“WILLIE’S SECOND CHANCE” 1950s BICYCLE / BIKE RIDING SAFETY EDUCATIONAL FILM 30994z

Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This 1950s (?) era educational film directed by Dale Smallin and James Willert presents a lesson about bicycle safety set in Covina, California. Special thanks are given to Wayne Allen, Sr., Dean Stevens, Foothill Cycle Shop, Crippen Ambulance Service, Covina Police Department, and Western Auto Covina in the opening credits. The film starts in black and white with a scene of two brothers in a driveway. The older brother is working on a car with the hood popped open and the younger brother is kneeling next to him oiling a bicycle (00:20:19). The older brother narrates the film and recounts the bicycle safety laws Willy breaks and an accident that occurs with him and his friend, Bobby. Willy pedals his bike out of the driveway onto Ruddock Avenue and narrowly misses being hit by a car. He rides past several Oldsmobile cars parked on the street, two men in white shirts and dark pants (1:49), and knocks over a woman carrying a paper grocery bag (2:06). He hitches a ride on the back of a Chevrolet truck (2:27). He splatters mud on an old car (3:29). He rides downtown and drops his bike outside of an ice cream store that has SCPA written on the bottom of the door (3:52). The two boys (Bobby and Willy) eat ice cream outside of the shop (4:09). Bobby is depicted in a new scene riding the new Schwinn bicycle he got for his birthday (4:34) to Willy’s house (number 9205) and knocking on the door. Willy turns a corner onto Banna Avenue past two German shepherds barking out a house window (5:14). The two boys race on the main road until Bobby cuts through an intersection without looking and is hit by a white Royal automobile (6:06). Two men in white pants and dark jackets get into a Crippen Ambulance vehicle (6:10) and drive on palm tree-lined streets to the accident. The ambulance pulls up next to Bobby lying immobile on the ground with a police officer standing over him (6:56). The two men load him onto a stretcher in the back of the ambulance (7:28) while Willy watches. A new scene shows Willy sitting in front of a building with his head in his hands next to his bike (8:13). The narrator explains that Bobby wasn’t seriously hurt, but broke his left arm, and this has made Willy reconsider his bike safety practices. Willy is then shown following various bike safety rules, including looking both ways before wheeling his bike out of the driveway (8:31). He stops at the stop sign on Ruddock Street and looks both ways (8:36). He comes to the scene of the previous accident, stops for a white Royal automobile, and rides on the right side of the road. He hand signals a left turn at the intersection of Jenner and Wingate Street (9:11). He walks his bike on the sidewalk (9:55). He dismounts and talks to Bobby, who is sitting on the curb with his arm in a sling (10:32). He shows Bobby ice cream money from his front shirt pocket. The two boys walk downtown, Willy wheeling his bike beside him (10:44). Willy locks his bike next to a window sign advertising Valentine cards (10:49) and the two boys enter the ice cream SCPA shop. Willy greases his bike chain in the driveway (11:06). The film switches from black and white to color at 11:20, and Willy is shown standing with his bike in front of his house explaining bicycle safety rules. Willy walks his bike through a crosswalk past Beneficial Finance Corporation (11:45). Bobby is shown riding on Willy’s handlebars as Willy’s voiceover warns against riding two people on a bike (12:08) and hitching rides on a Chevrolet truck. Willy holds a bicycle inspection safety card and explains the importance of regular bike inspections (12:33). At 12:48, Willy is standing outside of a bicycle shop with a Schwinn bike advertisement in the window as a man inspects his bike. The reflection of a Texaco gas station can be seen in the window. The film ends with Willy walking his bike off the driveway. 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