Sempre Jovem

Monty Woolley believes you're as "Young as You Feel" in this 1951 film also starring Thelma Ritter, David Wayne, Jean Peters, Allyn Joslyn, Russ Tamblyn, Albert Dekker, Constance Bennett and Marilyn Monroe.

Woolley plays John Hodges, who at the age of 65, is fired from his job in a printing company due to corporate policy that no one can work past 65. Many baby boomers wish that were the case today, because in fact, they'll be working way past 65. He finds out that the company he works for is a subsidiary of a huge company that is owned by a huge corporation. Finding out the name of the President of that huge corporation, he dies his hair and whiskers and poses as the man, comes to town, tours the plant, and makes a speech in which he declares that the knowledge of our elders is critical in printing, and changes the policy.

And there the fun begins. The boss' wife (Constance Bennett), feeling unloved by her husband (Dekker), falls for Hodges; his granddaughter's boyfriend (Wayne) recognizes him and tells someone else at the plant; and the corporation doesn't know what to do. This fake president has raised their stock and given them a fabulous profile, so much so that the labor union has settled their grievances with them. How can they call his bluff? I seem to have enjoyed this film more than some of the other posters. Thelma Ritter, as John's daughter-in-law, is a scream. An ex-singer who gave up her career to marry George (Joslyn), John's son, sings "Temptation" while in the kitchen - she's hilarious. Woolley is great as an older man not ready to be put out to pasture, and it's wonderful to see one of the great stars of the '30s, Constance Bennett, in a later role.

This film is remembered today as early Marilyn Monroe. She plays the boss' sexy secretary, and she does a wonderful job. It's a small role, but you can definitely see that she, Peters, who plays the granddaughter, and David Wayne are all getting the star buildup and are each at different stages of it. Monroe was just about to break through, and she and Wayne would appear together in "How to Marry a Millionaire" (where he says, "I already think you're quite a strudel.") Entertaining and definitely worth seeing.

This film was indeed a mildly amusing comedy and one's acceptance of it will depend on one's affection for Monty Wooley. But I was fascinated by the credits. It's part of the feel-good type of movies of the early 1950s. The story is by a young Paddy Chakevsky, who would later write Marty, A Catered Affair, The Goddess, The Americanization of Emily, Hospital, Network, and Altered States, and the screenplay is by Lamar Trotti, who wrote the screenplays for John Ford's Young Mr. Lincoln and Drums Along the Mohawk, for Ox Bow Incident, and won the screenplay Oscar for Wilson in 1944. A lot of talent in a thimble. It might be interesting to compare this screenplay to their other works for similarities. Chakevsky's work later became sharp and hard and even bitter. But his Marty, Catered Affair, and maybe even this show a gentle, humorous side. Trotti would die the next year, so this is one of his last screenplays

"As Young as You Feel" is a warm comedy set in a city somewhere not far from New York City. The year is 1951. World War II is well past, and the Korean conflict had not yet begun. (Korea wasn't properly called a War until years later.) America and the world were retooled and making goods for the consumer markets.

The Cold War hadn't really heated up yet between the Soviet Union and the West - it was just in the smoldering stages. That's the setting for this film, and it helps modern audiences decades later to appreciate the film. If one understands the time and the social climate, the gist of the story will make more sense.

So, here is a story about a widowed man who lives with his son's family. Monty Woolley plays Grandpa John Hodges. Son George is played by Allyn Joslyn and his daughter-in-law, Della, is played by Thelma Ritter. Granddaughter Alice is played by Jean Peters. Other key players fit in the story. David Wayne plays Joe Elliott, Alice's fiancé, who works at the same company where grandpa is employed - McKinley Printing.

Albert Dekker plays Louis McKinley, head of the printing company, and Constance Bennett plays his wife, Lucille. Minor Watson plays Harold P. Cleveland, the Chairman of the parent corporation that owns many others. And, Marilyn Monroe plays Harriet, secretary to McKinley. There are a number of other supporting cast who do a fine job.

As an aside - I laughed when I ordered and received the DVD of this film, because the cover artwork is just a huge photo of Marilyn Monroe. She has a very small part in this movie, and it's not bad. For once it isn't about flaunting her sex. But that the movie industry thinks it must flaunt such sex stars to attract customers and sell products says something of the minds of those people. If I had only the DVD design to go by, I wouldn't have been lured to buy the movie. But, the story and the characters appealed to me.

There aren't lots of clever or funny lines in this film. Rather, it's about a huge humorous situation. Grandpa John enjoys his work, the company, and his associates at work. He has no inclination for sitting around playing checkers or cards, or taking up hobbies in retirement. He's healthy and happy, and is a craftsman in the printing field. So, when he gets a notice of mandatory retirement when he reaches 65, he wants to challenge the company policy. But where does that policy come from. It's not from his employer but a parent corporation way up the ladder somewhere.

When John finds out that no one knows what the chairman of the big corporation looks like, he devises a plan. Remember, this is 1951 when TV was just becoming a household staple. The names and photos of business heads weren't readily available on computers, cell phones, or methods as they are in the 21st century.

And that's the set-up. The ensuing scenes make up the bulk of the story. The situational humor is wonderful. And, the film touches on drama in marital relations, social issues and the mores of the day. This isn't a great comedy or drama, but it is a warm, feel-good and enjoyable film about a slice of real American society of the time as one family might have lived t. All, but the comedic situation that John Hodges creates, that is.

I really enjoyed this fine screwball comedy, from a very clever story by Paddy Chayefsky, about a man forced to retire from a beloved printing job because he turned 65. He decides to go straight to the president to question the ageist policy, discovers no one knows what the president looks like, decides to impersonate him, and hilarity ensues. Wonderful roles for Monty Woolley, Thelma Ritter, Constance Bennett and Marilyn Monroe. Heartily recommended if you're in the mood for a few good laughs at the expense of American big business. Still a relevant question that wrangles society today: Whether or not capable people should have to stop doing what they love because of age. I wonder if many instances are simply excuses to incorporate age-related discrimination.

Though released on DVD as part of Fox's "Marilyn Monroe Collection", her role – playing the spirited, though obviously dumb, secretary at a printing factory headed by Albert Dekker – is actually very brief. The film is an amusing, Capraesque comedy about 65 year-old printer Monty Woolley who refuses to accept the age imposition which sends him into retirement. The plot involves him impersonating the President of the corporation which owns the factory, paying them an unexpected visit and making a speech in which he retracts the current policy – thus enabling Woolley the printer to get back his job! Complications arise when David Wayne (fiancé of Woolley's niece Jean Peters), who also works at the factory, recognizes him – but also with the attentions given Woolley by Dekker's neglected wife Constance Bennett. The film features a solid supporting cast which includes Allyn Joslyn (as Woolley's son), Thelma Ritter (as his wife, who's proud of her Brooklyn origins), Clinton Sundberg (as Wayne's ambitious colleague at the plant who could blow Woolley's cover at any moment), Minor Watson (as the real President of the conglomerate) and a young Russ Tamblyn (playing Dekker and Bennett's confused son). It's a pleasant enough diversion – adapted by Lamar Trotti from a Paddy Chayefsky(!) story – given Fox's typically polished (if fluffy) treatment.