The Bottle and the Throttle (1961)'s comments

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Minkin

There appears to also be a colorized version of the 1961 version, so seeking a black and white copy is the safest route. Both films are Sid Davis Productions and revolve around a teenage drunkard named Bill. In case you aren't sure which version you are seeing, here are some differences:

An immediate way to check at the beginning: (61) is sponsored by the Culver City Police Department and Culver City Unified School District. (68) is sponsored by the West Covina Police Department.

(61) has a doctor pointing a ruler at some anatomy charts. (68) has animations depicting the effects of alcohol on the body.

(61) Bill gets a breathalyzer. (68) Bill gets the "finger to nose" sobriety test.

(61) shows a close-up of the mother's face to indicate she's about to be hit by the car. (68) actually shows the mother being hit by the car and rolling off the the front hood.

I'm not sure why Sid Davis remade this film seven years later, and didn't even bother to change the narration. The 68 version is far superior - thanks to the animations, the more graphic/shocking depictions of the car accident, and the camera tricks to simulate the effects of alcohol on your driving (tunnel vision, etc).

4 years 9 months ago

joachimt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLQNLMw4hcU

Don't mistake this for the version from 1968 (which is labelled as 1965 on Youtube. This version from 1961 is black and white. The 1968 remake is in color, but features the exact same narration.

4 years 9 months ago

Local Hero -- aka MestnyiGeroi

Why is this on the badmovies list? Most PSAs make lists like that because their datedness makes them hilariously hokey or cheesy to watch now. But while the information in this one may be outdated, the gist of it is still true and it's mostly just informational in style -- it has some hallmark elements that make it very 50s/early 60s, but it's not an amusing cheesefest. I don't get it.

4 years 8 months ago

thyron

Apparently this film is not individually on the badmovies.org list, but as part of a compilation called "THE EDUCATIONAL ARCHIVES: DRIVER'S ED". This compilation of 10 movies is on the list.

6 months 1 week ago

muzzlehatch

Agree with LocalHero that this one isn't as "dated" (apart from the BAC limit - .15%, jeez) but I suspect it's on the list because of the awesome/terrible narration by Timothy Farrell - who also narrated Ed Wood's masterpiece Glen or Glenda! I think he did voiceover work for some of these other informational/scare shorts in the period as well but this is the only one he's credited to on IMDb at the moment.

3 years 5 months ago

xianjiro

watch this if you're having difficulty sleeping - the narrator's drone is a sure-fire cure for insomnia!

other than that, pretty much what you'd expect from a 'don't drink and drive' film - heavy on the guilt and statistics

4 years 6 months ago

Armoreska

@ LH
The list is "Best B-movies", and both versions are among the best PSA's ever

4 years 8 months ago