Production

Sid Davis

Born — Died

1916-04-01 — 2006-10-16

Place of birth

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Known for

Production

Credits

43 titles

Sid Davis was an American writer, producer and director of educational short films, produced by his own company, Sid Davis Productions. He also worked as a stand in for actors Leif Erickson and John Wayne.

Known for

Without Reservations poster
6.3

Kit Madden is traveling to Hollywood, where her best-selling novel is to be filmed. Aboard the train, she encounters Marines Rusty and Dink, who don't know she is the author of the famous book, and who don't think much of the ideas it proposes. She and Rusty are greatly attracted, but she doesn't know how to deal with his disdain for the book's author.

Without Reservations

1946

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen poster
3.5

One of Santa Claus' "brownies" (elves) introduces the story of the Fairy Snow Queen, who plays a trick on Santa Claus by bringing all the toys to life just before Claus is due to deliver them to children around the world. She shows Claus what she's done and the toys demonstrate their abilities. The toys are distraught when Claus says they must be turned back into inanimate objects in time for Christmas, but the Fairy Snow Queen comes up with a plan to make everyone happy.

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen

1951

V.D. poster
5.1

A high school track star's wedding plans are capsized by venereal disease and a bad, beautiful new girl in town. His coach and a physician steer him into the light again.

V.D.

1961

Keep Off the Grass poster
5.5

Tom is confronted by his parents about being a "dope fiend" for using marijuana.

Keep Off the Grass

1970

Boys Beware poster
3.3

This anti-homosexual social "scare" short film focuses on the dangers of young boys talking to strangers.

Boys Beware

1961

Summer of '63 poster
4.0

A doctor remembers back to the summer of 1963 when he was a freewheeling and irresponsible high school senior. What made him change his life to want to become a doctor? A condensed version of the Davis-produced feature film V.D. (1961) with added footage.

Summer of '63

1972

Film credits

Behind the camera

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen poster
3.5

One of Santa Claus' "brownies" (elves) introduces the story of the Fairy Snow Queen, who plays a trick on Santa Claus by bringing all the toys to life just before Claus is due to deliver them to children around the world. She shows Claus what she's done and the toys demonstrate their abilities. The toys are distraught when Claus says they must be turned back into inanimate objects in time for Christmas, but the Fairy Snow Queen comes up with a plan to make everyone happy.

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen

1951

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen poster
3.5

One of Santa Claus' "brownies" (elves) introduces the story of the Fairy Snow Queen, who plays a trick on Santa Claus by bringing all the toys to life just before Claus is due to deliver them to children around the world. She shows Claus what she's done and the toys demonstrate their abilities. The toys are distraught when Claus says they must be turned back into inanimate objects in time for Christmas, but the Fairy Snow Queen comes up with a plan to make everyone happy.

Santa and the Fairy Snow Queen

1951

V.D. poster
5.1

A high school track star's wedding plans are capsized by venereal disease and a bad, beautiful new girl in town. His coach and a physician steer him into the light again.

V.D.

1961

Keep Off the Grass poster
5.5

Tom is confronted by his parents about being a "dope fiend" for using marijuana.

Keep Off the Grass

1970

Boys Beware poster
3.3

This anti-homosexual social "scare" short film focuses on the dangers of young boys talking to strangers.

Boys Beware

1961

Boys Beware poster
3.3

This anti-homosexual social "scare" short film focuses on the dangers of young boys talking to strangers.

Boys Beware

1961

Summer of '63 poster
4.0

A doctor remembers back to the summer of 1963 when he was a freewheeling and irresponsible high school senior. What made him change his life to want to become a doctor? A condensed version of the Davis-produced feature film V.D. (1961) with added footage.

Summer of '63

1972

...So I Took It! poster
NR

Anti-shoplifting film co-produced by Sid Davis and Motorola.

...So I Took It!

1975

You're Growing Up poster
9.0

The four periods of growing up, from birth to age 20, are highlighted in this training film about learning how to accept help from others.

You're Growing Up

1956

Wild at the Wheel poster
6.0

This short film looks at the importance of maintaining safe driving practices and heeding traffic rules. A traffic cop investigates a serious car crash and attempts to understand the cause.

Wild at the Wheel

1973

Show 'Em the Road poster
8.0

Southern California teenagers join the Mobilgas "Safety and Economy" competition, driving from the Los Angeles area to the Inland Empire, the desert, to Las Vegas, Nevada and Hoover Dam, then back home again. Producers and Directors: Sid Davis and Arthur L. Swerdloff.

Show 'Em the Road

1954

Show 'Em the Road poster
8.0

Southern California teenagers join the Mobilgas "Safety and Economy" competition, driving from the Los Angeles area to the Inland Empire, the desert, to Las Vegas, Nevada and Hoover Dam, then back home again. Producers and Directors: Sid Davis and Arthur L. Swerdloff.

Show 'Em the Road

1954

The Dangerous Stranger poster
6.2

In this film, a police officer tells children about the dangers of accepting rides or presents from strangers, and relates the unfortunate stories of several children who did and were never seen again.

The Dangerous Stranger

1950

The Dangerous Stranger poster
6.2

In this film, a police officer tells children about the dangers of accepting rides or presents from strangers, and relates the unfortunate stories of several children who did and were never seen again.

The Dangerous Stranger

1950

The Bottle and the Throttle poster
4.7

The dangers of drinking and driving are illustrated to a teenager returning from a beach party, where after having "one too many beach beers" he runs over a young mother and her child. This color short is not to be confused with the earlier black and white film, with same title, from 1961.

The Bottle and the Throttle

1968

Alcohol and Red Flares poster
NR

This driver’s education film from the early 1970s, "Alcohol and Red Flares", warns viewers of the dangers of drunk driving. It recounts the story of a man named “Mike” who drinks heavily at a party, and insists on driving home. The consequences are steep and along the way, viewers learn about Blood Alcohol Level (also known as BAC or Blood Alcohol Content), techniques police use to verify a driver’s inebriation such as the breathalyzer, and the reasons why driving drunk is so dangerous. This film was produced by legendary social guidance filmmaker Sid Davis in cooperation with the Monterey Park Police Department.

Alcohol and Red Flares

1973

Bicycle Today, Automobile Tomorrow. poster
NR

1969 educational film teaching bicycle traffic laws to preteens in advance of learning to drive.

Bicycle Today, Automobile Tomorrow.

—

The Bottle and the Throttle poster
5.4

The dangers of drinking and driving are illustrated to a teenager returning from a beach party, where after having "one too many beach beers" he runs over a young mother and her child. This black and white short is not to be confused with the later color film, with same title, from 1968 (some sources indicate 1965).

The Bottle and the Throttle

1961

Age 13 poster
6.5

Tells the story of Andrew, a 13-year-old whose mother dies and leaves him with an indifferent step-father. Andrew, receiving only hostility from his classmates and step-father, begins to steal. An understanding counselor at school helps Andrew reform and readjust.

Age 13

1955

Strangers poster
6.0

Deals with child molestation prevention. Teaches youngsters safety rules they should follow whenever any unknown person speaks to them. For elementary grades. Sid Davis remade this film over and over and over. Same situations different actors and years.

Strangers

1957

The Dangerous Stranger poster
6.0

Presents vignettes explaining the dangers posed by child molesters. Shows various methods that molesters use to win over a child's confidence, how it is wise to be on guard and how to act should these situations ever arise. A 70's remake of a 50's Sid Davis short.

The Dangerous Stranger

1971

What Made Sammy Speed? poster
8.0

Sammy, an average teenager, apparently has one flaw: an "attitude" about driving. He mocks those who drive safely, and speeds all over town, encouraged by his girlfriend, who finds his recklessness "manly" and "courageous."

What Made Sammy Speed?

1957

No artwork available
NR

A junkyard full of smashed cars hints at the fate of their reckless drivers.

What's the Big Hurry?

1974

'LSD': Trip or Trap! poster
5.9

The Inglewood Police Department's 1960s video, "LSD: Trip or Trap?" is a classic of the genre. Alex sez, "It's a story of two friends who enjoy flying model planes, except that one becomes an 'acidhead' so he can be 'groovy' with the other acidheads. The other does research into LSD and decides it's a 'bummer'."

'LSD': Trip or Trap!

1967

Gang Boy poster
7.0

Danny ponders a way for rival gangs to avoid violence at an upcoming dance.

Gang Boy

1954

Name Unknown poster
7.0

A Juvenile Court judge relates to Edie--a young girl who is appearing before him because she ran away from home with a boy who promised to marry her--the things that happen to teenagers who don't listen to their parents or other authority figures. He shows her cases where young girls have been assaulted, raped and murdered because their parents were too permissive and let them have jobs outside the home, or the girls were too defiant and thought they were "too sophisticated" for their own good. Then, to show his compassion and concern for Edie--who by this time has been reduced to a bawling, quivering wreck--he throws her in a juvenile detention hellhole for three months so she can think about "whether showing off is worth a lifetime of regrets!"

Name Unknown

1951

Girls Beware poster
5.6

Girls Beware is a trilogy of tragedies brought about by teenage girls' attempts at independent behavior. Covers do's and don'ts in the babysitting situation. Develops the problem of the 'PICK UP' and the girls who go with boys that are too old.

Girls Beware

1961

Girls Beware poster
5.6

Girls Beware is a trilogy of tragedies brought about by teenage girls' attempts at independent behavior. Covers do's and don'ts in the babysitting situation. Develops the problem of the 'PICK UP' and the girls who go with boys that are too old.

Girls Beware

1961

Vandalism poster
5.7

Two young high school boys spike the punch at a Halloween party, mischievously let the air out of car tires, and finally steal a car to go for a joyride. They're caught and thrown in jail, and, as the narrator says, this proves that pranks lead to "habit-forming wildness," and, of course, such anti-social behavior cannot be allowed to happen

Vandalism

1953

Vandalism poster
5.7

Two young high school boys spike the punch at a Halloween party, mischievously let the air out of car tires, and finally steal a car to go for a joyride. They're caught and thrown in jail, and, as the narrator says, this proves that pranks lead to "habit-forming wildness," and, of course, such anti-social behavior cannot be allowed to happen

Vandalism

1953

Seduction of the Innocent poster
3.7

Jeanette, a pretty high school student, is looking for “kicks”. She starts hanging out with a wild crowd, and begins popping bennies, uppers and other pills. Soon she graduates from barbiturates to marijuana…

Seduction of the Innocent

1961

No artwork available
10.0

Public information film regarding female safety and how to safeguard against rape

Beware The Rapist

1979

Why Take Chances? poster
8.0

The dangers of carelessness and inattention are dramatized by the case of poor little Jimmy, who has been having a tough day. Because of his carelessnss and inattention, he runs into a tree, steps on a nail, flies a kite in a rainstorm, and digs a cave in a hillside, which promptly collapses on him.

Why Take Chances?

1952

No artwork available
NR

Revised version of the 1962 film The ABC Of Babysitting. Covers safety rules to be observed while babysitting, using the situation of a babysitter's employment and experiences.

Babysitters' Guide

1975

No artwork available
NR

Made by Sid Davis, a prolific director of social guidance films, this anti-smoking film takes a blunt, no-nonsense approach to smoking cessation, arguing against the deceit of the tobacco industry with staged reenactments, stark narration, and bold title cards promising smokers a shorter life expectancy due to lung cancer.

No Smoking

1960

No artwork available
7.0

Another Sid Davis film cautioning kids about their duties and responsibilities and to be an adult and smart using the safety devices provided for them. Just like an astronaut!

On Your Own

1961

Users Are Losers poster
NR

Educational film about the dangers of drug use and abuse in high school. Framed around the death of a classmate from overdose.

Users Are Losers

1971

Ingenuity in Action poster
NR

Hot Rod Magazine film from 1959 With the Parker Brothers from Odessa, TX, and their early hot rods. Shot similar to Endless Summer this movie follows drag racing teams as they travel to the 1959 Drag Racing Nationals. This film features the DRAGMASTER team from California. They are also shown in their shop building an early dragster. Jim Nelson, the owner of the SpeedShop in Ocean Side, California and pioneer of dragsters, is shown in the shop as well. They drag in Detroit and Oklahoma. They are shown traveling with their dragsters loaded.

Ingenuity in Action

1959

The Cool Hot Rod poster
9.0

A misfit teenager with a passion for hot rods - and trouble - moves to a California town where he learns the errors of his ways and becomes a model hot rodder.

The Cool Hot Rod

1953

No artwork available
9.0

Jerry doesn't like anyone telling him what to do. He thinks he can be a big man on campus... if by campus you mean middle school. A madcap crime spree that includes running in the halls, hitting a girl in the head with a milk carton, and yes, even riding his bike with no hands ends in tragedy... a seat outside the vice-principal's office. Oh Jerry, didn't you know that this would go down on your permanent record?

Big Man on Campus

1963