The year was 1951 and Susie Jane was struggling to fit in at school. While everyone else was planning dances and hanging out at the malt shop, Susie was standing off to the side, quietly. Why was Susie Jane such an outsider? Was it the fault of her peers or was it her fault for being such a nonconformist?
This educational short, from Young American Films, puts most of the blame on Susie. Yes, the film suggests, her classmates could have made more of an effort to include her. But Susie also should have made more of an effort to fit in and she shouldn’t have been so quick to assume that everyone was against her. Susie might think that Marcy is only calling the house to taunt her but Marcy is actually calling because she feels guilty and obligated.
The short film may feel like one of the films that Herk Harvey made before directing Carnival of Souls but this film was actually directed by Arthur Wolf. The narrator, I have to say, is a bit of a jerk and spends the entire film talking down to Susie. Susie’s having a hard enough time without having to put up with all of that! That said, the film also takes a very 1950s approach to the issue of fitting in. Susie’s an outside because she’s shy. No consider is paid to the idea that maybe Susie just isn’t interested in doing the same thins as everyone else.
That means that it’s time to start thinking about what you want to make of yourself this year. What are you going to do? What are you going to accomplish? How are you going to make yourself proud of who you’ve become?
There’s a lot of movies coming out. Maybe you’ll go to them. Or maybe you’ll be the person who spends all of their time on twitter, tweeting about how scared you are of going back to the theaters. Both options come with their risks and their rewards.
There’s a celebrity edition of Big Brother airing in February. Maybe you’ll watch it. Maybe you’ll blog about it, because you like getting paid more than your dislike the show. Or maybe you’ll spend all of your time on twitter, talking about how much you hate reality TV.
2022 is an election year. Maybe you’ll run for office. Maybe you’ll volunteer to work for a campaign. Maybe you’ll spend all of your time on twitter, tweeting about how people need to vote for your candidate. Maybe you’ll come up with the hashtag that changes the course of the election! Maybe you’ll hang out in the paring lot of Whataburger, waiting for Beto to toll by.
Or maybe….
Eh.
You’re not going to do anything.
Let’s be honest, most of us are very lazy and we have absolutely no idea how lucky we are compared to people who lived just a few decades ago. We take a lot of things for granted and we waste a lot of time doing nothing, precisely because we can do just about anything that we want.
(Of course, in my case, I’m have ADHD. I spend a lot of time doing things but usually, I end up trying to do them all at once. Reading a book and watching a TV at the same time is not difficult but when you also try to vacuum the living room while doing those other two things, it starts to get a little bit more difficult. Still, my super power is ADHD and I’m thankful.)
Well, fear not! A short film from Coronet Films has traveled all the way from 1950 to encourage you to make better use of your leisure time! Why …. that’s even the name of the film! Better Use of Your Leisure Time follows a good-for-nothing, spoiled teenager named Ken as he learns why spending all of your time moping is perhaps the worst thing that you can do. With the help of a judgmental narrator and the ability to see alternative universes, Ken learns an important lesson. There’s no hope with mope! Ken discovers that some people actually have hobbies and spend their free time creating and learning and being a decent citizen. It’s an important lesson and hopefully, it’s one that Ken will remember the next time that someone tells him that moping is no big deal.
Anyway, as far as Coronet Educational Films go, this one isn’t bad. Ken is a bit of a loser but that’s to be expected of these type of films. It’s very much a product of its era and, if nothing else, it stands as evidence that people wasted time even before the internet existed. TAKE THAT, LUDDITES!
The much-missed Gary Loggins loved Halloween and he loved the old, frequently cartoons from the 1930s. He was a particular fan of the Fleischer Brothers so it only seems right that today, on Halloween, we should share one of those cartoons. Here is 1930’s Swing You Sinners.
In this bizarre cartoon, a dog named Bimbo attempts to steal a chicken. After the police chase him into a cemetery, Bimbo is confronted by ghosts, demons, and apparently death. Shockingly, there is no escape offered in this film. Abandon all hope!
I guess chicken theft was a really huge problem in 1930.
Tomorrow, we will be sharing the classic film Carnival of Souls. That means that today, it’s for us to show our last Herk Harvey short film of the 2021 Horrorthon. And appropriately enough, it’s all about Halloween!
This short film was made in 1977, long after the release of Carnival of Souls. In it, safety tips are offered up to make sure that all the kids have a safe Halloween. Make sure you can see clearly, even if you’re wearing a mask. Don’t wear dark clothing. Grab a flashlight. Don’t trick or treat alone! Hey, it’s all good advice. And Herk Harvey seems like someone who knew a little something about having a good Halloween!
From 1977, here’s some lessons on Halloween Safety!
Since I’m going to be sharing Herk Harvey’s Carnival of Souls on Saturday, I’ve been preparing by showing some of the short films that Harvey directed before and after making his only feature. 1980’s Shake Hands With Danger was actually one of Harvey’s final films and, needless to say, it came out long after Carnival of Souls.
This short film is all about being safe while working with heavy machinery. If Candace Hilligoss had shown more caution, she wouldn’t have had to shake hands with danger in Carnival of Souls. See, it’s all connected! Welcome to the Herkiverse.
For today’s Herk Harvey-directed Blast From The Past, we have the 1957 short film, None For The Road. Produced by Centron, this was a film that was meant to make motorists aware of the dangers involved in drinking and driving. It’s a good message and, for once, the judgmental tone of the film is deserved. This isn’t about telling people not to have fun in school. This is about teaching people not to kill people through their own drunken stupidity! It may not be quite as effective as some of the Australian anti-drinking and driving commercials that I’ve seen but still, it’s a worthwhile message.
It’s also about a scientist who gets rats drunk so he can test their balance. That’s kind of weird and seems unnecessary but I guess maybe people were less aware of the dangers of excessive drinking in the 50s.
On another note, even though some of the college students in this film drink too much, I do appreciate their attempts to dress up before going out. They’re making an effort to get used to wearing a tie voluntarily before being forced to wear one at the office and I respect both their initiative and their understanding that the course of their life is already so predestined that they might as well be supporting characters in a Paul Schrader movie.
Of course, I would be amiss if I didn’t point out that, in its portrait of the road as being a path that can lead to either happiness or death, this short film shares a theme with Herk Harvey’s one feature film, Carnival of Souls. The drunken college kids in this film could be the same people we see harassing Candace Hilligoss at the start of Carnival of Souls. We’ll be sharing Carnival of Souls on Saturday.
Jean is at the center of The Procrastinator, a short educational film from 1952. Jean has a history of putting stuff off and letting down her friends, her parents, her peers, and probably the entire state of Kansas as well. Still, despite the fact that Jean has repeatedly shown that she can’t be trusted with any responsibility, her fellow students decide to give her some responsibility. When Jean continues to procrastinate, they all get mad at her but you know what? Is it really Jean’s fault that they gave her a job that she obviously couldn’t handle?
What I’m saying is stop being so judgmental! Everyone has their own way. Some people get things done early. Some people wait until the last minute. And then there are people like me who make plans to do everything early but who still end up waiting until the last second regardless. For example, my original plan for this year was to write all of my Horrorthon reviews in May and June and then spend October in a state of blissful relaxation. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. But, to be honest, I kind of enjoy the pressure of having to get things done at the last minute. I do my best work under pressure, I think.
Now, if you’re wondering why I’m sharing this video in October, it’s because this film was directed by Herk Harvey. Harvey made a career out of directing short educational films but, to horror audiences, he’s best known for directing a classic horror film called Carnival of Souls. Carnival of Souls is a film that I’ll be sharing in a few days. On the surface, The Procrastinator may not appear to have much in common with Carnival of Souls. However, I think you can compare Jean’s refusal to do things in a timely fashion to Candace Hilligoss’s refusal to accept the reason for why she keeps seeing ghosts following her everywhere she goes. So, in way, both of these films take place in the same universe. Call it the Herkiverse.
A few days ago, we observed the birthday of Donald Pleasence, a great actor who became a horror icon with his performance as Dr. Sam Loomis in Halloween. However, 5 years before a generation of filmgoers first met Dr. Loomis, Donald Pleasence played a wine connoisseur-turned murderer on a classic and much acclaimed episode of the classic detective show, Columbo.
Largely due to the battle of wits between Donald Pleasence and Peter Falk — two of the best character actors of their generation — Any Old Port In A Storm has come to be seen as one of the best episodes ever of this still much-beloved detective show. This episode originally aired on October 7th, 1973, just two days after Pleasence’s birthday. Today, on the 48th anniversary of the episode’s airing, the Shattered Lens is proud to share Donald Pleasence and Peter Falk in Any Old Port In A Storm!
If you’re having a hard time getting started today, why not have some coffee with Boris Karloff? From 1966, here is Boris Karloff for Butternut coffee:
In this short film from 1958, the high school press club is thrown into chaos when their faculty sponsor selects Ben Curtis to be the editor-in-chief of the school paper.
Bob Stevens can’t believe it, because Ben doesn’t have an outgoing personality and he doesn’t come from a rich family. Ben, himself, is shocked because he feels like all of the other students are snobs who have no interest in being friendly. But the teacher sees something in Ben.
Can everyone learn to understand each other and put out a worthy school paper? Luckily, there’s a narrator present to encourage everyone to set aside their differences and …. understand. Just in case we miss the film’s message, the same event is shown to us three separate times from three different points of view.
This film was directed by Herk Harvey. Harvey directed a ton of educational films in the 50s and 60s. However, he’s best known for directing one of the most important horror films of all time, Carnival of Souls! I’ll be sharing Carnival of Souls tomorrow. For now, try to understand others.
Through the Shattered Lens 