SOCIAL DINING ETIQUETTE TABLE MANNERS FILMS ON DVD

Total runtime of this DVD is 100 minutes.

Item specifics are:

9 VINTAGE SOCIAL / DINING ETIQUETTE FILMS ON DVD.

Film: 1 "Obligations" (1950) B&W Runtime 17:07

The jokers at Simmel-Meservey are up to it again. The makers of "Date With Your Family" return with "Obligations", and, although not as LOOPY as "Date With Your Family" still has a lot of ridiculous things going for it. In the Simmel-Meservey universe where the sons are called Juniors, and the daughters are called "daughters", we are, for this film, shown a sloppy family, where the Smiths are shown to be a complete (but somewhat moral) mess, and then we have the "good" family, where Junior kills time before breakfast working on a hobby, the daughter makes lunches for her and Junior, Mother runs the household, and father, of course, doesn't do much except go to work and bring home the paycheck. It looks obvious, by the looks of this film, that Daughter is getting the short end of the stick here, she's got to clean up, make food AND greet the company (lucky Junior gets to go to bed), what does she get? She's forced to do homework on a lamp stand! (Junior gets a desk!) Totally loopy, A MUST SEE!

Film: 2 "Dinner Party" (1945) B&W Runtime 16:06

Dramatized presentation of proper table etiquette for teenagers, heavy on criticism and guilt. This is one of those "must see" films and it is one of the wierder films of this type. it shows a group of friends having a dinner party, however what should be a lesson in basic table manners is turned into an experience in Paranoia by the one uninvited guest, the Narrator. The Narrator in this film finds room to criticize about every little thing that happens at the party, he adds a level of tension that is almost unheard of for a dinner "Betty wonders if sh should try Floyd's method of eating the olive" "Should Bob be giving the girls smaller portions" "Bob sat on his Napkin" "Betty wonders if she's giving too small a serving of salad" the Narrator never really answers the questions he asks but we presume that everthing he states should be done untill he mentions "it's important to note all the things done right at this dinner" although he never mentions what these are. The best part though is how the Narrator stresses that "Rules make sense" before meddling over the way Betty eats an olive. One thing I should point out. time has not been kind to this film and it is missing a couple frames here and there but that just adds to it's quirkiness.

In this gigglefest, proper introductions are discussed. The problem with this Young America production that is that's it's almost a 'how do you NOT do' of a classroom film. Atrocious acting, ridiculous editing, actors standing around waiting for a scene to start and how the (bad) leading actress playing Peggy talks to the unseen narrator. The funny thing is, is that it's to her LEFT, which makes for truly bizarre viewing. Recomended!

Film: 4 "Beginning to Date" (1953) B&W Runtime 11:20

This Encyclopedia Britannica film covers a classic genre: dating. The film features a bunch of junior high school kids going to their first dating party. Unlike most films of this type, the kids seem very realistic––they vary widely developmentally in both physical appearance and emotional maturity, which is typical of this age group. The most entertaining couple is George and Mildred. George is a classic case of delayed puberty (he looks and talks like he's about 9 1/2, tops) while Mildred is charmingly shy and awkward, as well as being a full head taller than George. The film contains both many moments of realistic junior high behavior (one boy fails to pick up his girlfriend from the bathroom because he's busy playing tag with another boy in the coatroom; the dance floor initially splits into the "boy huddle" and the "girl huddle") and great moments (possible topics of conversation are printed in subtitles above characters' heads; Mildred says "bye" and walks into her house without giving George so much as a handshake). Another classic of the dating genre.

Film: 5 "Dining Together" (1951) B&W Runtime 10:29

A funny view of Thanksgiving featuring the Stepford Children. Take note of the candles on the table. They start out as full-sized tapered candles and burn down to almost nothing by the end. How long does it take these people to eat?!?! Watch this one with a friend or two; it will make you happy.....I think......

Film: 6 "Table Manners" (1947) B&W Runtime 10:07

How to eat right, that seems to always change from film to film. We get the grand dame of rulemaking herself, Emily Post, doing the narrative..... We first see her in her garden, lamenting about the fact that the number one concern people have is how to eat properly. She then takes us on a tour of courses.
She says it’s perfectly ok to pick up your soup bowl and put your lips to the bowl to sip away. She also, incredibly, says that salad be eaten with a knife and fork, something which totally looks archaic today. Then bizarrely, the film jumps to points on how to eat spaghetti (spoon not required!) how to eat asparagus and finally, eating sticky desserts.

Advises children to do whatever is necessary -- even lie -- to achieve harmonious family relations. This portrait of manners among the affluent places a premium on pleasant, unemotional behavior, and contains some interesting do's and don'ts sequences. Key line: "These boys treat their dad as though they were genuinely glad to see him, as though they really missed him..."  Outtakes / Blooper film is also on this DVD.

Film: 8 "A Date With Your Family (outtakes)" (1950) COLOR SILENT Runtime 7:14

These outtakes from the classic social guidance film, "Date With Your Family" (why the outtakes are in color and the original is B&W I dont know..)show some bloopers, flub ups, and one particularly interesting deleted scene of "daughter" washing dishes, getting tired and wiping the sweat off of her brow. One wonders what kind of narration would have went with this scene "Daughter takes care of the dishes, father demands her to do it, and you can tell it takes a toll on her, still, to keep her father happy, she continues on, like a robot..' Classic!

Film: 9 "As Others See Us" (1953) COLOR Runtime 4:16

This 50s manners film for high-schoolers gives us lots of colored scenes of 50s high school life, such as jostling through the halls, eating lunch (check out the selections and prices on the menu board!), and, yes, the prom. If you went to high school during the 50s, this should trigger flashbacks and nightmares; for all others, it's a real hoot. Unfortunately, only about four minutes of the film have been preserved––it leaves us hanging right after showing us how to eat a strange salad of a Cool-Whip-filled avocado wedge. So this film is incomplete.

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