PSA Week: How to Be Well Groomed

Well teen gang we sure have had a swell time this week with the sexist, homophobic and misconceptions but we gotta end it all on a good note so I thought we would take another look from the folks over at Coronet Instructional Films and see if they didn’t have something nifty for us.  So take a hot shower, make sure to wash behind your ears and comb your hair deep into your skull.   This is How to Be Well Groomed.

Hmm, what would Joan Crawford wear?

Don: Joe called and said he would be a little spoiler. Sayyy, do you look smooth!

This is the story of a brother and sister named Don and Sue.  Both work very hard in school and have afternoon jobs as well as chores around the house that gives them a little extra pocket change.  Yessir these balls of fire are headed out on a double date at the motion pictures when an inquisitive narrator wonders, “Say how did those kids ever learn to be so well groomed?”   Golly that was my first thought as well.  Followed by how do these kids get along that well and why are they so concerned about each other’s grooming habits?  Now throughout the short is a shared narrative of an ethereal voice of both a man and a woman.  Guess they didn’t want to snub either sex but frankly if I were one of those kids I would have called the local priest to perform an exorcism on the house for good measure.

Don prepares his garments of shame.

With health, posture, cleanliness and neatness comes good grooming and great overall appearance.  Why with this ability no one will ever know about Don’s collection of severed animal heads he buried under the loose soil by his bedroom window.    Oops, that was the joke I made while watching this educational short.    The kids go on to do each other favors such as Sue hemming a sleeve and re-attaching a button on Don’s sweater vest and Don in return polishes Sue’s shoes as well as his own. 

It kind of gave me the creeps.  They didn’t even squabble over chores or who was hogging the bathroom. Most of Don’s outfits should be burned. I am glad this film is in black and white because some of his shirts would damage retinas up close.  

Don, stop borrowing my angora sweater.

I have just a few comments about this short.   The grooming and cleansing habits are actually sound minus the terrible face drying soap they both kept using.  I just envision them scaly during their dates and have to explain why they are resemble the lizard creatures from V.   The level of detail on how much Don had to prep and yet no mentioning to Sue that she will have to shave her legs and under her arms?  Was this a practice that was skipped in 1953 and if so how did these girls get a date?    I was not insisting that I get a detailed fog resistant cam show of said shower but the narrator didn’t even cover that to cleanliness.  

Well folks that is all for PSA Week and remember to keep throwing out suggestions, compliments or complaints to the write ups.