''Life Begins at 40'' is a 1935

black-and-white film Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a grayscale, range of shades of gray, shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology imp ...

starring

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

and

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

. It is based on the non-fiction self-help book ''

Life Begins at Forty ''Life Begins at Forty'' is a 1932 American self-help book by Walter B. Pitkin. Written during a time of rapid increase in life expectancy (at the time of its publication American life expectancy at birth was around 60 and climbing fast, from be ...

'' by Walter B. Pitkin.

Plot

Kenesaw H.Clark is a small town newspaper editor and publisher. He is operating on a shoestring budget and sometimes accepts livestock in lieu of cash. When Clark hires an ex-convict to work on th e paper, pompous town banker Colonel Abercrombie raises the roof. Cromwell had been jailed for a theft from his bank when he worked there as a teller. Clark has doubts about Cromwell's guilt and refuses to fire him. Abercrombie takes revenge by calling in his loans on the newspaper. Clark does his best to carry on, even printing the day's news on butcher paper. Clark responds not with anger, but with humor. He hires a group of professional hog callers to disrupt a political speech by the Colonel. These individuals do their job a little too well, as a stampede of hogs answers the call and destroy the speaker's platform. The actual thief from years ago was the Colonel's neer-do-well son Joe, who has long since lost the original money at the racetrack. One night, the Colonel surprises someone trying to crack his office safe. He shoots and wounds the intruder, not recognizing him as his son. The Colonel leads a lynch mob against the ex-convict, and Clark has to fend them off single-handed. A policeman finally informs the Colonel that his son is in the hospital and has made a full confession. Clark had figured out some time ago that the Colonel's son was the thief, but couldn't figure out how to gently break it to him.

Cast

as Kenesaw H. Clark *

as Lee Austin * George Barbier as Col. Joseph Abercrombie *

Rochelle Hudson Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...

as Ida Harris *

Slim Summerville Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville; July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946), was an American film actor and director best known for his work in comedies. Early life Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his mother d ...

as T. Watterson Meriwether *

Sterling Holloway Sterling Price Holloway Jr. (January 4, 1905 – November 22, 1992) was an American actor and voice actor who appeared in over 100 films and 40 television shows. He did voice acting for The Walt Disney Company, playing Mr. Stork in ''Dumbo'', Ad ...

as Chris * Thomas Beck as Joe Abercrombie *

Roger Imhof Frederick Roger Imhof (August 15, 1875 – April 15, 1958) was an American film actor, vaudeville, burlesque and circus performer, sketch writer, and songwriter. Early years Imhof was born in Rock Island, Illinois on April 15, 1875 to Nicholas ...

as Pappy Smithers *

Charles Sellon Charles A. Sellon (August 24, 1870 – June 26, 1937) was an American stage and film actor. Sellon appeared in more than 100 films and stage acts between 1901 and 1935. He played the blind Mr. Muckle in W. C. Fields' comedy ''It's a Gift'' ...

as Tom Cotton *John Bradford as Wally Stevens *Ruth Gillette as Mrs. Cotton *

Hank Bell Hank Bell (January 21, 1892 – February 4, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1920 and 1950. He was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack A myo ...

as Townsman (uncredited) *

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

as Drug Clerk (uncredited)

External links

* * * 1935 films 1935 comedy films American black-and-white films Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by George Marshall American comedy films Films with screenplays by Lamar Trotti Fox Film films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-comedy-film-stub