Classic Dating & Etiquette Films 2 DVD Set

 

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  • In a nutshell, we find these films useful and valuable for many people and purposes. We hope the people who find value in them will feel they stumbled across a breath of fresh air into the past. So, whether you need a unique gift for a family member or a visual aid for your classroom, we will be here to offer you a relevant collection of footage that you have never seen.

These films are for anyone who loves to laugh at the past. Fascinating US government sponsored classic films collection targeted at young persons all about what to do, how to act, who to go with, and what to think, when going on a date. These films are hilarious. This is a rare look into the past when the post-WWII campaign for strengthening family, marriage, and the community was full stride.

Dating: Dos and Donts

Length: 12 Minutes | Produced:1949

Dating in the 1950s! Dating Dos and Donts is one of the greatest examples of 1950s culture ever acquired. This famous film takes teens through the gauntlet of rigid rules for dating, from asking the right girl to how to say good night. Alan Woodruff, otherwise known as Woody receives two tickets to the Hi-Teen Carnival and is suddenly confronted with the realization that he must ask a girl out. He settles on Ann Davis since she knows how to have a good time. As their date progresses, the narrator gives Woody several important guidelines to follow that make him a swell guy on a date. Dating Dos and Donts is that vintage 1950s social etiquette film that takes viewers back to a time when the rules of conduct were simpler, restrictive, and by today standards, absurd.

Beginning To Date

Length: 11 Minutes | Produced:1953

When the Lincoln Junior High Teen Club decides to sponsor a dance, George, an insecure youngster, must take the plunge into the world of dating. Fortunately, he and his group of buddies all manage to find dates to the Winter Frolic! Thus begins a classic 1950s social etiquette film on dating. The group of kids in this movie represents the varied emotional and physical development that exists in Georges age group. This film presents a somewhat realistic view of the limited nature of social interaction between young teens, but also includes some unintentionally funny moments (like how Georges date is a full foot taller than him). Studs Terkel even makes a cameo as a helpful swimming teacher. On the whole, Beginning to Date provides a healthy dose of retro culture, fun, and goofiness from a socially structured era in American history.

What To Do On A Date

Length: 10 Minutes | Produced:1950

This amusing 1950s dating instruction video stars a bunch of shy boys who cant muster the courage to ask girls out. The wholesomeness of the film is funny but also oddly endearing, like when a young couple finds out that they both like to like going to weenie roasts and taffy pulls. Its a match made in heaven, as these two flirt at the rummage sale, then have a picnic! Things get sillier as the young men learn how to save money on dates and keep things from getting boring, though these activities would make a current teenager comatose. What to do on a Date is a campy gosh darn good time.

Going Steady?

Length: 10 Minutes | Produced:1951

Reeking of dated social structure, this entertaining 1950s conservative film calls into question the practice of going steady. It uses title cards to ask, Should teens go steady? in order to provoke a discussion on its benefits and problems - back when the topic of going steady was edgy! According to the film, going steady introduces problems such as getting hurt by being too serious, moving too far sexually, and more. Marie and Jeff, the stars, find their friends describing their relationship as going steady and theyre not sure they like it. They agonize with themselves and their parents over the question. Classic hilarious scenes include Mom commenting, I hope Jeff doesnt feel he has the right to?take liberties. Going Steady is an exemplary manifestation of conservative societys fears about what is now considered harmless behavior.

How Much Affection?

Length: 19 Minutes | Produced:1958

How Much Affection?, a telling vintage social guidance film, discusses whether or not to indulge in heavy petting. When Laurie and Jeff get deeply immersed one night while parking, Laurie suddenly regrets her behavior and runs off to have a heart to heart with her mother. Timeless wisdom is delivered: If youll just slow down the rush and pressure of your feelings a little, then judgment has a better chance to take hold and guide you away from wrong behavior. When you can rely on judgment rather than emotion to rule your behavior, as you did tonight, then youll really be grown up. Resorting to scare tactics, gross depictions of different couple who went too far, got pregnant, and had to get married fly across the screen. How Much Affection? is a telltale conservative 1950s film that makes for fascinating viewing today.

Junior Prom

Length: 20 Minutes | Produced:1946

Junior Prom teaches proper etiquette for all aspects of going to the junior prom by showing the adventures of two different boys, Jerry and Frank, who go out on a double date together to the prom. Jerry is the perfect 1940s example of a well-mannered gentleman, while Frank exhibits many characteristics of incorrect prom behavior. Jerry guides Frank through these tough choices as the narrator makes comments like Allow the ladies to be more colorful. All the rigid social ceremonies and strict behavior is covered, with a right and wrong way to handle every situation. Junior Prom is a wonderful examination of the history of the prom, as well as social structures and conformity in mid 20th century America.

How to Say No: Moral Maturity

Length: 10 Minutes | Produced:1951

How to Say No is not as didactic as others of its ilk, but instead presents a discussion-type format in which teen actors talk out situations where it is difficult to say no. Each teen relates a story about a time where they were asked to do something they didnt want to do. The topics include drinking after football practice, smoking at a sleepover, and petting. Some of the suggestions are laughable, but the film must be credited for trying to come to terms with the fact that kids need real solutions to this problem, not just a voice of authority telling them what not to do. How to Say No is a film which possesses a timeless merit, since saying no and being true to oneself is still very much an issue today.

Are You Ready for Marriage?

Length: 15 Minutes | Produced:1950

Are You Ready For Marriage? It is a question many people should ask themselves when on the brink of engagement. In this 1950s Christian film, the two young adults, Sue and Larry, want to be married and go in search of answers from a marriage counselor at their church. After some strange advice by todays standards (sex is glossed over with amusing code words), this youthful couple realizes there is still a lot to learn from each other before becoming husband and wife. This video takes a realistic approach in discussing marriage and understanding just how practical people were in the mid 20th century.

Choosing For Happiness

Length: 12 Minutes | Produced:1950

This interesting 1950s social guidance film for young women discusses how to find a mate. Instead of talking about how to dress and act on a date, however, Choosing for Happiness concerns itself with the issue of women taking men as they are and not trying to change them into the person they might want them to be. Mary, the narrator, is surprised that her vibrant and attractive friend Eve isnt engaged yet. She investigates the issue, and shows flashback scenes from Eves past relationships. In each, a boy with a different personality type is subjected to Eves controlling ways, resists, and each relationship eventually fails. With the help of her realistic friend Mary, Eve learns that instead of trying to change her boyfriends, she should focus on the ways she can change herself for the better, and make fewer demands upon her suitors.

It Takes All Kinds

Length: 19 Minutes | Produced:1950

It Takes All Kinds attempts to train the viewer in how to successfully choose a spouse. It focuses on how to choose a person with the right personality traits. Several different couples run out of gas on a country road, an annoying situation where peoples worst traits often come out. Max is bossy, Tom is helpless, Bill is a chauvinist pig, and Irene is a nag. The one couple who have all the right characteristics are Lily and Gerald. Shes calm and competent, and hes strong and silent. Together, they make the perfect post-war couple. It Takes All Kinds is an illuminating glance at a time when the perfect relationship was considered to be the same for everyone.

How Do You Know Its Love?

Length: 12 Minutes | Produced:1950

When Nora wonders if shes really in love with her boyfriend Jack, she goes to her mother for advice. Mom talks to Nora about the nature of mature love. Later, Nora gets a chance to test out her advice when she goes out on a double date with Jack, his brother Bob, and his fianc?, Jean. They go to a Chinese restaurant, but Jack is not adventurous enough to order anything but the leg of lamb, so Nora must share Lobster Cantonese with Bob and Jean. When Jack asks her about the new recording of the Brahms violin concerto, she is stumped. Slowly, as she watches real couple Bob and Jean, and reflects on her mothers advice, she realizes that she isnt really in love with Jack. She and Jack are happy to just be friends, and they make a roller-skating date for later on. This film offers a snapshot of the way love and relationships were perceived in a time now long past.