Boys Beware is a drama short propaganda film released through Sid Davis Productions. It deals with a perceived danger to young boys: that of predatory homosexuals. The film was released in 1961 and, under the copyright laws in the United States at the time of its release, has lapsed into the public domain and is available from the Rick Prelinger archives.
The film, shot entirely in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California and produced with the cooperation of the city's police department and the Inglewood Unified School District, is narrated by a self-described police detective who is on his way to a school meeting where he is to discuss the issue of hidden sexual predators attempting to lure young adolescent males.
Aside from the film's early 1960s culturally influenced conclusion that homosexual men are inherently dangerous to young boys, the film has been noted for its unusual perception of police procedure: one boy, named Jimmy, is taken to a hotel, presumably to be molested, and later reports the crime. The perpetrator is arrested; the victim is put on probation. This could be seen as an instance of victim blaming.
Another incautious, unsuspecting boy, Mike, is killed one night, "having traded his life for a newspaper headline".
A third boy, Denny, is tricked into entering a stranger's car. The stranger is arrested after the boy's friend, Jerry, marks down the car's registration plate and is subsequently reported to police.
A fourth, Bobby, has a narrow escape, having realized he was being tailed by a man (played by Davis himself) who was in the beachside changing room where he and his young friends had been earlier.
The film equates homosexual men with child molesters, repeatedly describing homosexuality as a disease and as a mental illness. True to the stereotypes of its time, the gay men in the film typically have moustaches, sunglasses and/or bow ties.
The film has other odd moments, probably the result of its shoestring budget of $1,000 - a minuscule sum for a short film, even in 1961. Most notably, in the third scenario, a homosexual is seen driving the same car (1959 Chevrolet Biscayne)that the detective uses.
Davis was friendly with the police in Southern California and would accept their suggestions of topics to make films about, allowing them to guide the films' message and development.
A color version of the film was made in 1973, titled Boys Aware, using the same script and soundtrack with different actors.
Playwright Max Sparber's play The Older Gentleman set in rural Nebraska in the early '60s, includes a scene in which college students are shown Boys Beware in class.