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Audio ProductionsBody Care and Grooming (1948)

Exhaustive (and sexist) explanation of personal care and daily habits of cleanliness, demonstrating how to keep the skin, hair, nails, and teeth clean and healthy. Partially filmed at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Audio Productions
Sponsor: N/A
Audio/Visual: Sd, B&W
Keywords: Health and hygiene; Colleges and universities; Gender roles

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: jenniferger - - August 28, 2008
Subject: So Terribly Wrong
I am horrified at the idea of "soap, hot water, and plenty of elbow grease" on one's facial skin... And I feel really bad for all the kids who had acne or eczema back then and were told it was because they didn't keep their skin "clean" enough... and no doubt both problems were made much worse by scrubbing with alkaline soap and hot water.

Also, the announcer actually had to point out to me what was "wrong" with the girl in the first scene; she looked FINE to me!

It's a great video that showcases some bygone attitudes and ideas.

Reviewer: Tara_Rao - - May 19, 2006
Subject: I found it rather instructive
I'm 46 years old, and nobody never taught me nothin' when I was a young-un. So, I liked it.

Reviewer: Marysz - - September 8, 2004
Subject: Does your hair squeak?
College students get a barrage of grooming tips in this postwar film. It starts with an unkempt college girl wearing lumpy bobby sox and a droopy slip beneath her pleated skirt. ÃÂHowÃÂd you get into this picture, young lady?ÃÂ the announcer sneers, as a well-groomed young man walks away in disgust. Then, presto, sheÃÂs well-groomed too, and she gets the guy. Another tip for girls: go easy on the jewelry and wear practical shoes.

Was there a grooming crisis on AmericaÃÂs college campuses in the late forties? This was a generation that had grown up during World War II. Dad was in the service and mom worked in a munitions factory. Nobody was around check if the kids had brushed their teeth or not. In any case, I guess films like this worked. These students grew up to be the tidy, conformist parents of the fifties. But those old unhygienic habits came back to haunt them in their counter-culture children, who used sloppy grooming as a sign of political protest.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - February 5, 2003
Subject: Grooming for stupid college students
For those slooow students, who have someohow gotten into college, yet can't seem to CLEAN THEMSELVES. we have this film to teach you the BASIC facts of good grooming.. although it's rather strange when the narrator says to women that hair 'should be washed every 2 weeks'. Who, honestly were the filmmakers trying to fool?

Reviewer: Christine Hennig - - October 9, 2002
Subject: Body Care and Grooming
This college-level health film is not only about the importance of good personal hygiene, but also stresses the "appropriateness" of dress, meaning dress like everybody else. A great example of 50's conformity at it's most insistent. Hygiene films are almost always funÃÂÃÂthere's something so earnest and simple about them. One wonders what its college level audience thought about being talked down to so much.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****. Also available on Mystery Science Theatre 3000 Episode #510: The Painted Hills.

Reviewer: Master Zhlubbish - - October 3, 2002
Subject: Very funny
This movie is so sexist, it's like a farce. Very amusing and educational.

Shotlist

Shows that good grooming habits begins with personal care, and describes daily habits that can help everyone to make the most of his natural endowments. Demonstrates how to keep the skin, hair, nails, and teeth clean and healthy. Includes animated drawings and photomicrographs.



EMPHASIZES GOOD GROOMING BASED ON GOOD HEALTH HABITS & PERSONAL CARE. COLLEGE BOYS & GIRLS DEMONSTRATE GOOD CARE OF SKIN, HAIR, NAILS & TEETH. COUPLES IN DIFFERENT SPOTS ON CAMPUS, STUDENTS IN CLASS LECTURE.

Ken Smith sez: This film for college kids tells them that "a good appearance is a must." Its high point (at least in entertainment value) is in its opening three minutes, where a college gal demonstrates the powerful effect she has on a college guy when she adopts good grooming habits and becomes one of "the beauties of nature." The rest of the film is typical of the genre -- grooming tips, XCU animation of hair roots and oil glands, and a narrator offering such wisdom as "most everyone sweats" and "many men ignore their cuticles."



COLLEGES COEDS GROOMING MAKEUP JEWELRY CLEANLINESS ACNE SHOWERS SHAVING TEETH CARE HAIR HUMOR SKIN FINGERNAILS HANDS STUDENTS UNIVERSITIES HEALTH AND SAFETY HYGIENE DO'S AND DON'TS COUPLES SEXUALITY SEX ROLES CLASSROOMS COURTSHIP ROMANCE HEALTH PERSONAL CARE Grooming Health and hygiene Cleanliness Washing Colleges and universities Gender roles Men Women Clothing Deodorants
Danger Lurks Safety



Scenes from "Libe" Slope at Cornell University, overlooking the Gothic dormitories.