris in jean shorts singing "Ready Willing & Able" -is something else: - however, I do think it is a pity Doris was not given at least one classic to sing in this film - all Sinatra's songs in the film were standard classics from the great composers.

[tonysimone]

Right on point, Jas and that's a helluva annoyance to me. In "Jumbo", "Pajama Game", "Love Me or Leave Me", great songs worthy of the artist. But so many times the material they gave Doris to sing was just too mediocre.

Tell ya' what, though. When the old man is at the piano singing "One For My Baby" and Doris walks in to the place and catches his glance ... it just breaks me up every time.

[Jas1]

Oh you are right Tony - i love that scene and i particularly love the scene where Frank is singing Someone to watch over me - and DD is in the "joint" all in white lace - stunning both vocally and visually!

[tonysimone]

Well, you'll love this story then ...

I sing regularly at a small club in northern Virginia every Friday night. It so happens that I'm crazy about a woman that looks enough like DD to make you look twice. She's an old friend that knows I'm there on Fridays and will come by now and again. Two Fridays ago, I was singing "Someone ..." with the trio when she walked in with a couple of friends and gave me a look, smile and little wave.

I actually stopped singing and stared for a minute until the pianist nudged my knee and I came round again. Afterward, the lady in question asked me "why did you stop singing?" ... like she didn't know. Jeez!

[Lauren Benjamin]

This soap opera will continue some time next week. Stay tuned.

Lauren

[jmichael]

The gaping flaw with YAH was Sinatra's refusal to die. That prevented the film and Doris from achieving greatness, although there is much to love about this sweet movie. I agree that Doris should have been given a wonderful standard to sing. And I've always felt short-changed by the few bars that she sings with Sinatra on You, My Love. Why in the world would you bring two titans of pop music together and not give them a couple of full fledged duets? Mind boggling, to say the least.

Michael

[tonysimone]

Yes, yes, J. Michael. Sinatra told me he had wanted to make a record of duets with DD and he tried to snag her (and Andy Williams) from Columbia to move to Reprise, but they wouldn't budge. The same thing happened when he tried to make a record with Ella. Granz scotched the idea.

I didn't realize until recently that the original script called for Sinatra to die and I have to tell you that the scene with him in the hospital cracks me up (terrible, I know). Come to think of it, I think Sinatra bought it in only two of his pictures, "Eternity" and "Von Ryan's Express". Thank God, DD didn't die in any of her pictures!

Hey Lauren ... I never thought of it as a soap opera, but maybe it did come across that way. Can't help it, I'm an unbridled romantic

Cheers!

[Musiclover]

Tony, actually DD's character did die in one film ("Storm Warning").

Re: Sinatra's attempt to entice her away from recording at Columbia, one might wonder whether it was really Marty Melcher more than his wife who "wouldn't budge."

[Lauren Benjamin]

Tony~
I don't believe I know you, although I've been mostly on but sometimes off this forum since 2004. How did that happen? You knew Sinatra??? In the last few years, I've become a Sinatra fan with his jazzy-swing type of music. The best! Happy to meet you.

Lauren

[jmichael]

Lauren, if you like Sinatra, by all means, checkout the recent HBO documentary "Sinatra: All Or Nothing At All." It is wonderful.

Michael

[tonysimone]

Aha! See, Musiclover, I learn something every day. I haven't seen "Storm Warning", but I guess pictures about the Klan never appealed to me, lol. I'll watch it, though, this weekend, with my friend who reminds me of DD and happens to enjoy her work, too. That's kismet, folks

Thanks, Lauren, for your comment and question. A few years back I put up a post about how I got to know Sinatra and how he in turn got me turned on to DD, but I'll be damned if I can find the post. If anyone finds it, please let me know where it resides! Without wanting to appear self serving, it's a great story and a wonderful part of my life. If you like, I'll tell the tale again when I have some time over the weekend.

What I can tell you in short form is that FS had unbounded admiration for DD and pretty much commanded me to listen and learn, which I did to my everlasting joy.

As for the Old Man, Michael is right to suggest the HBO doc, as it's very good and balanced. I didn't know him well and our interactions were mostly social, but I did have the chance to spend time with him one on one and learned a great deal. With all due respect to our girl and so many others, he was simply the best. Tony Bennett called FS the "Toscanini of popular music" and Bennett was right to say so.

Cheers!