This black and white 1951 educational classroom film produced by David A. Smart for Coronet Films provides instructional pointers on driver’s safety, using contemporary automobiles in a series of cautionary demonstrations on California roads (TRT: 10:42).
Opening titles: “A Coronet Film” and “Educational Collaborator A.R. Lauer, Ph.D., Director of the Driver Training Laboratory, Iowa State College” (0:06). Station wagons parked outside a roadside motor inn or motel lodge, “Waterman’s” (0:24). A 1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe drives away (0:38). Closeup on a young man, “Tom,” at the wheel of the automobile. He sports a slicked-back hairdo and a plaid shirt (0:46). A driver’s view of winding mountain roads. Hands on the steering wheel, a thumb sounds the horn. A blind curve (0:51). Shifting into a lower gear. Driving down a curving hill (1:06). A leather boot taps the brake pedal (1:22). The Chevy Styleline stops for a disabled vehicle with a dented fender. A young woman and her companion, holding a baby, are busy changing a flat tire, improperly using a jack. Our hero comes to the rescue with wood blocks (1:31). Back on the road, icy patches and snowy curves. Tall trees dot the mountainsides (2:10). The car pulls over at an icy patch. Chains are applied to the tires. A disabled 1940s “woody” station wagon is seen spinning its wheels along the snowy roadside (2:38). The owner of the woody places a burlap sack under a rear tire to create traction. The chains are demonstrated to be superior (3:06). A high-altitude mountain view above the treetops shows foggy driving conditions (3:33). The Chevy continues on with low beam headlights turned on. Driver’s POV: Thick fog and low-visibility (3:48). Tom turns on his windshield wiper blades. The high beam headlights of an oncoming car produce glare (4:10). The woody is seen pulled over on the shoulder, but still too close to the road. A 1930s Ford Model A roadster passes by (4:21). Tom squints his eyes. Rain on his windshield (4:35). Tom taps his car’s headlight footswitch for an oncoming car with its high beams on (5:03). A railroad crossing gate box (5:34). A Santa Fe diesel passenger locomotive #30 engine and passing cars. Tom wipes his fatigued eyes (5:43). The Styleline is seen parked in front of a roadside drive-in diner, “The Frontier” at a rest stop. Tom wipes his windows at night, then drives on (6:04). Night driving with illuminated headlights of oncoming traffic (6:30). Low visibility, then a guard rail with reflectors (7:02). Illuminated signs of distant rest stops: “Maple Furniture, Pianos” (7:45). An urban boulevard of neon signage: “Pig ‘n Whistle,” others (7:57). Desert driving on flat roads (8:14). Closeup on Tom’s speedometer and a temperature gauge running hot. Speed is reduced, and the car pulls over. His father wipes dust from his eye with a handkerchief (8:26). Tom slows down at an intersection to avoid collision with a passing car (9:28). Tom’s father takes a photograph of the car with rocky outcroppings in the background. Tom writes a postcard on the hood of his Chevy. Insert: “Dear Mother. Having a wonderful trip. I’m doing all the driving– so, don’t worry about us at all” (9:46). The Chevy Styleline drives into the distance (10:14). “The End” over Coronet Films logo (10:31).
Coronet films, frequently satirized for their wooden acting and often dry approach to educational content, operated from 1934 to 1984, producing hundreds of 16mm classroom shorts. They are best remembered for their contributions to the “social hygiene” movement of the mid-20th century.
