“DOWN THE HATCH“ 1970s U.S. NAVY ANTI-ALCOHOLISM, ANTI-DRINKING EDUCATIONAL FILM XD65614

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 1975 U.S. Navy alcoholism awareness film “Down the Hatch“ shows the powerful, negative effects that can come from consuming, and becoming addicted to, hard liquor. The film tells the story of an alcoholic’s journey from corrupted childhood, where his abusive, alcoholic step-father tells him he will never amount to anything, through an insecure youth filled with tragedy, to a bleak adulthood defined by regret, all the result of his and his parents’ exposure to drink. Even a terrible drinking-and-driving car accident caused by teenage John, in which his girlfriend died, doesn’t change John’s habits. John ruins his marriage and family, his Navy career, and his life through the bottle. This film was produced by the Petersen Company, with a script by Harvey R. Langee, M.D., and featuring medical illustrations from The Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations, 1972, by Frank H. Netter, M.D. The film opens with John, at a bar, staring at a drink which has a beetle or cockroach in it, then transitions to a mother walking her child partway to school (1:00). The boy is shown again standing with his lunchbox, with a depiction of a knight dressed in red on it (1:32). The boy is shown being berated by his stepfather, while drinking a beer (2:26). Teenage, high school age John and Priscilla are shown (2:54). The college football field is shown with the scoreboard (3:31). John is shown not taking no for an answer when he asks Priscilla to go steady with him. (2:54-4:19). John is shown drinking and driving, and he crashes the car. These scenes could be triggering (4:29-4:52). John, now a Navy sailor, is shown drunk at a bar and pestering patrons (5:43). He is then shown in Mr. Hendricks’s office asking for help with repositions (7:02). John is shown drunk at the bar again complaining about Mr. Hendricks (9:03). John is with two other Navy officers who are also drunk (9:38). They are outside a place called El Dorado (10:30). John walks into his home carrying a bag with several baby bottles in it, he sets the bottles next to a bottle of Milforld Southern Whiskey (17:46). John is next seen at his desk interacting with a co-worker who asks if he is alright. His boss wants to see him and reprimands him for being late and missing work. Meanwhile, the camera flashes to show that John could not give up the beer he had meant to dump, and shows him fighting with his wife, who he hits. These flashbacks could be triggering (21:21-24:32). The doctor explains to John the effects of alcohol, that his liver is damaged, and what will happen if he continues, he shows him a medical book with a diagram of man’s digestive tract. The medical image is anatomically correct (25:21-27:46). The scene then shifts to John’s home, he is sitting reading a newspaper, which shows a scene from a boxing match, with his son at a table while his wife is cleaning dishes (28:20). They start to discuss what the doctor said, and they begin to argue, during the argument John makes a sexist remark (28:21-30:19). John’s son asks to go to a ball game, but John says he would rather watch it on T.V. John tries to say they will go next week, but his son says that’s what he said last week (30:23-31:00). John remembers everything he’s said about drinking (). Then, he remembers his stepfather talking about being a man while drinking and realizes that his step-father was not a man, but a coward (32:42). The film ends by showing a cockroach in a glass of whiskey (33:14). Harvey R. Langee was a script writer who also was in the US Naval Reserve V-12 Program. He wrote scripts for approximately 50 film and television programs, including those for PBS, IBM, Bank of America, Film Counselors, and the United States Navy. He held a medical degree from Stanford which he earned in 1968. 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