Alcohol and the Human Body (1949)

★★★★ · Classic EB Short · steebasso · 2011-05-30

This film has rung in my memory since about 1973 when I saw it in Elementary School. Yes - we often enjoyed films which depicted the word as modern the way Harry S. Truman would have seen it, but the films were good, nonetheless. They were captivating and the narration style unforgettable. My strongest recollection was of the person [I remembered it as a man] trying to start her car with a big, menacing, drunken smile on her face while the announcer gravely informed us that this hapless soul felt everything was "all right". That sent a chill through me - lasting until now. I wish I could put…

★★★★ · Touchy Feely observations! · Spuzz · 2002-12-18

An interesting overview on Alchoholism circa 1948. The first half details what happens when Alcohol gets into your body. It was interesting that this was really not presented in such a negative way. It was almost as if the narrator spoke of this as a common occurance. What's really fascinating is the end of the film, and the way they treated alcoholics (I think) in 1948. A comfy hospital stay, free food, and free drugs! "Many tests are done to make sure he's an alocoholic". Is it that hard? The "cured" alcoholic is shown the door after being treated, no doubt ready to hit the bottle again to…

★★★ · Alcohol and the Human Body · Christine Hennig · 2003-04-05

The effects of alcohol on the human body and brain are presented in a dry, dull fashion, with the help of primitive animated sequences of black dots of alcohol going through the bloodstream, as well as film clips of drunk people. Mildly campy is the ending of the scene about treatment of alcoholics, where the former skid-row bum is discharged in a new suit and told sternly to never touch the stuff again. Yeah, right. Mostly this is boring, though. Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ***. Overall Rating: ***.