This black and white 1949 educational short from Encyclopedia Britannica Films, directed by Warren P. Everote in collaboration with Anton J. Carlson, M.D., Scientific Director for the Research Council on Problems of Alcohol, offers a summary of effects and dangers of alcohol consumption for a post-war audience. The early “scare” film ultimately concludes that alcohol is a “potential menace to community safety” (13:43).
Opening Titles: “Appreciation for this film print is acknowledged to: “Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Ontario, California. Alcohol,” the E.B. films logo, “Alcohol and the Human Body” (0:08). Ethyl Alcohol is poured from a beaker into a labeled chemist’s glass. Fields of wheat blowing in the wind (0:40). An illustration of a bottle of beer (1:10). Farmers toss bushels of grapes into the back of a pickup truck. An illustration of a bottle of wine appears over grapes in closeup (1:29). Samples of wheat and grapes ferment in beakers (1:50). Glass beakers in a chemistry set demonstrate the process of distillation by which whiskey is created from fermented and heated corn mash. Vapors become dripping liquid. An illustration of a bottle of whiskey (2:29). The three bottles, shown side-by-side, with diagonal lines representing their respective alcohol contents (3:15). An animated illustration of a man in cross-section reveals the digestive system. Dots representing alcohol fill the stomach, capillaries, intestines.The liver processes the alcohol dots (3:38). A representation of acetic acid with white dots, flowing to the heart. In a full view, we see the blood flowing to other parts of the body (4:44). Oxidized Acetic acid is burned off by the liver (5:40). The black and white dots representing alcohol reach the illustration of the brain. A graph shows a darkened judgement center (6:47). A woman is shown smiling in a relaxed state. A key fumbles for the ignition of an automobile (8:03). A man in profile. A blurred view of cars entering an intersection (8:30). An unconscious man’s head in profile. Gradually, the illustration of the brain processes the alcohol. The man regains consciousness. A wider shot reveals a sobering man waking up against a brick wall in an alley. He staggers away wearing a suit, tie, and hat (9:03). A steak dinner with peas, salad, and milk appears, surrounded by flashing letters representing the various vitamins in a balanced meal. Pan to ethyl alcohol, which has no vitamins, only calories (10:07). An alcoholic leans against a telephone pole with a bottle. Another man sits in a doorway, drinking. Later, the man sleeps. Fade to the same man in a hospital, under a doctor’s care (10:49). An eye check. A blood pressure check for the alcoholic patient. A nurse brings a meal (11:45). The man leaves the hospital, doffing his hat to a man in a suit (12:49). Drinkers in profile, previous scenes in review. End titles (13:01).
According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use is responsible for more than 95,000 deaths in the United States each year. Alcoholism is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States.
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