Beware of Mental-itis!

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Beware of Mental-itis! is a short film from 1937 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.

06:01:15:21 Salesman dressed in turn of twentieth century fashion on circus-like stage in front of large anatomical drawings; calls forward audience with his cane, back of audience members heads face camera, salesman peddling Elixir of Health from South America.

06:03:23:13 Man wearing 1930s fashion suit pants and suspenders lies on examination table as doctor taps on man s chest, looks inside his mouth. Old-fashioned late-nineteenth century salesman enters hospital room as doctor leaves; salesman puts cone over mans head labeled Mentalscope and looks inside the cone as though it were a microscope, focusing a small knob next to the eye piece. POV shot from inside Mentalscope of man s head; salesman looks up from device, exclaims Why this man is dead from his neck up ; POV shot from inside Mentalscope of man with angry face with machines gears clicking in his head; salesman looks up from scope Yes, yes, a pure case of Mentalitis, salesman takes cone of man s head and laughs at him.

06:04:55:25 1930s salesman wearing a coat and fedora hat walks up to glass office door labeled Prospect Inc., hesitates just before entering, turns to camera with look of frustration and walks back toward camera away from the door.

06:05:05:06 Man in hospital bed tries to sit up barking Yeah but the boss told me , old-fashioned salesman pushes man back on top hospital bed resting other hand on Mentalscope cone; Salesman says just as I thought, Bossphobia, you re afraid of the boss

06:05:24:03 MS 1930s man seated in chair wearing coat and fedora clutching briefcase, says to himself in defeated tone Ah heck, Jones is a better salesman than I am, that s all there is to it he s just a natural salesman, I know darn well I can t makes this sale.

06:08:49:18 Great shot 1930s man sits down on leather chair with newspaper, turns on lamp and mutters to himself as he slips off his shoes and puts his feet on chair in front of him Boy oh boy what a day, nothing new, nothing exciting, always the same old stuff

06:10:13:22 Man wearing 1930s style suit exits office through wood door labeled The Boss , man turns back facing the door and mutters Always talking and lecturing, well he s not so good himself, wouldn t be so hot either on this job I got.

06:11:14:13 Man on examination table begins to squirm and panic as old-fashioned salesman tells him to change; old-fashioned salesman takes large cone labeled Mentalscope and suffocates the man, then grabs a large glass jug of water and pours it into the Mentalscope cone, camera pans down man s kicking legs. Man gets up off examination table smiling and thanks doctor.

06:12:17:04 Salesman walks through door with Prospect Inc. decal on glass.

06:13:09:13 Goofy man with moustache wearing suit and bowler hat loosing temper on phone at desk, dirty Used Tires 1.00 up sign leaning against wall in background.

06:13:24:09 CU disembodied hand holding pencil writes on day planner.

06:14:28:17 CU disembodied hands filing through card index.

06:14:49:10 Concrete arch with The Poor House written on it, stands in front of stairs leading up to building.

06:15:53:07 CU disembodied hand holding pen writes in cursive on paper labeled Daily Report.

06:19:21:21 CU Old-fashioned turn of twentieth century salesman peddles elixir in bottle as the only cure for the dread disease of Mentalitis ; CU bottle of elixir held in disembodied hand, bottle reads Get Results Tonic with cartoon picture of smiling face, contents listed on bottle include: confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, thrift, good judgment, faith, loyalty, open mindedness, honesty.

Dumping money down the "rat hole."

Beware of Mental-itis!
Produced byCalvin Company
Production
company
Calvin Company
Distributed byCalvin Company
Release date
1937
Running time
21:00
LanguageEnglish
Thumbnail
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