Turnabout Man
Turnabout Man is a short film from 1936 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
" A MOTORIST TAKES HIS DRIVING HABITS INTO HIS SOCIAL LIFE & HIS SOCIAL HABITS BEHIND THE WHEEL OF HIS CAR. HE GETS INTO TROUBLE IN HIS SOCIAL LIFE & HIS DRIVING BECOMES PERFECT. AND SO MR. TURNABOUT LEARNS THAT AFTER ALL THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO BEHAVE IN THE CAR OR IN THE DRAWING ROOM." (Producer's sales synopsis)
00:30:25:00 Turnabout Man 07827 00:30:35:00 med shot - living room interior - man reading newspaper in armchair - slow camera zoom (00:30:41:00) 00:30:42:00 CU of newspaper - headline - �Special Performance of Opera at Civic Auditorium Tonight� 00:30:45:00 camera pans to left over newspaper - headline - �Courtesy at Wheel Makes Double Safety for Pedestrians and Fellow Motorists� (00:30:51:00) 00:30:52:00 CU of man reading paper 00:30:55:00 CU of �Courtesy at Wheel� article 00:30:56:00 CU of �Special Performance of Opera� article 00:30:57:00 CU of �Courtesy� article 00:30:58:00 CU of �Opera� article quick cuts back and forth ends on Opera (00:31:00:00) 00:31:01:00 double exposure - spinning newspaper article with CU of man falling asleep (fade out 00:31:16:00) 00:31:17:00 MCU - wooden door inscribed �Mayor� - camera zoom 00:31:20:00 cross fade with MCU of man sitting in chair Man - �...and whether you realize it or not, Mayor Whitman, you�re the cause of this bump on my head...� 00:31:27:00 camera pulls back to reveal another man sitting at table Man - �...and this black eye, it�s all your fault!� Mayor - �All my fault?� Man - �Yes!� Mayor - �What are you driving at anyway?� (00:31:35:00) 00:31:36:00 MCU of man with bump Man - �Well I�d have never got them, if it hadn;t been for that article of yours in the paper.� (00:31:38:00) 00:31:39:00 med shot of Man and Mayor Mayor - �Oh, yes, yes. Good idea, if I do say so myself. Man - �Well, it wasn�t for me - I tried it.� (00:31:50:00) 00:31:51:00 cross fade with med wide shot of car driving past pedestrians Man - �When I accidentally blocked the way by stopping on the cross walk...� 00:31:55:00 MCU of older lady and young child (pedestrians) Lady looks annoyed - 00:31:56:00 med shot of car reversing Man - �I didn�t expect people to walk around.� 00:31:59:00 med wide shot of Lady and child walking past car Man - �I got back where I... 00:32:01:00 driver�s POV of pedestrians crossing street Man - �...belonged. I was considerate of pedestrians.� 00:32:04:00 cross fade to driver�s POV - car moving along street, pedestrians on side of street - car moves toward middle of street Man - �I actually drove around puddles to avoid splashing them. (00:32:10:00) 00:32:11:00 CU of driver behind wheel Man - �I was also considerate... 00:32:13:00 med wide shot of two cars at residential intersection Man - �..of my fellow motorists. If some fellow...� (00:32:15:00) 00:32:16:00 CU of other driver looking annoyed Man - �...was trying to get across the line of traffic...� 00:32:17:00 MCU of old guy waving other driver on Man - �...I let him through. � 00:32:18:00 MCU of other driver smiling and waving 00:32:21:00 med wide shot of intersection filled with cars Man - �Courtesy was a matter of only a few seconds...I had time for it.� (00:32:24:00) 00:32:25:00 cross fade to another med wide shot of road Man - �I swung out of line, so that a car parallel to me wouldn�t have to stop for a double parked car.� (00:32:31:00) 00:32:32:00 wide shot of tree lined boulevard - cars come to a stop at intersection - one car pulled forward into intersection Man - �When a driver nosed out ahead of the line at a stoplight, I didn�t take the chance to smash him into the oncoming cars.� 00:32:40:00 camera moves quickly to CU of stop light turning green(?) 00:32:42:00 wide shot of intersection - one car pulls in front of others Man - �I even treated...� 00:32:43:00 CU of evil driver Man - �...the deliberately reckless driver...� 00:32:44:00 CU of old man behind wheel Man - �courteously.� 00:32:46:00 med wide shot - long line of cars parked along street Man - �And when some driver�s motor�d gone down...� 00:32:49:00 MCU of another old guy trying to get car started Man - �...and every body was honking...� 00:32:51:00 MCU of policeman blowing whistle Man - �...loudly...� 00:32:52:00 CU of guy with cigar leaning out of car, honking CU of lady driver Man - �...impatiently...� 00:32:53:00 CU of narrator driver Man - �...I sat quietly and waited. I know it would do no good to blow my horn.� (00:32:58:00) 00:32:59:00 med wide shot of line of traffic finally starting to move - cross fade to MCU of Mayor 00:33:00:00 MCU of Mayor - �Well, that�s fine. Real genuine courtesy behind the wheel. Well, it seems to me that article of mine did a lot of good for you. But for the life of me I can�t figure out how you got a black eye out of it.� (00:33:16:00) 00:33:17:00 MCU of Man - �You haven�t heard the whole story. In my automobile, I was a model of courtesy and politeness, that�s true enough. But I guess the strain was too great for me.� (00:33:27:00) 00:33:28:00 MCU of Mayor, listening Man - �When I actually went out into... 00:33:30:00 MCU of Man, from the side Man - �...polite society, I didn�t have any courtesy left. I was all mixed up, completely turned about. I behaved like the average motorist in a traffic jam.� (00:33:40:00) 00:33:41:00 med shot of Man and Mayor in office Mayor - �You mean, in society, you did the things that a driver normally does in his automobile?� (00:33:47:00) 00:33:48:00 MCU of Mayor Man - �Well, that�s what it was alright...� 00:33:51:00 camera pans left over sign for Opera to med shot of car pulling up to curb. Man gets out of car. Man - �...for after that, I went to the theater. Something happened to me the moment I set foot out of my car. It was just as though I...� (00:34:03:00) 00:34:04:00 MCU of Man standing outside - grabs ticket from valet Man - �...swelled up inside with my own importance. � (00:34:09:00) 00:34:10:00 med shot of lobby of opera - ladies in fur coats Man - �Waiting in line, I was as ...� 00:34:13:00 MCU of back of man in line for tickets Man - �... restless as a driver held up by a traffic light. I treated a dear old lady as if she a car trying to cut through the traffic.� (00:34:21:00) 00:34:22:00 med shot of Man in line to get into theater - elbows another man who tries to pass him Man - �I was a regular boor. � (00:34:26:00) 00:34:27:00 med shot of another man walking down hallway -bumps into narrator Man Man�s VO- �When someone bumped into me... other guy - �I�m very sorry� Man - �Why don�t you watch where you�re going!� Man�s VO - �...I gave him a piece of my mind!� (00:34:34:00) 00:34:35:00 camera pans over wall of theater to med wide shot down at aisle between rows of seats -full of people Man�s VO - �When we were held up in the theater aisle because a lady had dropped her purse, I pushed through the crowd and protested loudly.� (00:34:45:00) 00:34:45:00 MCU of people in crowd - narrator Man comes pushing through crowd Man - �Come on, come on...� 00:34:47:00 MCU of people in box seats looking down at ruckus three more quick MCU shots of other startled patrons Man - �What�s the holdup? Get going down there!� 00:34:49:00 MCU of angry narrator Man (00:34:51:00) 00:34:52:00 camera pans left over �wall� of sheet music to 00:34:56:00 med shot of seated audience Man�s VO - �And when a lady wanted me to get up so she could pass, I yelled out...� (00:35:02:00) Man - �Go on around... 00:35:03:00 MCUs of shocked people (00:35:06:00) Man - �...the other way!� Man�s VO - �Well, I guess I carried things a little too far.� 00:35:07:00 med shot of sidewalk - Man in tux lands on the pavement on his rear Man�s VO - �The ushers...� 00:35:09:00 MCU of two ushers - heads not visible - brushing off their white gloves hands Man�s VO - �...landed on me.� (00:35:11:00) 00:35:12:00 med shot of Man standing in front of car, brushing himself off, getting into car (00:35:20:00) 00:35:21:00 MCU of Man behind wheel - looking upset, then gradually smiling Man�s VO - �But in my car again, I was courtesy itself.� 00:35:29:00 Man - �Oh sorry, boy, I almost forgot your tip� Gives money to invisible valet Man - �evening, gentlemen� (00:35:35:00) 00:35:36:00 MCU of two shocked valets or ushers? (00:35:39:00) 00:35:40:00 med wide shot of car driving off at night (00:35:43:00) 00:35:51:00 med shot of car at night - rear-ended by following car (00:35:53:00) Man�s VO - �When some one in back of me failed to ...� 00:35:54:00 MCU of driver�s door opening - man sticks head out Man�s VO - �...put on his brakes soon enough...� Man - �That�s quite alright, no harm done.� (00:36:00:00) 00:36:01:00 cross fade with MCU of Man in Mayor�s office Man - �Well Mayor Whitman, that�s my story. That�s how I got the bump on my head, and the black eye. And it�s all because of that idea of yours, about taking society manners into the automobile.� Mayor leans in so back of his head is visible in shot - �I still think its a good idea!� Man - �Well, I don�t. What�s going to happen to me if I keep on...� 00:36:25:00 MCU of Mayor laughing Mayor - �Nothing more serious than a bump on the head now and then.� (00:36:30:00) 00:36:31:00 MCU of Man - �Yes, but it isn�t...� 00:36:32:00 med shot of two men in office Man - �...natural!� Mayor - �Discourtesy in polite society may shock people. But discourtesy behind the wheel of an automobile means real trouble. When all motorists learn to take their company manners with them into their automobiles, driving will be much more enjoyable and a lot safer.� (00:36:52:00) 00:36:53:00 cross fade with med shot of Man dozing in arm chair Man wakes up, jumps up (00:36:58:00)
00:36:59:00 MCU of mirror - Man reflected in it, examining his head, eyes - looks relieved
00:37:09:00 Man - �Boy, oh boy, what a nightmare!� (fadeout 00:37:13:00)| Turnabout Man | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Production company | Handy (Jam) Organization |
| Distributed by | Handy (Jam) Organization |
Release date | 1936 |
Running time | 7:01 |
| Language | English |
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