Rating: 
Summary: Spookily Hilarious
Review: Ken Smith has tapped into a vein in the American cadaver with this clever and respectful survey of one of the most freakishly commonsensical forms of propaganda ever conceived. The mental hygeine film as a genre carved out a niche in the american psyche so clandestinely, with such subtlety, that until you read Smiths book you forget you ever encountered them.
But you did.
The implications of the mental hygeine movement, as personified in its perveyors so nicely profiled in this volume, are astounding and far-reaching. Certainly the lessons of 25 years of these films and their power were not lost on the moguls who now control the airwaves, such as Fox's Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, a thought that chills me to the bone, personally.
Smith has exhaustively researched his topic, but susinctly captured the nuances and paradoxes that frame it. Mental hygeine was a well-intentioned movement absolutely shot through with cold war era-flavored suspiscion, fear, and conformity. Smith lifts these elements to the surface and touches on them just long enough to deconstruct them briefly, letting the reader connect most of the dots.
My only regret with this book is that Smith is satisfied simply to create a sketch of the genre. I found myself wishing for information on the films' impact on the generations who watched them, the classrooms of subsequent generations, and public school curricula in general. Many of the teens from the 50's and 60's who sat blank-faced, staring at these films in schoolhouses across this country are now running it. I should like to know where are that fear and conformity went...
Rating:
Summary: Turn you head and cough....and laugh!
Review: Once you pick this book up, you can not put it down, I know I couldn't. I have always been a big fan of these films, the kind that we are forced to watch in school. Although when I first saw these films, I was half asleep (what can I say? I found High School a bore, that those make me bad?) It's a pleasure to relive my teenage years and reveiw these films. I can remember in my school driver's ED was the most popular course, not because of the idiot coach they had teaching the course, but because of the gut wrenching films that they showed. Oh the humanity! "Blood on the Highway" took away for child innocence, and now I can go back and relive that moment in my life. I can't decide if I found this book to be more funny or vile......maybe a little of both. Nah, its more vile than funny....but so was "Bridges of Madison County." Buy this book!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect.
Review: The best thing about this book is the author's treatment of the subject. Yes, he pokes fun at it. But he never takes a smug, superior, "aren't-we-so-much-smarter-than-these-idiots" tone. Even in his most hilarious descriptions of inane dialogue or overdone melodrama, you can feel the affection he has for these films and their history. An wonderfully fun glimpse of a part of our popular culture that is (was) slowly being forgotten.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This book is one of the best books I have ever read. Not only does to accurately describe and discuss these films but it does it with a touch of humor and gusto.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious treasure chest of AMerican camp!
Review: what a terrific book! I laughed, I cried, I spent the whole weekend reading aloud Ken Smith's synopses to my roommate. I expected the book to make fun of the films and condemn the filmmakers' obvious authoritarian attempt to control teenagers. But in giving a social history of the films, Ken Smith actually paints a sympathetic picture, explaining that these films were made in an attempt to deal with postwar social turmoil and anxiety. He clearly thinks the films are funny as hell, but he also has a lot of respect for the filmmakers, and that comes through. In the second half, he gives hilarious synopses of his favorites. This is clearly a man who devoted a lot of time and attention to his project. Not only does he spot returning actors, he even points out props that were re-used. This is truly an indispensible guide for any fan of these campy classics. One correction (or update) to the book... Ken Smith writes that you can't see these films anywhere unless you go hunting for the original 16mm versions. I actually found a website that sells video compilations, including many of the films Smith mentions. if you do a Yahoo search on "mental hygiene films" you should turn it up fairly easily. also, if you *do* want to track down the 16mm originals, they're available on online auction sites.
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