Build Your Vocabulary (in the Ephemeral section of Open Video Project. Also, film #259 on Prelinger Archive). [Category: Educational]

Pete’s dad, Mr. Willis, has a problem (Pete doesn’t have a problem, which is unusual for a Coronet film). It seems that folks keep usin’ all these high-fallutin’ words around him, words like “explicit” and “anthology.” It darn near drives him nuts (in a very campy scene) until he starts writin’ in one a’ them-there vocabulary notebooks. Now he can finally understand what his wife is talking about! This is a very campy film. Its main character is pathetically stupid, so much so that you get the impression that the only thing keeping him in his job is the fact that he’s a white male. He even gets the book Fundamentals of Printing from the library to read for the first time––considering he works for a printing company this is probably a good idea. Good thing he’s not a doctor. This character, and the fact that an adult is portrayed as the clueless one for once, make this a unique and memorable Coronet film, prime for msting.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****.