Boys Beware

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Boys Beware
Title card
Directed bySid Davis
Produced bySid Davis
Narrated byTimothy Farrell
Distributed bySidney Davis Productions
Release date
1961
Running time
10 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,000

Boys Beware is a 1961 dramatic short social guidance propaganda film released through Sid Davis Productions. It portrays and attempts to educate about an alleged danger to young boys from predatory homosexuals. The film was released under the copyright laws in the United States at the time of its release, but has lapsed into the public domain and is available from the Prelinger Archives.

Summary

stereotypical
depictions of gay pedophiles seen in the film

The film, shot partially in the

males.[1]

Aside from the film's early-1960s-influenced conclusion that homosexual men are inherently dangerous to young boys, the film has been noted for its unusual perception of police procedure: the first boy, named Jimmy Barnes, was supposedly playing a game of

pornographic pictures." Later, Jimmy is taken to a hotel with Ralph, presumably to be molested, and later reports the crime. The perpetrator is arrested; the victim is put on probation
.

Another incautious, unsuspecting boy, Mike, is seen playing a game of basketball with a group of friends while ignoring a man watching them. The group decides to leave, but Mike decides to stay and practice. The man then joins Mike, which is better than playing alone, according to Mike. Mike then decides to leave, and the stranger offers him a ride home. Mike accepts the offer, and enters the vehicle. Mike is supposedly killed that night, having "traded his life for a newspaper headline".

A third boy, Denny, is tricked into entering a man's car while he and his friend were sorting out newspapers. The car leaves, and the friend writes down the

licence plate
number. Denny's friend is later delivering papers and talks to Denny's mother, who is seen watering her lawn. Denny's mother decides to go inside and call the police. Right after Denny's mother called the police, the car is quickly spotted, and the stranger is arrested.

A fourth boy is Bobby, who was in a beachside restroom where he and his friends were changing. Bobby's friends decide to head for home together, while Bobby decides to take a "shortcut" under a pier. As Bobby is walking to the shortcut, he notices that a man, who was seen at the restroom, was following him. Bobby then waves to his friends, and runs to join them.

The film.

The film equates homosexuals with

mental illness
. True to the stereotypes of its time, the gay men in the film have mustaches, sunglasses and/or bow ties.

The film has other odd moments, probably the result of its $1,000 (equivalent to $10,196 in 2023) budget. Most notably, in the third scenario, the stranger is seen driving the same car (a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne) as the detective.[2]

Davis was friendly with the police in Southern California and would accept their suggestions of topics to make films about, allowing them to guide the films' message and development.

A full-color version of the film was made in 1973, titled Boys Aware, using the same script and soundtrack with different actors.[3] A third edition of the film was produced in 1979.[4]

Reception

In 1965 Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein recommended that high schools in Dade County, Florida, show the film to "prevent" homosexuality.[5]

Margalit Fox of The New York Times said in 2006 that the film was one of several of Sid Davis' films that "aged badly".[6]

In 2015, a Missouri high school teacher at

Raymore-Peculiar High School was suspended after showing Boys Beware to his students. He stated that he wanted to show what attitudes towards gay people had been like in previous eras.[5]

The film was played through and mocked on the November 28, 2005 episode of

The Opie & Anthony Show
, and became an occasional object of ridicule on the show thereafter.

A clip of the film was mocked in season 19 of the animated sitcom Family Guy.

Charles Ferruzza of The Pitch stated that "the situations in the film were pretty far-fetched by 1972 standards — though not as ridiculous as those in Marijuana".[7]

Film versions

  • Color version (1961)
  • 1973 remake, Boys Aware

See also

References

  1. ^ The Teenage Terror in the Schools - J Garrison - American Educational History Journal Volume 36, 2009
  2. ^ "Film Threat - the Bootleg Files: Boys Beware". Archived from the original on 2014-12-26. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
  3. ^ "Boys Aware". July 30, 1973 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ^ "BOYS BEWARE BEWARE". NCJRS Abstracts Database.
  5. ^ a b Hensley, Nicole (May 7, 2015). "Retiring Missouri teacher suspended after showing 1959 anti-gay 'Boys Beware' video to class". New York Daily News.
  6. ^ Fox, Margalit (November 9, 2006). "Sid Davis, 90, a Filmmaker of Cautionary Tales for Youth, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  7. ^ Ferruzza, Charles (May 5, 2015). "Boys Beware, the old 'guidance film' that got a Ray-Pec teacher suspended, still hilarious after all these years". The Pitch. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boys Beware.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Boys Beware.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Boys_Beware&oldid=1203479412"