THE YOUNG IN HEART (Selznick International, 1938), directed by Richard Wallace, stars the Academy Award winning Janet Gaynor in her final starring role during her "golden age of Hollywood." Not to be confused with an earlier Gaynor film, CHANGE OF HEART (Fox, 1934), nor a latter movie bearing a similar title, THE YOUNG AT HEART (Warner Brothers, 1955) starring Doris Day and Frank Sinatra, this production is a light comedy taken from the novel by I.A.R. Wylie. Coming at a time when comedies, especially those "screwball" themes, were in vogue, THE YOUNG IN HEART, although predictable in a sense, offers enough humor and originality to stand on its own. With introduction credited to Richard Carlson, making his screen debut, and the third-billed Paulette Goddard, a promising young actress on the rise, honorable mention goes to a prominent theatrical actress, Minnie Dupree, in a very rare screen performance.
The story concerns the Carleton family: Saltin, alias Colonel Anthony (Roland Young); his wife, Marmy (Billie Burke); and their adult children, Richard Carleton (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and George-Anne (Janet Gaynor), who are given an open introduction: "The Riviera! Coney Island with a monocle – when the beach twinkles like a Gold Piece and the Moon comes rolling out of a slot machine. Here millionaire Mama seeks a glamorous son-in-law, while tired Papa looks for new ways to get trimmed – and here came the Carletons, a merry streamlined family excluding charm and a touch of larceny with every fortune-hunting smile." At Monte Carlo, Richard Carleton is set to marry Adela Jennings (Margaret Early), a homely daughter of former Georgia senator, Albert J. Jennings (Irvin S. Cobb) and his wife, Melna (Lucile Watson), for her money. After being discovered and exposed as fortune hunting con-artists, the prefect of police (Walter Kingsford) sets the now destitute Carletons on their way with paid train tickets bound for London, England. The Carleton reputation, however, doesn't phase Duncan McCree (Richard Carlson) from wanting to marry George-Anne, who feels it be better for all to break off their engagement while in reality not being rich enough for her. While on board the train, George Anne makes the acquaintance of Miss Ellen Fortune (Minnie DuPree), a sweet little old lady with lots of money but no friends nor living relatives. Inviting George-Anne and her family to her compartment, Miss Fortune takes the family into her confidence. After an unexpected train wreck, the lonely spinster fights loneliness by inviting the Carletons to her luxurious but empty mansion where she'll have the companionship of good friends. Plotting to remain with Miss Fortune with the hope of being named as correspondents in her will and inherit her home at the time of her death, George-Anne feels it best for the family to act legitimate by having outside jobs so not to cast any suspicion from Miss Fortune's lawyer, Feliz Amstruther (Henry Stephenson). During the course of time, Mr. Carleton becomes salesman for the Flying Womart Motor Car while Richard works as a clerk at an engineering firm where he finds a romantic interest with Leslie Saunders (Paulette Goddard). Complications arise as Duncan returns to George-Anne's life, feeling he might spoil the family plot to what may happen if Miss Fortune should ever learn the truth about the Carletons.
A delightful story with an interesting cast of fine performers and character types. While Paulette Goddard had few screen credits to her name, her most famous being opposite Charlie Chaplin in his final silent comedy, MODERN TIMES (1936), her screen introduction here plays like a movie debut. For Janet Gaynor's second and final film for producer David O. Selznick, THE YOUNG IN HEART is certainly a worthy follow-up to her initial Selznick production of A STAR IS BORN (1937). One wonders had Gaynor not retired upon this film's release how far her movie career might have gone or developed if extended into the 1940s and beyond. Though Gaynor made a return engagement to films opposite Pat Boone in BERNADINE (20th-Fox, 1957), and occasional television appearances later on, her glory days of Hollywood were behind her. While it may be a little hard to accept Richard Carlson as the accented Scotsman, Roland Young and Billie Burke, most remembered for their trilogy "Topper" movie series, once again prove themselves a fine screen team. Regardless of how they present themselves, THE YOUNG IN HEART comes close to belonging to the now unfamiliar face and name of Minna DuPree, who gives both warmth and sincerity to her character that should have at least earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Animal actors featuring a dog and penguin provide some very cute moments as well.
Of the many comedies of this nature produced in the 1930s, it's now hard to imagine THE YOUNG IN HEART as an overlooked item long forgotten through the passage of time. Not every movie is destined to have a lasting legacy, but does deserve a look to determine whether or not this to be a regarded a rediscovered classic. Unseen on broadcast television since the early 1960s, my introduction to THE YOUNG IN HEART actually came when given a then rare television showing on New York City's WNBC, Channel 4, in mid 1982 where it was with an background commentary by non-other than Bette Davis. Over the forthcoming years, THE YOUNG IN HEART has turned up on some cable/public television channels and/or video cassette, often in colorized formats. In recent years, it's guaranteed original black and white form either on DVD or whenever presented on Turner Classic Movies. (***1/2)
The story concerns the Carleton family: Saltin, alias Colonel Anthony (Roland Young); his wife, Marmy (Billie Burke); and their adult children, Richard Carleton (Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) and George-Anne (Janet Gaynor), who are given an open introduction: "The Riviera! Coney Island with a monocle – when the beach twinkles like a Gold Piece and the Moon comes rolling out of a slot machine. Here millionaire Mama seeks a glamorous son-in-law, while tired Papa looks for new ways to get trimmed – and here came the Carletons, a merry streamlined family excluding charm and a touch of larceny with every fortune-hunting smile." At Monte Carlo, Richard Carleton is set to marry Adela Jennings (Margaret Early), a homely daughter of former Georgia senator, Albert J. Jennings (Irvin S. Cobb) and his wife, Melna (Lucile Watson), for her money. After being discovered and exposed as fortune hunting con-artists, the prefect of police (Walter Kingsford) sets the now destitute Carletons on their way with paid train tickets bound for London, England. The Carleton reputation, however, doesn't phase Duncan McCree (Richard Carlson) from wanting to marry George-Anne, who feels it be better for all to break off their engagement while in reality not being rich enough for her. While on board the train, George Anne makes the acquaintance of Miss Ellen Fortune (Minnie DuPree), a sweet little old lady with lots of money but no friends nor living relatives. Inviting George-Anne and her family to her compartment, Miss Fortune takes the family into her confidence. After an unexpected train wreck, the lonely spinster fights loneliness by inviting the Carletons to her luxurious but empty mansion where she'll have the companionship of good friends. Plotting to remain with Miss Fortune with the hope of being named as correspondents in her will and inherit her home at the time of her death, George-Anne feels it best for the family to act legitimate by having outside jobs so not to cast any suspicion from Miss Fortune's lawyer, Feliz Amstruther (Henry Stephenson). During the course of time, Mr. Carleton becomes salesman for the Flying Womart Motor Car while Richard works as a clerk at an engineering firm where he finds a romantic interest with Leslie Saunders (Paulette Goddard). Complications arise as Duncan returns to George-Anne's life, feeling he might spoil the family plot to what may happen if Miss Fortune should ever learn the truth about the Carletons.
A delightful story with an interesting cast of fine performers and character types. While Paulette Goddard had few screen credits to her name, her most famous being opposite Charlie Chaplin in his final silent comedy, MODERN TIMES (1936), her screen introduction here plays like a movie debut. For Janet Gaynor's second and final film for producer David O. Selznick, THE YOUNG IN HEART is certainly a worthy follow-up to her initial Selznick production of A STAR IS BORN (1937). One wonders had Gaynor not retired upon this film's release how far her movie career might have gone or developed if extended into the 1940s and beyond. Though Gaynor made a return engagement to films opposite Pat Boone in BERNADINE (20th-Fox, 1957), and occasional television appearances later on, her glory days of Hollywood were behind her. While it may be a little hard to accept Richard Carlson as the accented Scotsman, Roland Young and Billie Burke, most remembered for their trilogy "Topper" movie series, once again prove themselves a fine screen team. Regardless of how they present themselves, THE YOUNG IN HEART comes close to belonging to the now unfamiliar face and name of Minna DuPree, who gives both warmth and sincerity to her character that should have at least earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination. Animal actors featuring a dog and penguin provide some very cute moments as well.
Of the many comedies of this nature produced in the 1930s, it's now hard to imagine THE YOUNG IN HEART as an overlooked item long forgotten through the passage of time. Not every movie is destined to have a lasting legacy, but does deserve a look to determine whether or not this to be a regarded a rediscovered classic. Unseen on broadcast television since the early 1960s, my introduction to THE YOUNG IN HEART actually came when given a then rare television showing on New York City's WNBC, Channel 4, in mid 1982 where it was with an background commentary by non-other than Bette Davis. Over the forthcoming years, THE YOUNG IN HEART has turned up on some cable/public television channels and/or video cassette, often in colorized formats. In recent years, it's guaranteed original black and white form either on DVD or whenever presented on Turner Classic Movies. (***1/2)
