You Are the Switchman
You Are the Switchman is a short film from ca. 1951 released on 16mm. It is held in the Prelinger Archives collection.
When "John Doe" finds a sore on his lip, he must commit to seeing a doctor. His decision is likened to the position of a railroad switchman who controls the movement of trains. The necessity of early cancer diagnosis and treatment is combined in this film with the medical profession's wish to intervene.
Film about cancer danger signals and how you should be on the lookout for them.
First there is a narrative about a father with a sore which won't heal on his lip. He refuses to go to the doctor until it's too late. We see his wife in black later on. There is a parallel narrative which is the success story of how the cancer was caught in time.(What is remarkable though, is that Dad is shown having his cigarette lit by his son in the opening sequence, and then when is cured of cancer, he sits with his wife happily smoking the pipe which undoubtedly gave him lip cancer in the first place. There is no mention of the role of tobacco.)
Treatment methods mentioned by narrator: X-ray; radium or surgery. Early detection is touted as the best hope of cure. Statistics of survival rates for skin, breast, "womb," and lip cancer are shown and the difference for early and delayed detection. Receding caboose in distance.
[shots listed below]| You Are the Switchman | |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Unknown |
Production company | Unknown |
| Distributed by | Unknown |
Release date | ca. 1951 |
Running time | 11:09 |
| Language | English |
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