Hell's Highway: The True Story of Highway Safety Films

Overview

This film covers the early history of post World War II educational films, especially those involving traffic safety by the Highway Safety Foundation under direction of Richard Wayman. In the name of promoting safe driving in teenagers, these films became notorious for their gory depiction of accidents to shock their audiences to make their point. The film also covers the role of safety films of this era, their effect on North American teenage culture, the struggle between idealism and lurid exploitation and how they reflected the larger society concerns of the time that adults projected onto their youth.

Details

Cast

John P. Butler

Self

Earle Deems

Self

John R. Domer

Self

David Krug

Self

Eric Krug

Self

Rick Prelinger

Self

Mike Vraney

Self

James Waller

Self

Bret Wood

Self

Martin Yant

Self

Helena Reckitt

Narrator

Richard Anderson

Husband (archive footage)

Sonny Bono

Self (archive footage)

Hans Conried

Self (archive footage)

Ronald Reagan

Self (archive footage)

Robert F. Simon

Rellik (archive footage)

James Stewart

Narrator (archive footage)

Dick York

Nick (archive footage)