Sid Davis Productions presents “The Bottle and The Throttle,” produced with the cooperation of the Culver City Police Department and the Culver City Unified School District in 1961. This short film depicts the potential dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. The film incorporates statistics compiled by the National Safety Council and American Medical Association. 0:39 A young man wearing a flannel (“Bill”) sits on a grassy lawn, looking forlorn. A group of neighbors surround the site of an accident, and a police car approaches. The bodies of a young woman and her child are covered by blankets on the sidewalk. Police roll out a stretcher, and an officer approaches Bill. As the officer escorts Bill, he pauses in front of the woman’s body on the stretcher. She opens her eyes and looks up at Bill. The ambulance takes the mother and child away, their sirens blaring. 1:49 Bill is escorted to a patrol car. In the backseat, his date is seen with smeared eye makeup and disheveled hair. The officer conducts a breathalyzer test as Bill’s date watches and cries. 2:40 Closeup of a bottle of pure ethyl alcohol. A man stands in front of a diagram of a human body, highlighting the circulatory system, the stomach, and the liver. Closeup of a measuring cup holding 3/8 ounces of alcohol. Closeup of ¾ of a shot glass and a Budweiser bottle. The man points to the blood stream on another chart, highlighting the frontal lobe of the brain. 3:29 A man drives along a highway. POV of the driver rapidly approaching the car in front of him. The driver passes the car while another vehicle approaches head on. The man slams on his brake and swerves out of the way. The man waits at a traffic light, checking his watch impatiently. As the light changes to green, the driver behind yells at him to hurry. 4:49 The camera distorts and blurs on a scene of highway traffic, indicating tunnel vision. The screen slowly darkens. The driver struggles to focus his eyes. 5:45 He swerves into the lane of oncoming traffic. The film cuts back to the shot glass and bottle of Budweiser. A clock passes the time. 6:13 Scenes from a traffic accident, with one vehicle overturned. A car is pulled by a tow truck, unlatching it from the overturned vehicle. The overturned car is slowly moved upright and is towed away. 6:41 A bartender prepares a cocktail. A man sips his martini and ashes his cigarette. Closeup of the ashtray filled with cigarette butts and the camera pans out to the man finishing another drink. He pays his bill and leaves. He gets into his car and puts his key in the ignition. He pulls out of the driveway and is nearly T-boned by an approaching vehicle. 7:52 Cut back to Bill drinking a can of beer on a grassy lawn, accompanied by a group of friends. They’re having a good time at the beach, young people are playing basketball in the background. Bill and his date leave their friends and drive down a residential road. Bill passes the car ahead of him, crossing the center divider, and swerves back into his lane. Blurry POV shot from the car as the mother crosses the street with her child. Bill sees them and slams on the brakes. Closeup of the mother’s face in shock as the car approaches her. The narrator informs us the mother survives but her young child dies in the accident. 9:17 The officer finishes the sobriety test. Bill and his date are upset and ashamed. They are driven away in the patrol car, followed closely by a second policeman on a motorcycle.

Sidney “Sid” Davis was a prolific director and producer of “scare” films aimed at keeping youth away from drugs and alcohol and other dangers. His first film The Dangerous Stranger was funded by actor John Wayne, encouraged children to be cautious about interacting with strangers. His most infamous film most Boys Beware, targeted boys and attempted to make them aware of the existence of predatory pedophiles and homosexuals (a group which, in that era, was viewed as dangerous).

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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