This film is part of Free
Life With Grandpa
Watch America’s ‘oldsters’ dance, get married, play baseball and work more efficiently than their younger counterparts in this spirited challenge to prejudices about old age.
Overview
This lively examination of the problems and opportunities confronting America’s ageing population in 1948, mixes humour and pathos to show that life can begin at sixty, seventy, or even eighty. From journalist Dorothy Dix, dictating her latest advice column at the age of 78, to the men in the workshop of the Ithaca Gun Company - where you’re a youngster if you’re sixty - this issue shows how Americans were finding new ways to grow old in an era of increasing life expectancy.
In 1948 America was facing the new challenges of an increasing population in which 11 million people were over the age of 65. Despite a tendency to focus on men rather than women, the issue is notable for its generally progressive tone, which manages to avoid patronising older people and focuses instead on how the prejudices of employers, rigid company policies and inadequate pension schemes were making life difficult for the over-60s. Combining genuine footage - including some powerful clips of life in a poorhouse - with re-enacted scenes, and comments from politicians and reformers such as Thomas E. Dewey, this issue shows American society coming to terms with major demographic changes in the post-war years.
Related
Inside Nazi Germany Inside Nazi Germany
Documentary 1938 16 mins
A genuinely historic film, which caused much controversy at the time: the first commercially -released American motion picture to explicitly attack Hitler and Nazism.
Presidential Year Presidential Year
Documentary 1948 15 mins
‘Crisp and sincere’,‘carefully trained’ or ’resonant and vibrant’? Which voice would appeal to you if you had to pick the Republican candidate for the 1948 Presidential Election?
Great Britain Coronation Great Britain Coronation
Anthology 1937 24 mins
Weatherproof bunting, fog, clockwork dolls and a Hollywood exodus to London: this sideways look at preparations for the Coronation of George VI provides a wry American take on a very British ceremony.
Metropolis Metropolis
Documentary 1939 18 mins
This ode to New York from March of Time shows us how seven and half million people from every race and nationality in the world, live, work and play together in ‘the greatest metropolis of the New World’.
Irish Free State Irish Free State
Anthology 1936 23 mins
How Ireland turned herself into a self-sufficient powerhouse - plus a study of the "lunatic fringe" in US politics.
America Thinks It Over America Thinks It Over
Documentary 1939 17 mins
In a world on the verge of war, will America support the democracies of Europe, or turn inwards and embrace isolationism?
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.