Produced by the Forest Service in 1952, this short film tells the story of Smokey the Bear, the iconic U.S. Forest Service’s iconic representative for wildfire prevention. Despite the common belief that Smokey was named after a burned orphan bear cub, the opposite it actually true. During WWII, the Forest Service began a public information campaign, to try to prevent wildfires. The 1942 campaign featured Disney characters from the film Bambi, but the characters were only allowed to be used for one year. A new symbol was needed, and a bear character chosen featuring the name Smokey. This was adopted from “Smokey” Joe Martin, a famous NYFD firefighter who suffered severe burns in a heroic 1922 rescue. In 1950, a 3-month-old black bear cub with burned paws and hind legs was discovered in New Mexico in the wake of the Capitan fire. The cub initially was named Hotfoot Teddy by rescuers, but he was later renamed Smokey after the iconic bear of the advertising campaign. The Wartime Advertising Council (later the Ad Council) coined the famous Smokey slogan: “Remember … only YOU can prevent forest fires.”
This film begins with a brief PSA featuring an animated Smokey, before showcasing Eddy Arnold performing a song written by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins, “Smokey the Bear”. Some of the lyrics include: “Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear, Prowlin’ and a-growlin’ and a-sniffin’ the air. He can find a fire before it starts to flame, That’s why they call him Smokey.” Arnold’s audience includes Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. At 5:13, another PSA includes a special plea for smokers, asking them to snuff cigarettes and matches, and at 5:58, another PSA reminds viewers that only 10% of forest fires are naturally caused, with the rest being caused by humans. At 6:50, another PSA shows proper methods of burning trash and brush.
We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
