Review: BOYS BEWARE / Sid Davis (1961)
February 25th, 2010 by Scott Marks
Another “Mayberry” moment up in flames.
Boys Beware (1961)
Produced by Sid Davis & the Inglewood, California Police Department and the Inglewood Unified School District
Starring: Sid Davis as Man at the public restroom and no one else of any consequence
Running Time: 10 min.
Rating: 
Sid Davis forged a career built on child exploitation. He was the Nancy Grace of his day, a man personally troubled over the well publicized 1949 rape and murder of a six-year-old girl. The incident hit close to home: Davis’ daughter had just turned six at the time and he was shocked to see how his own flesh and blood failed to heed warnings about getting in cars with Mr. Stranger Danger.
If it’s true that most great filmmakers spend their careers repeatedly making variations of the same movie, Davis’ blue plate boiler plate entry made its debut first film out of the gate. The 6’ 4” Davis worked as John Wayne’s stand-in from 1941 – 1952. Once the inspiration had germinated, Davis borrowed a grand from his old buddy The Duke to bankroll “The Dangerous Stranger” (1950), an episodic instructional short that follows the lives (and in some cases deaths) of numerous kidnapped children.
Davis peddled 16mm prints to schools, churches and police organizations and wound up taking home a whopping $250,000 for his effort! For the next ten years the prolific Mr. Davis gifted his audience, composed mainly of high school students and churchgoers, with dozens of filmed lessons, none shorter than ten minutes and none exceeding a half-hour. Each educational nugget was based on cautionary teenage adages: Don’t Take Drugs!, Don’t be a Gang Member!, Drive Safely! and Young Girls Shouldn’t Put Out! are just a few of the many topics Davis peddled.
Titles in his shorts catalog include “Skipper Learns a Lesson,” “Gang Boy” “What Makes Sammy Speed” and “Say No to Strangers” as well as his feature-length opus, “V.D.” (aka: “Damaged Goods”).
While it sounds like the title of a Three Stooges short, “Boys Beware” is a cautionary tale of rampant homophobia. Lacking the resources to afford the luxury of synchronous sound, Davis doled out information and infused his vision via wall-to-wall music and a narration track.
All of the background scores in these instructional shorts sound identical. Was there a sub-PRC recording studio that exclusively rented space to composers and orchestrators of music for educational films? The music doesn’t merely drive the narrative, it is the narrative! Listen to the playful flute and xylophone as they purposely mislead us for dramatic effect until the ominous violins take over and a child is violated.
Ralph!
Lt. Williams, working the day watch out of juvenile, acts as our on-screen POV, host and narrator. Much of what he says can be used as a guidebook for budding child molesters. Who knew that the quickest way to a young boy’s heart was hitchhiking? Let’s examine the case study of young Jimmy Barns. Too lazy to walk home after working up a sweat by participating in an all-boy sporting event, JB accepts a ride home from the balding, but virile Ralph. It was love at first sight. Notice Jimmy’s erect positioning in the passenger’s seat the first time Ralph gives him a lift and later stalks the lad to fill his head with smutty stories.
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Tags: boys beware, educational short, homosexual short, homosexuality, instructional film, Movie Review, short film, sid davisSean Gregory Smith gives EC his ‘Mixed Message’
October 30th, 2009 by Scott Marks
You never know where your next film is going to come from.
I met Sean Gregory Smith in the KPBS green room while waiting to tape this month’s Film Club. He seemed like a nice enough guy and we exchanged some amusing small talk before I was ushered into the studio.
The next day I received an email that began with, “I really dug your friendly personality.” Either he doesn’t get out much or he’s waiting to be fitted for a strait-jacket.
The letter went on to say, “I personally had weaseled my way into a studio tour in an attempt to make some connections over at KPBS for I’m currently looking for my next professional gig. I was the Morning Show Producer over KPRi 102.1FM here in San Diego for the past 5 years and then most recently my wife and I this past year had the opportunity to go do some volunteer work over in Thailand. We are now back in SD getting settled and all that jazz.”
Thailand? I barely make it past Lemon Grove, but something about his style appealed to me.
There was a postscript. When it comes to budding filmmakers there is always a postscript:
“As a film critic I would never waste your time and send you the following link however thought you might dig this little short film just because of the San Diego connection. It’s a little film that a buddy (director Jeffrey Durkin) and I put together this past year titled ‘Mixed Message.’ Dig! Until we meet again.”
I have said it before and I’ll probably say it again: I need to see another short film like I need a head in my hole, but I watched. To my surprise, he had me laughing and the film does a terrific job of capturing a certain sector of San Diego society. It’s beautifully put together and contains enough angst, profanity and contempt for humanity that I felt compelled to share it with you.
Thanks for wasting my time, Sean. It was a pleasure. Let’s do lunch, babe.
Click here for more info.
Tags: jeffrey durkin, mixed message, san diego movie, sean diego filmmaker, sean gregory smith, sean smith, short film, VideoFiled Under Uncategorized
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