Reviews of film ephemera, including such things as educational films, industrial films, military and propaganda films, tv commercials, movie trailers, shorts, experimental films, and movies made for non-mainstream audiences.
Jimmy Stewart narrates this real weeper of a driver’s ed film from the 40s. We are introduced to five “ordinary people,” one of which will die in a car accident before the day is over. At one point, Stewart apologizes for the next scene, but there is no gore in it, just footage of a burning car. It wouldn’t be until the 60s that driver’s ed films would bring up your lunch. Instead, this uses soap opera tactics, dragging out the suspense of finding out which character ends up dead, showing all their family members worrying and twisting their hands. Is it the jerky rich white guy who dies? The teen hot-rodder? The poor-but-lovable ethnic gardener? No, it’s the one that jerks the most tears. Stewart’s presence makes this more interesting than it might be, but it’s not nearly as much fun as Tomorrow’s Drivers.
