Film

The Young in Heart

Name: The Young in Heart
Genre: Comedy
Released: 1938
Cast: Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Roland Young, Billie Burke, Minnie Dupree

Comedy
Con-artist caper
Light-hearted

A Depression-era con-artist family—all charm, no scruples—targets a lonely millionaire widow, only to find themselves genuinely caring for her. Lighter than it sounds, with the warmth of a 1930s Hollywood that believed in redemption through connection. For anyone who likes their comedy with heart and their characters fundamentally good despite their worst impulses.

TMDb rating

3.4

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Three Smart Girls1936

Deanna Durbin's breakout: three girls scheme to prevent their parents' divorce through elaborate deception, and it actually works because the schemes force people to be honest. That same alchemy.

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The Philadelphia Story1940

Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and James Stewart orbit each other with schemes and lies that collapse into genuine feeling. The gold standard for this kind of film: witty, romantic, absolutely sure people are worth saving.

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Libeled Lady1936

William Powell and Jean Harlow con a woman into admitting she lied, and romance blooms from the deception. Clever, fast, with the same sense that con men are just romantic idealists with bad luck.

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It's a Wonderful Life1946

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The Ladykillers1955

Same DNA as *The Young in Heart*: con artists undone not by law or fate but by proximity to genuine human goodness. Both films insist that character is more powerful than cunning.

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