Public enemy no. 1

Unknown, 1951

Film
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A moral guidance docudrama delivering a strong message about the evils of alcohol. A teenager fails a sobriety test after the police pull him over for erratic driving. He avoids arrest when the police decide to release him into the care of his physician father. Concerned by his son’s behaviour, the father organises a weekend in the country to impart his views about the dangers of alcohol. Throughout the weekend, dad discusses how alcoholic beverages are made, advertised and sold and their damaging effect on mind and body. Despite its intention, the film’s moral tone and wholesome setting would force most teenagers to resort to alcohol.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

production company

National Women's Christian Temperance Union

producer/director

Fred S Nieman

Duration

00:20:51:00

Production places
Unknown
Production dates
1951

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

323917

Language

English

Subject categories

Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Ephemeral films

Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Drunk driving

Crime, Espionage, Justice, Police & Prisons → Drunk driving

Documentary

Documentary → Docudrama

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Teenagers

Educational & Instructional

Educational & Instructional → Instructional

Family, Gender Identity, Relationships & Sexuality → Teenagers

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Alcohol

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Alcohol - Juvenile films

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Alcohol - Physiological effect

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Alcohol in the body

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drunk driving

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Health

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Mental hygiene

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Mental hygiene - United States

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Teenagers

Short films

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/78537--public-enemy-no-1/ |title=Public enemy no. 1 |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=24 September 2022 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}