As Young as You Feel

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

This is a likeable little comedy/drama. It has a good cast, and a fairly interesting plot. One thing, though. The movie jacket for "As Young As You Feel" has a large photo of Marilyn Monroe and her name is printed on the top. Don't let that fool you, though. Marilyn only has a small part in this movie, portraying a secretary, although she makes the most of her scenes.

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.

"As Young As You Feel" is a modest budget early 50's B&W comedy. While the creative people were experimenting with 'film noir' and 'neo-realism', the studios were cranking out stuff like this for a traditional audience. This adaptation of a story by Paddy Chayefsky was made during the McCarthy years, so the social satire aspect could only be subtly subversive. The themes (balancing work and play, doing work that gives you personal satisfaction, and maintaining your integrity) give the film a worthwhile message and are not delivered in an overbearing manner.

Monty Woolley (as John Hodges) carries the film as a printer who is pushed into retirement at age 65 and decides to impersonate the president of the holding company that owns the printing plant where he worked. This sets up a sort of 'Being There' effect, where his views on national affairs become an inspiration to the whole country. David Wayne (who would eventually play the Mad Hatter on "Batman") plays his prospective son-in-law and their scenes are all gems, partly because they have a real chemistry and partly because they got the best dialogue. The best scene is the opening, a very well staged scene of the company orchestra playing the "Nutcracker": the camera opens on a promotional poster, pans left and takes us into the concert hall as a little girl scurries to her seat. The camera moves around in the crowd where we meet most of the main characters. Hodges is playing one of the piccolos and he soon launches into an impromptu solo, much to the annoyance of the guest conductor and an accurate preview of what his role will be throughout the film.

This film is fairly entertaining but is most valuable as a cultural artifact. Because it was not a high budget production the cast is almost entirely older stars at the very end of their careers (like Wooley and Constance Bennett) and young actors at the beginning (Wayne, Jean Peters, and Marilyn Monroe). So there is a kind of torch passing at work. It is also hints at Monroe's special screen presence which somehow allowed her to beat the Hollywood starlet system. She and Peters were the same age (both were born in 1926) and had both started too late in the movie business. By this film they had already lost all the youthful luster of their early 20's (check out how much better Peters looked two years earlier in 'It Happens Every Spring' and Monroe before she became a blonde), yet Monroe was somehow able to transcend this and become a big star.

Arthur Miller said of Monroe: "She was rarely taken seriously as anything but a sex symbol. To have survived, she would have had to be either more cynical or even further from reality than she was. Instead, she was a poet on a street corner trying to recite to a crowd pulling at her clothes."

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.