Special Delivery
Perhaps reviewer GE_Pretzel said it best:
Subject: A sedative masquerading as a bus safety film
There are few films that can surpass or even equal the mediocrity of Special Delivery, a horrendously cumbersome safety film for schoolbus operators that fails to captivate. Instead of simply attempting to discuss the fundamentals of schoolbus safety and procedure in a concise, forthright manner, the film's creators place the necessary educational elements within a dry, unengaging story involving Mickey Miller, a recalcitrant little boy who has developed a strong distrust of the local schoolbus and its driver, Bill Marshall. It appears that Mickey has been reading far too many James Fenimore Cooper novels, as he wears a feathered headdress and continually shoots toy arrows at the schoolbus, a vehicle that he refers to as the "white man's stagecoach." Mickey is miffed when he isn't allowed to board the bus because of his age, but shortly after he reaches "age more than five," he and his older sister Millie are taken on a special bus ride by Bill in an effort to gain the young boy's respect. After a mishmash of schoolbus operation information is conveyed during the trip, Mickey alters his attitude and begins to take well to Bill. At the end of the film, however, Bill humiliates a diminutive boy who isn't allowed to ride the bus by calling him "Shorty" right in front of all of the other children. If Bill is striving to establish a rapport with his future passengers, he certainly isn't doing a good job. This lengthy production is quite a chore to watch.
It should be a crime to wear garish horn-rimmed glasses like the ones Millie sports throughout the film.
Comments
Boring?!? Would that that was the only reason this film should be ostracized from public view! The intentional slap in the faces of all Native Americans with that ridiculous costume that was foisted upon that poor, unsuspecting child. Surely he'll be scarred for life even after thousands of hours of therapy!
Then there's the issue of promoting violence in in and to school children with a shameful display of a dangerous weapon in the hands of that child! Just think of the thousands more hours of therapy he'll have to undergo to come to grips with this stigma!
How shameful, in light of today's social norms sensibilities, to have made this film only 50 years ago! But we must pause and give thanks to our benefactor, Paul, for bringing this shameful, insightful and, dare I say, illegal film to our attention so we can organize and boycott the studios, directors, and actors that willingly participated in it's production.
Then there's the issue of promoting violence in in and to school children with a shameful display of a dangerous weapon in the hands of that child! Just think of the thousands more hours of therapy he'll have to undergo to come to grips with this stigma!
How shameful, in light of today's social norms sensibilities, to have made this film only 50 years ago! But we must pause and give thanks to our benefactor, Paul, for bringing this shameful, insightful and, dare I say, illegal film to our attention so we can organize and boycott the studios, directors, and actors that willingly participated in it's production.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 10/10/13 at 10:41 AM
I'm sure that the actors were all amateurs, but to call the actors "wooden" would be an insult to all trees.
I think Mickey is destined to ride the short bus.
I think Mickey is destined to ride the short bus.
Posted by KDP on 10/10/13 at 12:10 PM
"ride the short bus" :lol: :lol: :lol:
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 10/10/13 at 06:56 PM
Commenting is not available in this channel entry.
Category: PSA’s | Children | 1960s | Mental Health and Insanity | Bus