Tag Archives: educational film

A Blast From The Past: The Show-Off (dir by Herk Harvey)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I’ve stated in the past, I have a weakness for creepy old educational films.  1954’s The Show-Off is one of the creepiest.

The Show-Off begins with a creepy schoolgirl, who appears to have wandered right out of the pages of a Stephen King novel, staring straight at the camera and asking us for our help.  It seems that a young sociopath named Jim has been giving the junior class a bad name.  We watch as Jim disrupts a class preparing for a history class.  In horror, we witness him disrupting rehearsals for the school play.  By the end of the film, Jim is intentionally tripping his fellow students and, worst of all, hanging an unauthorized banner that reads, “Yay!  Juniors!”

As the creepy girl asks us, “what would you do about the Show-off?  What would you do?”

Judging from stark grayness of the school and the bizarrely blank faces of most of the students, I imagine Jim was probably sent to Room 23 and forced to watch a Dharma Initiative video.  (Ah, Lost.  How I miss you…)

Like a lot of educational films from the 1950s, this one was directed by Herk Harvey.  Harvey would later go on to direct the classic horror film, Carnival of Lost Souls.  The Show-Off shares its odd, dream-like atmosphere with Carnival of Lost Souls.  I’m not sure if that’s intentional on Harvey’s part or if it’s just the fact that 50s were apparently a very creepy time.

Without further ado, here is Herk Harvey’s The Show-Off.

A Blast From The Past: Perversion For Profit

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s blast from the past comes to us from the Citizens For Decent Literature, Inc.  Originally made and released back in 1965, this 30-minute film features a deep-voiced authority figure explaining the dangers of adult magazines and sordid paperbacks.

How can I put into words how much I love this little piece of politically incorrect  Americana?

It’s just so 1965.

A Blast From The Past: Duck and Cover

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Let’s face facts.  We live in a scary world and it’s not getting any safer.  However, before we all give up on the future, maybe we should take a look at the past.  With that in mind, it’s my pleasure to share the 1951 educational short film Duck and Cover.  

Seriously, if Bert the Turtle can survive then I think there might be hope for us all…

This is the epitome of one of those things that simply has to be seen to be believed.  That said, if I was a child in the 50s, I think Duck and Cover would have provided me with some comfort.  After all, Bert is just so cute and the Duck and Cover song is kinda catchy.

A Blast From The Past: Control Your Emotions (1950)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Occasionally, I like to use the Shattered Lens as a place to share old educational films from the 50s, 60, and 70s.  This is because 1) these films serve as time capsules to a past that often seems implausible to us today, 2) occasionally they still have important lessons to teach, and 3) they make excellent filler whenever I find myself running behind on whatever else I may have been planning on posting.

Take, for instance, the following film from 1950.  In Control Your Emotions, we watch as a creepy psychologist discusses why a typical teenager named Jeff is incapable of controlling his rage.  Watching the film today, it seems pretty apparent that Jeff’s main problem is that he’s kind of stupid and just a jerk in general.  However, that really doesn’t seem to set him apart from everyone else in this short film.  Whether he’s dealing with his insensitive friends or a family that seems to have little use for him, it’s obvious that Jeff is doomed to live a life of disappointment and simmering resentment.

Let’s just hope that he can control his emotions because, honestly, Jeff looks like he’s about to snap under the weight of emotional repression and suburban conformity…

In case the video above isn’t working, here’s another upload of Control Your Emotions:

 

A Blast From The Past: Dating (1970)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I may have mentioned a few times in the past, I am secretly a huge history nerd.  I am fascinated by the past and I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to learn about the past is to watch movies that were specifically made to be shown to the children and teenagers of the past.  I’m talking, of course, about educational films.

Take, for instance, this oddly dark little gem from 1970: Dating.

Dating may, on the surface, appear to just be an educational film about teen dating but I think it’s actually a portrait of generational ennui, envy, and repression.  It also features some vintage 70s fashion, dancing, and perhaps the most dreary party in the history of dreary parties.  If nothing else, this film shows that while the customs may change, the drama remains the same.  

Before there was Degrassi, there was Dating!

A Blast From The Past: Curious Alice (1968)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, early this morning, Jeff and I went down to the AMC Valley View, located at Valley View Mall in Dallas, Texas.  We went down there so that we could see the new Brad Pitt film, Killing Them Softly.  I was really looking forward to seeing this film because I’ve read several positive reviews and, after taking most of November off, I’m ready to get back to my usual routine of reviewing several films  a week.  Killing Them Softly seemed like the perfect film for me to begin my December review cycle with.

Unfortunately, within minutes of us taking out seats in the theater, an alarm suddenly went off, the lights started to flash, and an automated voice ordered us to not only leave the theater but do so in an orderly fashion as well.

Yes, that’s right.  Somebody pulled a fire alarm and, as a result, no one got to see a movie at Valley View this morning.  Jeff and I were given two re-admit passes for our trouble.

(On the plus side, the entire staff of AMC Valley View handled the situation calmly and professionally and, if you’re reading this AMC CEO, they all deserve a huge raise.)

Now, at first, we thought we’d just hang out around the theater until the next showing of Killing Them Softly.  In between people watching with Jeff and updating my Facebook status, I did some pointe work and attempted to introduce the disgruntled AMC patrons to the beauty of ballet.

Unfortunately, most of them didn’t care  and since, between the two of us, Jeff and I have a combined attention span of 4 minutes, we quickly got bored and decided that we would use our passes to catch Killing Them Softly later this week.

Instead, we went back to my place and we investigated the DVR, searching for some hidden gem of entertainment.  Believe it or not, we found it.  The 1968 anti-drug educational film Curious Alice was on TCM last night and, wisely, I set the DVR to record it.

Seriously, you have to watch this:

A Blast From The Past: The Gossip (1955)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Last week, I shared The Snob, an educational film from 1958.  Today’s short film — 1955’s The Gossip — is from the same people who gave us The Snob and it has also become something of a personal obsession of mine.  While it’s not as intense as the Snob, the Gossip is still a pretty accurate look at the type of people that every girl has had to deal with at some point in her life.  If nothing else, The Gossip was the Mean Girls of its day.

(That said, it’s interesting to note that, in the 50s, all the gossip centered on who was cheating on tests as opposed to who was cheating on who.)

Like The Snob, The Gossip was directed by Herk Harvey and stars Vera Stough.

A Blast From The Past: The Snob (1958)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I love watching the old educational films from the 1950s.  Whether they are dealing with the threat of outside agitators, the need for families to eat dinner together, or the importance of obsessive grooming, these films often provide an interesting view into the past.

(Though, as far as I’m concerned, obsessive grooming is a theme that will never get old.)

Two weeks ago, I first came across The Snob on YouTube.  In the days since I first saw it, this 13-minute educational film has become something of an obsession of mine.  Some of this is because this film deals with a universal subject.  Though I don’t think I’ve ever been a snob, I’ve certainly known a few.  Even more importantly, everyone in this film is just so intense.  If Edward Albee wrote an educational film, it would have been a lot like The Snob.

Also, is it just me or is the kitchen scene between Sarah and her father kind of creepy?

A Lesson From The Past: A Date With Your Family (1950)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today’s lesson from the past comes from 1950.  Harry Truman was in the White House, UN peacekeepers were in Korea, and Gloria Swanson was killing William Holden on Sunset Boulevard.  Meanwhile, the American family was apparently built upon a foundation of repression, conformity, and good table manners.

Or, at least, that’s the impression that one gets from watching A Date With Your Family. 

A Date With Your Family is a 10 minutes education film that was apparently meant to encourage families to eat more and talk less.  Not only does this film explain the importance of the family dinner but it also makes several other relevent points.  For example:

1) “Pleasant, unemotional discussion helps digestion.”

2) “With your own family, you can relax.  Be yourself.  Just make sure it’s your best self.”

3) “These boys greet their Dad as though they were genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed him”

This film also explains the importance of looking “pleasant” for your husband when he gets home from a hard day at the office, of not spending too much time on the phone, and of not talking about anything that might upset the family’s patriarchal unit. 

Personally, my favorite moment is when “Daughter” won’t stop talking at the dinner table and the rest of her family gives her the exact same look that my older sisters always used to give me.

A Warning From The Past: Joy Ride: An Auto Theft (1976)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I’ve mentioned in the past how much I love the old “educational” film from the past that were designed to keep stupid people from doing stupid things, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, attempting to steal copper wiring, or driving too fast without a license.

That last issue is the one that is dealt with in the 1976 short film (and time capsule), Joy Ride.  In Joy Ride, two teenagers go to a little league game, have an existential crisis, steal a car, talk about the inherent weirdness of names, and play lots and lots of pinball.

It’s easy to make fun of a film like Joy Ride but I have to admit that I’m strangely fascinated by this short film.  Between the ennui-soaked conversation of the two protagonists and the frequent use of jump cuts and zooms, it’s hard not to feel that if Jean-Luc Godard ever made a driver’s ed film, it would look something like Joy Ride.  

I also have to admit that I enjoyed the use of the “You broke my car so I broke your jaw,” song.