Life Begins at 61, Jinsei wa rokujuichi kara (1941) dir. Torajiro Saito

This is the comedy of Entatsu and Achako, the great manzai (double act) artists who laid the foundations of modern shabekuri manzai (conversation manzai). Before the Pacific War, when the world was about to enter a bleak period, comedy films were a refreshing change for the common people. At a time when the average life expectancy was still around 70 years, 61 might have been seen as a step closer to God each day. Unfortunately, the film, originally 79 minutes long, has been reduced to a little more than 60 minutes because of the missing parts. However, for those of us who have reached the age of 60, it is an interesting glimpse into the sensibility of our mothers and fathers when they were young.