Air date: February 9, 1962
Charles Whitley (Ernest Truex), an old man living in Sunnyvale Rest Home, gets depressed when his son visits and doesn't take him home like he said he would. After watching some children playing outside, Charles is struck with a sense of inspiration and believes he has discovered the secret of youth: if you act young, you become young. His childhood friend, the grumpy and cynical Ben Conroy (Russell Collins), regards this theory to be ridiculous. Charles starts horsing around and acting like a child, but the others tell him to cut it out or he'll risk being locked in an asylum. That night, Charles wakes the other residents and tells them his idea. While skeptical at first, they agree to try it, going out into the street to play the classic childhood game of kick-the-can. Charles asks Ben to join them, but Ben angrily refuses to participate in such foolishness. Charles tries to convince Ben to at least try something new, but Ben remains adamant, so Charles sadly goes out and joins the game.
Ben contacts the home's superintendent, Mr. Cox (John Marley), and asks him to help round up the rambunctious old people. They go out into the street to find several children playing kick-the-can. Mr. Cox chases the children away, but one of them stays behind to stare at Ben. Ben quickly recognizes him as a child version of Charles. Now believing that his friend was right, Ben begs little Charles for forgiveness and a second chance, but the former elder no longer recognizes him and runs away, leaving Ben in the dust. Mr. Cox comes back and tells Ben that he can't find the retirees anywhere, but Ben says they won't be found. He picks up the can and sadly walks back into the home, having paid the price for his disbelief.
Kick the Tropes:
- Adaptation Deviation: In the original episode, Charles is the one who suggests playing "Kick the Can" to makes him and the other residents young again, and all the formerly elderly people sans Ben choose to remain young. In the Twilight Zone: The Movie adaptation, newly-arrived resident Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) takes the place of Charles. After being children for only a short time, the residents, aside from Mr. Agee, ask to become old again. They do this for various reasons, with Mrs. Dempsey upset that she will relive her life without ever meeting her beloved husband Jack, Mrs. Weinstein not wanting to go through the pain of losing her loved ones all over again, and Mr. Mute not wanting to have to go through school all over again.
- Asshole Victim: Downplayed. Ben is more of a grump than an outright Jerkass, but as the only character who doesn't try acting like a child, he doesn't become young again.
- An Aesop: You're never too old to be young at heart.
- Bittersweet Ending: The majority of Sunnyvale's residents regress to children and flee the home to experience their newfound youth. Ben, however, is sadly left alone, the result of letting his grumpiness and common sense get the better of him.
- Canon Foreigner: Mr. Bloom, Mrs. Dempsey, and the Weinsteins are major characters of the segment in Twilight Zone: The Movie, but none of them appear in the original episode.
- Fountain of Youth: Charles convinces the other residents of Sunnyvale, with the exception of Ben, that playing kick-the-can in the street and generally acting like children is the key to recapturing their youth. When Ben and Mr. Cox investigate, Ben finds that Charles and the others have regressed to young children. After this transformation, the young Charles fails to recognize Ben, and runs off to join the others for more games.
- Gender Flip: In the original episode, Sunnyvale's administrator is Mr. Cox. In Twilight Zone: The Movie, it's Ms. Cox.
- Grumpy Old Man: Ben, who refuses to believe in Charles' magical idea of beoming young again, and as a result, does not turn back into a happy and innocent child.
- Here We Go Again!: In the film version, Mr. Bloom leaves Sunnyvale and travels to another rest home, eager to share the secret of youth with the residents within.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Charles and Ben have been best friends nearly their entire lives. When Charles turns back into a kid, he no longer recognizes his lifelong friend.
- Innocence Lost: Charles regrets that growing up means one has to let go of childhood games and beliefs, recalling how Ben once believed in magic. He thinks that people start growing old as soon as they stop playing these games. When he and the others begin playing, they turn back into young children, proving he was right all along.
- Missed the Call: Ben's failure to step out of his comfort zone and accept the unexplainable, even for a moment, bars him from joining the others in becoming young again.
- Real After All: Charles' belief in magic is proven to be right, as is how one can become younger by acting like a child.
- The Remake: This episode was remade as the second segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie, directed by Steven Spielberg.
- Scatterbrained Senior: Mr. Cox dismissively assumes Charles has become senile due to his childlike behavior, but this is far from the case. Some of the other residents may actually be undergoing it (as one of them recalls the same childhood memory twice in a row), but since they're all willing to indulge in a bit of fun with Charles for old time's sake, they turn out just fine in the end.
- Shout-Out: In the movie version, as Mr. Agee becomes young again, he pretends to be Robin Hood and the protagonist of The Black Pirate.
- Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: Ben stubbornly refuses to step out of his comfort zone and join his friends for a little bit of childish fun. As a result, when they become young children, Ben is stuck in Sunnyvale by himself.
- We Used to Be Friends: When he becomes a kid, Charles doesn't recognize Ben when he sees him again.
