This character comedy could have truly been something special, but at only 75 minutes, it's missing about 20 minutes of material to really explore what could have been. The always amusing Monty Woolley is pretty much the entire film, playing a forced retiree from a major corporation who puts into play a scheme to get himself rehired. To do that, he disguises himself as the head of the parent company who nobody has ever seen, and becomes a media sensation. enjoying this, he changes many lives, just like he did in his successful play and movie, "The Man Who Came To Dinner".
Always packaged is a Marilyn Monroe movie, what should be made known is that Marilyn only has a small role in this as the secretary and girlfriend to Albert Dekker, the head of the company who forces Woolley to retire. Impacted by Woolley's actions are his family, employees of the corporation wooly retired from, Dekker's family and ultimately the real head of the company (Minor Watson) who shows up out of the blue.
Members of Woolley's family include daughter Thelma Ritter, grandson Allyn Joslyn, granddaughter Jean Peters and potential grandson-in-law David Wayne who works for the same company. Dekker is married to Constance Bennett, a lovely society hostess who feels neglected, and together they have a young son, Russ Tamblyn, a teenager with ambitions of changing the world. Others involved in this heartwarming comedy include Clinton Sundberg and Wally Brown. ironically, all of these actors are built in the opening credits above the title, a rare occurrence in a Hollywood film.
Why this film doesn't rank higher in my book is simply that it Could have been expanded from a second-rate comedy into something truly thought-provoking. That element of the film is barely there and thanks to Woolley's terrific performance, that issue becomes truly noticeable. I can certainly relate to his character who does not want to be put out to pasture, being involved in the corporate orchestra as seen in the opening of the film where he plays the piccolo and pretty much brings the house down with his solo performance. Seen briefly in that sequence is Renee Riano, best known as Maggie from The "Jiggs and Maggie" comedy series, hysterically hamming it up as an aggravated violin player. Having just seen a film of the outtakes of 20th Century Fox movies, something tells me that a few key scenes were taken out that had they remained would have transitioned this into what would now be considered a classic. In fact, with Paddy Chayefsky listed as one of the writers, I am now certain of it.
Always packaged is a Marilyn Monroe movie, what should be made known is that Marilyn only has a small role in this as the secretary and girlfriend to Albert Dekker, the head of the company who forces Woolley to retire. Impacted by Woolley's actions are his family, employees of the corporation wooly retired from, Dekker's family and ultimately the real head of the company (Minor Watson) who shows up out of the blue.
Members of Woolley's family include daughter Thelma Ritter, grandson Allyn Joslyn, granddaughter Jean Peters and potential grandson-in-law David Wayne who works for the same company. Dekker is married to Constance Bennett, a lovely society hostess who feels neglected, and together they have a young son, Russ Tamblyn, a teenager with ambitions of changing the world. Others involved in this heartwarming comedy include Clinton Sundberg and Wally Brown. ironically, all of these actors are built in the opening credits above the title, a rare occurrence in a Hollywood film.
Why this film doesn't rank higher in my book is simply that it Could have been expanded from a second-rate comedy into something truly thought-provoking. That element of the film is barely there and thanks to Woolley's terrific performance, that issue becomes truly noticeable. I can certainly relate to his character who does not want to be put out to pasture, being involved in the corporate orchestra as seen in the opening of the film where he plays the piccolo and pretty much brings the house down with his solo performance. Seen briefly in that sequence is Renee Riano, best known as Maggie from The "Jiggs and Maggie" comedy series, hysterically hamming it up as an aggravated violin player. Having just seen a film of the outtakes of 20th Century Fox movies, something tells me that a few key scenes were taken out that had they remained would have transitioned this into what would now be considered a classic. In fact, with Paddy Chayefsky listed as one of the writers, I am now certain of it.