As Young as You Feel

John R. Hodges (Monty Woolley) is a printer at ACME Printing. He receives notice that he must retire because he is age 65. The rule comes from Consolidated Motors, the parent company of a vast conglomerate that owns ACME. John takes great pride in his job and enjoys the dignity that comes from doing good work. He decides on an unorthodox strategy to get his job back.

"As Young As You Feel" is a comedy, but it contains serious messages about age-related issues and the unintended effects of technology and modern production methods. More than sixty years later, those viewpoints--as expressed by John--are just as relevant today.

But the messages do not sidetrack the fun. Monty Woolley plays John with a twinkle in his eye. His positivity influences the lives of others (on a grand scale), except maybe for a couple of annoying members of his own family.

One notable aspect of this film is that is adapted from a story by Paddy Chayefsky, who won three Oscars for screen writing. After his service in the war, Chayefsky worked in his uncle's printshop--a connection with this story.

Marilyn Monroe has a small, but well-acted, part in the film as secretary to the executive who runs ACME. Her larger roles were yet to come. I enjoyed seeing Jean Peters and Constance Bennett as well. And there's a small part played by a very young Russ Tamblyn.

This film is a feel-good story that focuses on the subject of human dignity. It is light-hearted and written to entertain.

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.

This is among my favorite "little movies"--movies that were small budget and about everyday people with everyday problems. The lead is played by the crotchety but very erudite Monty Woolley. Monty is forced to retire from his job as a printer due to his age, even though he still feels young and vigorous. Everyone around him seems to agree that retirement shouldn't be forced upon you if you are still able and willing to work, but no one in this large company where he works seems to be able to anything about this rule--especially since the company is actually controlled by a huge corporation. They just keep saying it's company policy and they would change it if they could--maybe he should talk the the guy in charge to get the rule changed someone suggests. Unfortunately, no one seems to know exactly who that is or how to find him. Out of sheer frustration, he hatches a plot to impersonate the company's CEO and make the changes himself! Unfortunately, this relatively simple plan snowballs and lots of unforeseen problems arise.

This is a brisk, cute movie that it sure to please. The acting is superb (I just love Woolley in films), the story well written and the film leaves you smiling.

PS--Get Marilyn Monroe OFF the Video Cover!!! She's barely in the movie at all--if you expect her, expect to be disappointed. Stupid advertising folks!

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.

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.