Boys Beware
| Boys Beware | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Sid Davis |
| Starring |
Sid Davis Timothy Farrell (narration) |
| Distributed by | Sidney Davis Productions |
|
Release date
|
1961 |
|
Running time
|
10 minutes |
| Country |
 United States
|
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,000 |
Sid Davis
Boys Beware is a drama short social guidance film released through Sid Davis Productions. It deals with a perceived danger to young boys from predatory homosexuals. The film was released in 1961 and, under the copyright laws in the United States at the time of its release, has lapsed into the public domain and is available from the Rick Prelinger archives.
The film, shot partially in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California, and produced with the cooperation of the city's police department and the Inglewood Unified School District, is narrated by a police detective on his way to a school meeting to discuss the issue of sexual predators who attempt to lure young adolescent males.
Aside from the film's early 1960s-culturally influenced conclusion that homosexual men are inherently dangerous to young boys, the film has been noted for its unusual perception of police procedure: the first boy, named Jimmy, was supposedly playing a game of ball and didn't feel like walking home, so he decided to "thumb" a ride. A few moments later, a car pulls up and Jimmy enters the stranger's car. Jimmy and the stranger start a conversation while on the way to Jimmy's house. They arrive at his house and Jimmy gets out of the stranger's car. The following day, the stranger was 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 went to a Drive-in and the stranger greeted him to a coke." The scene after shows ducks in a pond, and then switiches to Jimmy and the stranger fishing together on a dock. Jimmy and the stranger (Ralph) reveal their names when they pull out their lunch. Jimmy then eats a sandwich, while Ralph pulls out an album of "porongraphic pictures." Later, Jimmy is taken to a hotel with Ralph, presumably to be molested, and later reports the crime. The perpetrator is arrested; the victim is put on probation. This could be seen as an instance of victim blaming.
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