This well-crafted remake of romance Four Daughters (which was itself based on a Fannie Hurst novel) features a surly Frank Sinatra, who's finely cast in the role that made John Garfield a star in the original. Playing opposite Sinatra (though they duet only sparingly) is his fellow Columbia records star and Warner Bros goldmine Doris Day, who offers a performance of great warmth and sensitivity. Although not a musical (it's a drama with songs), the film still offers plenty of precious moments for the audience to savour. The supporting cast is exemplary, with Dorothy Malone and Elisabeth Fraser wholesome as the other daughters, and Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore and Robert Keith attractive as the older generation. The tacked-on ending is a spurious and unnecessary sop - Sinatra hated this particular plot resolution, and you'll almost certainly agree.

The lives and romances of three sisters in a musical family; the youngest daughter's life is complicated by the subsequent arrival of a charming composer and a cynical music arranger.