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Join this channel to get access to perks: Want to learn more about Periscope Film and get access to exclusive swag? Join us on Patreon. Visit Visit our website This 1957 social guidance film produced by Crawley Films for the McGraw-Hill Book Company as part of their Marriage and Family Living Series promotes restraint from premarital sex / the topic of “going too far“ while H. Landis, State Professor of Sociology at the State College of Washington is a film adviser. Lillian Bilkey, Associate Professor of Family Relations at State University Teachers College in Plattsburg, NY is a script collaborator. The black- and-white film begins with a young couple, Mary and Jeff, returning from a date on a summer night. A DeSoto automobile (0:47) pulls up to a suburban house. Mary runs to the door and slams it shut, although Jeff asks her to wait. Mary’s mother asks if she had a nice time on the date. Mary is agitated and explains that she has strong feelings for Jeff and doesn’t know what to do (3:21). She says she and Jeff nearly had sex in the car, but she asked him to take her home. Mary and her mother sit in a bedroom with a mirror, bed, dresser, lamp, and checkered wallpaper (4:45). Mary wears a sleeveless v-neck dress with a flower on the bodice. Mary’s mother cautions her to rely on her judgment, not emotion, in relationships, and advises restraint. Mary and her mother hug (5:44). The rest of the film shows Jeff and Mary trying to build a relationship that does not involve sex. A new scene opens with a sign proclaiming, “Final issue party for all staff and friends of the Signpost,” a student newspaper at Central High School, on a cork bulletin board (5:48). Jeff enters an office and greets Mary, who is typing on a manual typewriter (6:13). A calendar hangs on the wall (6:14). Jeff apologizes for his behavior last Saturday, and Mary says it’s okay. A group of students enters and they sit around a table to lay out the next day’s newspaper (7:52). They talk about and pity two other students, Eileen and Fred, who had a shotgun wedding after having a baby (8:17). Both had to leave school, and Fred, who wanted to be a lawyer, now works in a steel mill. Jeff asks Mary if she wants to go to a party with him Friday night; she agrees (9:20). In a new scene, Jeff and Mary see Eileen pushing a baby carriage on the sidewalk of their suburban neighborhood (9:43). We hear Eileen’s thoughts in a voiceover as she wonders if the two will say hi to her, or cross the street to avoid her (9:59). Mary and Jeff admire the baby, called Suzy, in her stroller (10:14). Eileen explains that there is a lot of work that goes into caring for the baby— a scene shows her changing diapers— but she and Fred are happy, although they don’t get out much. Eileen knits in a chair while Fred sleeps on the couch (11:05). Eileen says sometimes she wishes she and Fred had more time to work things out. A new scene shows the party on Friday while Jeff and Mary, and other couples, dance the jitterbug while music plays on a record player (11:57). Jeff hesitatingly asks Mary if she will wear his school ring as they stand outside (13:51). She consents and takes it. They kiss. They are overcome emotionally, and start to dance again. The other teens start to make out (15:02). On the way home in the DeSoto automobile (15:36), Stu and Marge, their double dates, make out in the back seat; they want to “go to the port and park awhile“ but Jeff refuses. The other couple hassles them for being “pills“ and leaves. Mary invites Jeff in for a sandwich and to see her parents; he accepts (17:00). A note says Mary’s parents will not be back until about two; they put on music and dance. Speaking seductively, Mary offers Jeff ham, tomato, bacon, and cucumber. They kiss. Off screen we hear an echo of Mary's mother's words about slowing down and Jeff's words about not losing everything for a few minutes of pleasure (18:58). They dance cheek to cheek. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.“ This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
