''Boys Beware'' is a 1961 short

social guidance film Social guidance films constitute a genre of propaganda films attempting to influence children and adults to behave in certain ways. Social guidance films, particularly popular in the mid-20th century, were designed to address various social issues ...

released through

Sid Davis Sidney Davis (April 1, 1916 – October 16, 2006) was an American director and producer who specialized in social guidance films. Early life Davis was born on April 1, 1916, in Chicago, IllinoisNelson, Valerie J.Sid Davis – educational filmma ...

Productions. It portrays and attempts to educate about an alleged danger to young boys from predatory

homosexuals Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" exc ...

. 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 The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

and is available from the

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. Originally based in New York City from 1982 through 2002, it is now based in San Franci ...

. With a budget of $1,000 (), the film was shot partially in the Los Angeles suburb of

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, and produced with the cooperation of the city's police department and the

Inglewood Unified School District Inglewood Unified School District abbreviated (IUSD) is a public school system district headquartered in and serving Inglewood, California (USA). IUSD serves most of the city of Inglewood and much of the unincorporated Los Angeles County c ...

. ''Boys Beware'' was narrated by a

police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

on his way to a school meeting to discuss the issue of

sexual predator A sexual predator is a person seen as obtaining or trying to obtain sexual contact with another person in a metaphorically "predatory" or abusive manner. Analogous to how a predator hunts down its prey, so the sexual predator is thought to "hunt" ...

s who attempt to lure

adolescent Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated w ...

males Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

. The film equates homosexuals with child molesters and hebephiles, repeatedly describing homosexuality as a

mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

. True to the stereotypes of its time, the gay men in the film have mustaches, sunglasses and/or bow ties. Davis was friendly with the police in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and would accept their suggestions of topics to make films about, allowing them to guide the films' message and development.

Plot

Teenage Jimmy Barnes was supposedly playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and did not feel like walking home, so he decided to "thumb" a ride. A few moments later, a car pulls up and Jimmy enters the car of a stranger named Ralph. Jimmy and Ralph start a conversation while on the way to Jimmy's house. They arrive at his house and Jimmy gets out of Ralph's car. The following day, Ralph appears in his car waiting for him. Jimmy noticed that it was the same car and decided to ride once again. Instead of going straight to Jimmy's house, they go to a

drive-in A drive-in is a facility (such as a restaurant or Drive-in theater, movie theater) where one can driving, drive in with an automobile for service. At a drive-in restaurant, for example, customers park their vehicles and are usually served by ...

and the stranger bought him a Coke. Jimmy and Ralph hang out near a pond with ducks; both are later seen

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

on a dock. Jimmy and Ralph reveal their names when they pull out their lunch. Jimmy then eats a

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

, while Ralph pulls out a deck of " pornographic pictures", to the curiosity of Jimmy. Later, Jimmy is taken to a hotel with Ralph, presumably to be

molested Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

, and later reports the crime. The perpetrator is arrested; Jimmy is put on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. Unsuspecting boy Mike is seen playing a game of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

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 Mike believes is better than playing alone. 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". Little boy Denny is tricked into entering a man's car while he and his friend sort out newspapers. The car leaves, and Denny's friend writes down the

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

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. Teenage Bobby waits in a beachside restroom where he and his friends were changing. Bobby's friends decide to head home together, while Bobby decides to take a "shortcut" under a pier (where he faces the risk of being stuck). As Bobby walks to the shortcut, he notices a man, who was seen at the restroom, follows him. Bobby then waves to his friends, and runs to join them.

Later releases

A full-color version of the film was made in 1973, titled ''Boys Aware'', using the same script and soundtrack with different actors. A third edition of the film was produced in 1979; unlike the first two installments, this version was written, edited and directed by Michael Heldman (though the closing credits acknowledged it as being "Adapted from a Sid Davis Production"). In a stark departure from its predecessors, this remake does not explicitly equate homosexuality with pedophilia, instead focusing on how the film's target audience can recognize and prevent generally dangerous situations.

Reception

In 1965, Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein recommended that high schools in

Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous count ...

, show the film to "prevent" homosexuality. Margalit Fox of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said in 2006 that the film was one of several of

' films that "aged badly". In 2015, a Missouri high school teacher at

Raymore-Peculiar High School The Raymore-Peculiar R-II School District (Ray-Pec) is a public school district with its headquarters in Peculiar, Missouri, United States. It is a suburban school district in a quickly developing area, and many new students are being enrolle ...

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

The Opie & Anthony Show ''Opie and Anthony'' was an American radio show hosted by Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia that aired from March 1995 to July 2014, with comedian Jim Norton serving as third mic from 2001. The show originated in 1994 when Cumia took part in ...

'', 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 ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

''. 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 Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

''".

Film versions

File:BoysBewarecolorizedVersion.ogv, Color version (1961) File:BoysAware1973.ogv, 1973 remake, ''Boys Aware''

References

External links

* * - Original * - Colorized * - Remake
Boys beware
''

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