Top 10 Sid Davis Classroom Scare Films
Sid Davis' made about 150 educational films during the 50's and 60's.
They were shown in schools all over the country, but mostly aimed at White suburban teens (judging from the lack of non-Whites in them). If you grew up as a kid in the 70's or before that, you've probably seen some classroom scare films.
Some of Sid's most well-known films are the ones with the "stranger danger" theme. There's always a price to pay for carelessness and loose morals in Sid's films, which usually means a kid gets killed. The point of these films is to scare the bejeezus out of kids so they never forget the world is a dangerous place. I found these on Archive.org, which has some great stuff. Check out some of the early American propaganda films.Here's my list of Sid films and a brief description of each one.
1. Girls Beware (1961)
Mary dates Bob, an older boy, she meets at a "seemingly innocent place" like the local malt shop. She "complies with his desire" because she doesn't want to ruin their friendship or the "prestige she enjoys from her friends by having an older boyfriend." Mary ends up "in trouble" (pregnant) from Bob, and "is taken out of school and placed under the guidance of juvenile authorities." Older boys date teen-age girls because "they can't compete in their own age group" and are not "well-adjusted." The end result? "Heartache and disaster."
2. Boys Beware (1961)
In this film, there is no difference between a homosexual and a pedophile. Jimmy becomes friends with an older man named Ralph. When Ralph takes Jimmy fishing, he shows him pornographic pictures. Jimmy knows "he shouldn't be interested, but well, he was curious." What Jimmy didn't know was that Ralph was SICK. Not sick like small pox but just as "dangerous and contagious." You see, Ralph was a homosexual. He has a "sickness of the mind." Ralph takes Jimmy to interesting places, buys him presents, and gives him money; but "payment was expected in return." When Jimmy confesses to his parents about his friend, Ralph gets arrested and Jimmy is "released on probation in the custody of his parents." Be careful because "one never knows when a homosexual is about. He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill."
3. The Terrible Truth (1951)
If someone had told the narrator a few years earlier that "hundreds and hundreds of boys and girls" would become "hopeless dope addicts every year," he would have called that person crazy. Phyllis smokes "reefers" with her friends. She says, "it's funny what it does to you. Everything speeds up to 100 miles per hour" (personally, I always got the feeling of time slowing down, but that's just me). Chuck is the local reefers "peddler" who talks Phyllis into doing heroin and she gets hooked. "Some say the Reds are promoting dope trafficking in the U.S. to undermind national morale," says the narrator. "They did it in China a few years back. It's certainly true that the increased use of narcotics plays right into their hands." Hopefully this dope "fad' will soon go away though. No one dies in this film, but Chuck and Phyllis get arrested.
4. Skipper Learns a Lesson (1952)
5. Gossip (1953)
Bill gets a date with Jean, the pretty new girl at school. But, when he tries to kiss her on their first date, Jean slaps his face and his pride is hurt. "He was thinking that he'd have to get even." He spreads rumors around school that Jean is a slut (they don't actually say it, but they hint at it). Soon, the gossip "spreads like wildfire" and the entire school turns on her. She's even "blackballed" from the girl's club because they don't "want her kind of girl in their club." Jean finds out about the rumor and tells her parents that she wants to quit school; and strangely, her parents think she should quit too. But the principal calls Jack into his office and Jack confesses that he was the gossip. He even agrees to tell the other kids he lied. "The next day the whole student body realized what they had done to Jean. Now they wanted to make it up to her." Then Jean is popular again and it's a happy ending, but can you imagine if Jean did had sex with Jack? She would have had to quit school if anyone found out. No deaths in this one.
6. Gang Boy
If only Sid could see today's "gang boy" compared to the one in his film. The gang boy is a "symptom of a sickness in society." Latino Danny explains why he became a gang boy. He's poor and angry at the world, and was influenced by TV and comic books. He repeats the "angry at the world" bit often. Danny is really angry about racism, but instead of saying that, he says he feels inferior. When the Pepper Tree Gang (White gang) starts messing with them, they decide to do something about it, like become better members of the community. So, they form a club and prepare to put on a dance. We see Danny hanging up paper party streamers. But, right before the dance, one of Danny's boys runs into members of the Pepper Tree Gang and they shake his hand...a little TOO hard, and then the war is on. One of the boys from Danny's gang runs up to a Pepper Tree Gang member and soundly slaps him across the face. After a car chase, in which they're driving about 20 mph, the two gangs pull over and start fighting. The police chief breaks it up: "Okay boys, what's the beef?" After a second fight occurs, Danny realizes things have gone too far. He takes the advice of the wise police chief and agrees to a truce for the sake of his little brother. The police chief mediates a "democratic" meeting for "discussing their misunderstandings" and "arriving at a solution without further violence." Danny invites the other gang leader, Chuck, to his dance and Chuck accepts. The dance is a success and there is no more violence between the gangs after that. In fact, the Pepper Tree gang leader decides to start his own club and have dances. Later, Danny and his little brother go out and donate canned food to the poor and needy. One kid dies in this one when he falls off a cliff.
The narrator tells kids that, "More children are crippled or killed by accidents in their home or neighborhood than all the diseases like polio, TB, and heart trouble put together. Tell that to your mom and dad tonight. They'll really be surprised." Just for fun, Johnny divebombs a kid in a swimming pool. Two seconds later the kid is floating dead in the water. I laughed for three minutes straight after that scene. Yeah, I have that kind of humor. It turns out he's not really dead though, just unconscious. Then, David wants to build a campfire, but can't get it started so he gets this HUGE can of gasoline and pours it on. Next you see him in the hospital with his entire head bandaged, except for two little eye holes and a mouth hole. That made me laugh too. I know it's not supposed to be funny, but it is! Then a kid jumps off a house and breaks his leg. Another gets hit by a car. Bob & Ed go canoeing and Ed makes Bob fall in the water. Bob almost drowns, but Ed remembers what he learned in boy scouts and throws him a life-jacket. But only after pointing and laughing at Bob first. Be extra careful when you're playing with a gun too. Wait, what are these kids doing with guns?? Anyway, a kid gets a piece of glass in his eye when another kid shoots a glass bottle. A little girl runs with scissors and impales herself. A boy falls off a cliff (same footage on Gang Boy). The narrator tells us he was very lucky he wasn't seriously hurt. He is lucky because when you see him falling down the cliff hitting every rock and ledge he passes, you'd think he'd be dead. It sure killed the kid in Gang Boy.
Sometimes boys and girls get kidnapped, raped, and killed and then their parents never see them again. You wouldn't want to do that to your folks, would you? Kids who act like "wiseguys" are the ones who will end up with these fates. So if that happens to you, it's your own fault. It's more of the same theme as some of Sid's other films, but still worth watching. So did a lot of kids hitchhike in the 50's? "Even if the driver doesn't mean any harm, and you're just plain lucky if he doesn't, he may be a reckless driver or speeder. His car might have bad brakes." A group of kids hitch a ride with a man. When they stop, all the kids get out, but the man holds onto a little girl and speeds off. "Well these kids aren't going to be so lucky. Too bad. They asked for trouble and they're getting it." Next, the Dodos, a few animated characters are introduced. Dodos are basically dumb kids with dunce caps and buck teeth who ignore their parents' advice and go off with strangers. "Do you know what a Dodo is? It's an extinct bird. That means it isn't alive anymore. That's the way this Dodo is going to be...extinct" (referring to a kid in the film).
9. One Got Fat (1963)
This is about bicycle safety. Ten kids dressed up as monkeys make a 9-block trip to the park for a picnic. As they make their journey, each kid gets eliminated (killed) for disobeying the rules of bicycle safety. Strangely, even after a kid is killed, the others just continue on with their ride. One of the kids Mossby, doesn't have a bike so he has to jog beside the others. His crime was not getting a bicycle license, so he ends up with fallen arches. That was funny. How many kids get fallen arches from running?? At least he lives though. Two kids riding double fall down a manhole. One gets run over by a steam roller and you hear a splat noise. Orville is the only one to make it to the park alive, and since he was carrying all the other kids' lunches, he gets to eat them all himself; hence, the title. Cheery music plays throughout, even when a kid dies. It turns out in the end, three kids end up in the hospital, bandaged head to toe, so I guess only six actually died.
10. Big Man on Campus (1958)
The moral message here is to respect authority, obey the rules, and don't ever be a rebel. It will have serious consequences. The campus is actually a junior high school. Jerry Warner is in BIG trouble. The vice-principal is about to "make a decision that will affect Jerry's whole future." Jerry may get suspended from school. His crimes include: running in the hall, chucking a milk carton at a girl and then blaming it on someone else, almost getting in a fight, getting an F on a homework assignment, and stopping at Dino's pizza instead of going straight home after school. He's only trying to impress the other kids, but finds out that no one is impressed with a kid who doesn't obey the rules. Jerry worries, "I felt like I was losing my reputation for being a big man." To prove to the others he's still the big man, he pulls the worst prank of all. He sneaks into a classroom and spraypaints a teacher's lab coat and gets busted. Luckily, he gets another chance after admitting he should respect authority and stop being rebellious. For then on, he vows to become a good little conformist who doesn't question adult rules and decisions.
