Metadata
WORK ID: YFA 2783 (Master Record)
| Title | Year | Date |
| DAVY CROCKETT | 1955 | 1955-01-01 |
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Details
Original Format: 16mm Colour: Colour Sound: Sound Duration: 25 mins Credits: Photography-De Sgt Jacketts, Produced by Insp. T. Middleyard |
| Summary This comical film uses the character of Davy Crockett to show how one must be road aware in these new times where cars are faster than before. |
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Description
This comical film uses the character of Davy Crockett to show how one must be road aware in these new times where cars are faster than before.
Title-Photography by Det. Sgt Jacketts, Produced by Insp. T. Middleyard by permission of the Chief Constable.
Title-Presented by the Kingston-Upon Hull Road Safety (Special) Committee.
Title-Davy Crockett, P.C. John Wilson, Musical items by Clifton Street Girls School, Guitar-Jack Whitfield.
Davy Crockett comes up over a hill and rides down the...
This comical film uses the character of Davy Crockett to show how one must be road aware in these new times where cars are faster than before.
Title-Photography by Det. Sgt Jacketts, Produced by Insp. T. Middleyard by permission of the Chief Constable.
Title-Presented by the Kingston-Upon Hull Road Safety (Special) Committee.
Title-Davy Crockett, P.C. John Wilson, Musical items by Clifton Street Girls School, Guitar-Jack Whitfield.
Davy Crockett comes up over a hill and rides down the other side onto a main road; he has no idea how to ride safely among the traffic. He dismounts and walks up to a sign which reads `Kingston-Upon Hull'. A young boy with a dog walks up to him and Davy roughly grabs some of his hair and talks to the boy. They sit down on the grass and watch the traffic drive by, then Davy gets back up on his horse and rides into Kingston-Upon Hull.
The voice over comments on everything that Davy Crockett does, what he sees and how strange he must find the place that he has ended up in.
Davy rides into the town, ties his horse to a bus stop and walks away. A bus drives up the road but can't pull in at it because of the horse. Davy comes back across the road and has a fight with t bus driver who wants him to move his horse. He eventually unties it and beings the horse to a fountain and lets it have a drink. He wanders around the town and ties the horse to the light pole at the pedestrian crossing; a woman comes up to him and makes him move the horse.
There are many good views of some of the suburbs of Hull including views of the residential streets, cars of the time and the trolley buses.
Davy rides around the town, not paying attention to signs or the traffic on the roads. He rides straight through junctions and pedestrian crossings and gets angry when people yell at him. He comes across a man in a stationary car and asks him if he can have a go in his car; the man agrees and Davy tries unsuccessfully to move any distance down the road. He asks a woman if he can have a go on her moped which he manages to do with more skill.
In the final scene Davy Crockett runs into a Road Safety talk and says a few words to the audience. He gets back on his horse and goes back to the countryside and rides off to where he came from.
Title-The End
Context
This film was one of a number of films donated to the Yorkshire Film Archive by the Humberside Police Department. The film was photographed by Detective Sergeant W. Jacketts, produced by Inspector T. Middleyard, and was presented by the Kingston-upon-Hull Road Safety (Special) Committee. This film was one of a number of police safety films which were created by the combination of Middleyard and Jacketts, including such films as Blind Crossing (1952), which teaches drivers the importance of...
This film was one of a number of films donated to the Yorkshire Film Archive by the Humberside Police Department. The film was photographed by Detective Sergeant W. Jacketts, produced by Inspector T. Middleyard, and was presented by the Kingston-upon-Hull Road Safety (Special) Committee. This film was one of a number of police safety films which were created by the combination of Middleyard and Jacketts, including such films as Blind Crossing (1952), which teaches drivers the importance of driving safely. The two made safety films for the Humberside Police Department for over a decade, and the last recorded piece made by the pair was They Go On Alone which was released in 1959. Jacketts went onto work independently on the film Smash and Grab in 1961. While the Kingston-upon-Hull Road Safety Special Committee produced The Grand Road Safety Pageant (1948), not much in known about the Special Committee as there is no record of any work they produced outside of these two.
These films were all made with the same idea to inform the populace about safety. This film particular aim was to promote road safety, through a comedic story of the American frontiersman Davy Crockett coming to Hull for a visit. Due to the films comedic nature as well as events that take place in the film, it was most likely aimed towards informing both children and adults of the importance of road safety. This film was made in response to a high number of accidents caused by cyclists failing to follow rules of the road. During the 1950s there was a significant rise in the number of cars on the road, which in turn, led to a rise in the number of accidents as cyclists hadn’t previously had to deal with such a large number of cars on the road. While the number of cars on the roads had risen rapidly from the start of the century, only 8,000 cars were in use in Britain. However by the 1960s, 1.5 million cars were registered in London alone. The rise in the ownership of cars was due to the UK’s increased standards of living. An increased income allowed for cars to become more affordable. Owning a car changed from something that was a luxury to being something that most people could afford to do. Vehicles such as vans and lorries also became important for transportation of goods across the country. This overall rise in vehicles has an obvious correlation to the rise in accidents. The number of people killed during road accidents in 1950 was around 5,000 and the number of people overall who were wounded in 1950 was 196,000. The need for better education in road safety was obvious. The rise of televisions in households and the decrease in costs of film equipment meant that using movies to inform the public was in fashion in the 1950s. The successes of wartime Public Information Films, such as ones explaining what to do during The Blitz, had proven to be effective. The police followed in this similar vein and produced films intended to inform the public the importance of their own safety, whether that would be within their own home or whether it is on the road. Like other films of this type, its goal is to inform people of the facts, but do so in a way that is entertaining to the public and makes sure that people take in the facts. Other Humberside Police safety films follow a similar outline to Davy Crockett. They follow a basic story and showcase the importance of following police rules and guidelines as well as what can go wrong if people fail to follow the law. Davy Crockett was a real life American historical figure who is known in popular culture as the ‘King of the Wild Frontier’. His use in the film was to show how the world was modernizing around the people of Hull and how quickly things were changing. Davy Crockett was used as a representation of someone who did things in the old way and who was caught out by acting the same way that he always did. In 1955 the UK was experiencing a Crockett craze due to the Disney produced television series Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier staring Fess Parker with merchandise such coonskin cap proving to be popular with children. This explains the use of Davy Crockett in the film as it was done in order to appeal to children. This film showcases several points about which the police intended to inform the public. The first of these being that the importance of Cycling Proficiency badges. As shown in the film, a child who has not taken the test is hit by a car and is injured. The film compares this to the children who are taking their Cycling Proficiency test, and the narrators explaining the benefits in having a Cycling Proficiency badge. The cycling proficiency test was run by the by Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (ROSPA) which served as a minimum recommended standard for cycling on British roads. These tests began in the October of 1947, although the government did not introduce this scheme as a requirement until 1958, three years after this film was released. References Information about the UK charts in the 1960’s- http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1956.shtml Blind crossing (1952) Smash and Grab (1961) The grand road safety pageant (1948) Information on car ownership in the 20th century http://www.20thcenturylondon.org.uk/car-ownership Department for Transport (2008). "Reported Road Casualties Great Britain: 2008 Annual Report". The road traffic act of 1988- http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/contents |
