Search - Atomic Age Classics, Vol. 2: Hygiene, Dating & Delinquency on DVD

Worth it just for "Any Boy, USA"!

Mark Shanks | Portland, OR | 08/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's a great selection of those preachy, creaky old "educational" flicks on this disc, but the knock-out punch HAS to be the last one, "Any Boy, USA". Filmed in 1953 and funded by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, it features a "country boy" (complete with bib overalls and checkered shirt) who has "just graduated from the 8th grade" and has a hankerin' to see the Big City. (As WC Fields put it, "The city is no place for a woman, but lots of pretty men go-hooo thar.") "William Blake" (the boy, in an eerie reminder of Jarmusch's "Dead Man") doesn't get 50 yards from the front door when he runs into....."Mr. Whiskey"! (Gasp!) Mr. Whiskey is either an astonishingly good method actor or (as I suspect) went to the Brian Donleavy School for Sodden Actors. He slurringly bemoans how he loses all of his friends ('cuz they kinda die on him), and how he has trouble meeting new ones because, you see, no one drinks: pilots, cabbies, firemen, sailors - NO one drinks! (Geee, is that true?) He and William Blake somehow make it to the "city" (which looks like Dresden the day after the big raid, down to the burning buildings), where they meet "The Derelict" (as the credits call him), who is one of Mr. Whisky's remaining friends - sort of. I can't imagine who the intended audience for this was. It is simply one of the MOST bizarre "educational" flicks I have ever seen, both in concept and in execution. The MST folks would have had a field day with it. There's also "Going Steady", which warns of the perils of going steady but not KNOWING it (????), "Unto Thyself Be True", where the police have religious counselors to sort out family problems before they get serious, "Getting Along With Parents" (just do what they say, or else), "Body Care and Grooming", aimed at COLLEGE-aged typical 30-year-old teenagers, and "Name Unknown", where every stranger is a sex-crazed killer.

What a collection, and the quality is as good as you remember, too ;-) This is definitely a riffer's paradise. All I can add is, I HOPE they don't make 'em like THIS any more!"

Fond memories of health class

joseph Corey | Raleigh, NC United States | 12/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you enjoyed educational films when you were in health class, you'll get a warm feeling watching these movies explain away life's complex problems in systemic simplicity. It's amazing how these profressionals can make us seem so stupid.

The folks at AV Geeks have provided a fine selection of health films. You will learn how to properly bathe yourself. Remember to use soap!"