Alcohol Is Dynamite (1952)

[Music] [Music] I guess you've seen that sign enough times, haven't you? Any bar or club that sells liquor by the drink or any retail beverages is sure to have it in a prominent place. Bud and Jack went in to buy a case of beer for a picnic. And right now they think it's pretty unfair that they can't walk into a store like anyone else and buy liquor just because they're underage. Oh, that's me incidentally, Tomman. I'm a sports reporter on the city paper. The boys want me to take their money and buy their drinks for them. No deal. Maybe it'd be a good idea if I told them a little something about why that sign is in the window and why they should be glad it is there. For anybody who fools around with this, adult or minor, is playing with dynamite. Anthropologists say that what distinguishes man from the lower animals is his power of reason. A power found in the portion of the brain called the frontal loes. Well, when a drop of alcohol gets in the blood, that's right where it heads for the frontal loes. Almost as if its aim in life was to transform man back into an animal. to take away the reasoning powers and self-controls, or to use a highbrow word, inhibitions that make that human society possible. What would happen if the bottle weren't empty? If the boys could go on drinking? Well, alcohol doesn't stop after knocking out the frontal loes. It starts in on the whole nervous system and eventually affects every function of the body. How much alcohol does this take? Well, suppose there are three or four drops of alcohol for every thousand drops of blood. Then the drinker looks like this, only half conscious, hardly able to stagger, hard to breathe. If he keeps on drinking and the concentration reaches four to five drops, he ends up like this. And that's fortunate in a way, because if he was able to lift his hand for another drink, the undertaker would have another customer. You see, all it takes is five drops of alcohol for every thousand drops of blood. A half of 1%. And brother, you're a dead duck. Well, that first night was the start. Paul, Jim, and Tip took to drinking together. Jim's father gave him plenty of money, and Jim kept them in liquor. Fortunately, a patrol car spotted Jim going through a stop sign and he has picked up on suspicion of drunk driving. [Music] Jim's father was summoned to the station and because this was Jim's first offense was successful in having Jim released following a severe warning. In the meantime, Tip's playing went from bad to worse. And then came a day that Tip would like to forget, but one he'll remember all his life. He was kicked off the basketball team. But his two good friends were there to console him, and they were sure a drink would make him feel better. Well, the alcohol story usually runs to a pattern. The boys were drinking more and more, depending on liquor to get them through the day. Even dates were no fun anymore without a bottle. [Music] Naturally, what the waiter is doing is reminding them that he has a sign in his front window, too. We do not serve liquor to minor. But Jim had thought of that. Jim's date Judy had never tasted liquor before, but like dope addicts, one drinker can't stand the sight of somebody not drinking. And soon Judy catches the spirit of the thing. The waiter has a right to be sore. They'll give the club a bad name, he says. And he boots them all out. He wants to keep his license. The boys can't understand Judy. Only two drinks and look at her. But it's really very simple. Tolerance for alcohol varies from person to person. Judy is one of those on whom it acts like a deadly poison. members of Alcoholics Anonymous. And now he has a chance to save himself. Jim never got over that accident. When he got out of jail, he went back to drinking and ended up on Skid Row, a hopeless derelict. Tip, the third boy, realized at the scene of the accident that he was playing in the wrong league. Right then, he made a vow never to touch a drop of liquor again. And he hasn't. How do I know? Because Tip is my son. Why did Americans in one year spend $2 billion more for liquor than for all education? That's a tough one to answer. When a man can't or thinks he can't measure up, he looks for a crutch, something to help him. He takes a drink. Alcohol deadens the part of the brain that holds his worries and responsibilities, and he thinks it's helping him. But instead of helping him, every drink gives him that much less chance of ever being able to get along, and his crutch ends up by destroying him. Now, if a mature adult admits his failure as a man or woman by resorting to alcohol, what about the boy or girl who never gives himself a chance to learn to adjust without liquor? He's licked before he starts. So, that's why you see that sign in the window. And that's why boy and girl should be glad that somebody put it there because You believe that Udica Club is one of the half dozen or so beers in the United States that uses mash fillers instead of a lauder tub just because this method ensures a better tasting brew? Harry, your socks don't match. You see, we drink all we can, the rest we sell. [Music] Watch. They'll say it happened because I was drinking. Sure, I was drinking, but I was also eating. That third double martini was starting to get to me. It's a good thing the waiter brought food. Nothing like a good wife with dinner. With a big meal, it's harmless as water. They'll probably want to give me a blood alcohol test. I don't care. But I'd sure hate to take the test if I hadn't eaten all I did. A meal like I just had really soaks up the alcohol like a sponge. Oh boy, I kind of overdid it tonight with all that eating and drinking. And everybody knows that you can drink all you want as long as you eat enough. Sure, Mac. Sure.