Winky the watchman
- Collection:
- The Public Health Film Goes To War
- Contributor(s):
- Gruebbel, Allen O. Hugh Harman Productions. Tennessee. Department of Public Health. United States. Public Health Service.
- Publication:
- [Nashville, TN] : State of Tennessee, [1945]
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Moving image
- Subject(s):
- Child Infant Dental Care Health Promotion Oral Hygiene
- Genre(s):
- Animation Instructional Films and Videos Popular Works
- Abstract:
- This dental education film for children offers much entertainment and little instruction. In live action, a friendly dentist seats four children in his waiting room and begins to tell them a story about a city defended by beautiful white walls that look like their own teeth. The footage then shifts to animation. The white walls are guarded by an engaging, but rather careless and sleepy watchman named Winky. Winky falls asleep on the job as the "bad uns," dark devilish-looking blobs, storm the walls, cut into its surfaces with picks, catapults, mallets, shovels, dynamite, and battering rams. The "bad uns" sing merrily about how bad they are. The destruction they cause is so extensive that the part of the wall Winky is sleeping on collapses, and he drops down into the internal regions where the "bad uns" are at work. He races to the doors of a castle and calls out the "good uns," who rush to the defense of the walls. The "good uns" are benign-looking orange blobs. They ride white horses, drive white tanks, and fly white airplanes. A violent battle ensues; the "good uns" kill or chase away all the "bad uns." The walls, however, are in a terrible state of disrepair and Winky is disconsolate at the destruction his laxity has allowed. The "good uns" arrive to fix the wall, setting up scaffolding, hauling in supplies, and swarming industriously all over it. When the wall is as good as new again, the chief "good un" turnsit over to Winky with instructions to guard it day and night. Winky is given a whistle to blow should he see the "bad uns" and the whistle will bring the "good uns" to the rescue. At the conclusion of the animation, the dentist discusses the film with the four children. He characterizes himself as the "good un" and urges early and regular visits to the dentist to insure good dental health.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 010 min.
- Color:
- Color
- Sound:
- Sound
- Credits:
- Allen O. Gruebbel.
- Provenance:
- Received: Aug. 19, 1986 as a donation from the American Dental Association.
- Technique:
- Animation and live action
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9301022A (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9301022A