Man Alive!
About Man Alive!
Ed lets his car fall apart and then patches it himself instead of taking it to a mechanic. He treats a bad stomach the same way, listening to friends, fads, and scare stories about cancer. The film lines those up against the danger signals and against remedies that do not work. He finally pays a real garage, takes the lesson, and goes to a doctor.
Cast & crew
More about Man Alive!
William T. Hurtz directed this color cartoon for the American Cancer Society. Stephen Bosustow produced it at UPA. William Roberts and Bill Scott wrote it. Benjamin Lees composed the score. Released 27 February 1952.
Themes
Background
The American Cancer Society used it in a turn toward male audiences in the early 1950s, after decades of campaigns aimed chiefly at women.
Making
Cancer-education films had mostly addressed women. This one was built for men and booked back into regular movie programs, not only clubs and factories.
Audiences
Theaters and television both took it. In 1953 the Cancer Society set up a rental service for 35mm prints because theater demand was high. A Spanish-language version was planned.
Technique
A color UPA short in the studio's flat, limited-animation drawing, sponsored rather than sold as a theatrical cartoon on its own.
Music
Benjamin Lees wrote the score.
Preservation
The National Library of Medicine holds it in the Medicine on Screen collection.
Notes
- Bill Scott, who co-wrote the film, voices Ed. Dorothy Scott voices Marion. Vic Perrin narrates.
- It was Hurtz's second film as a UPA director. The studio later made Sappy Homiens (1956) and Inside Magoo (1960) for the same sponsor, also aimed at men.
- The National Library of Medicine dates a production year of 1950 and a running time of 12 minutes.
- Life ran a picture story on the short.
Scenes
- Ed's ruined car and his ignored indigestion are cut as the same kind of delay.
Also available
- National Library of Medicine (Medicine on Screen)
