Hell's Highway: The True Story Of Highway Safety Films

(kino intl.) Release Date: June 27, 2003 Director: Bret Wood Cast: Sammy Davis, Jr., Ronald Reagan Plot: This documentary profiles the shockingly graphic and disturbing drivers education films produced by the Highway Safety Foundation of Mansfield, Ohio from 1959 to 1979 which have had a decades-long impact on the millions of students who were required to watch them in high school. Among the 20+ movies profiled, which combined dramatic reenactments with actual car accident footage (and their resulting gore) are 'Signal 30' (1959), 'Mechanized Death' (1961), 'Wheels of Tragedy' (1963) and 'Highways of Agony.' Although these films contained images that are still graphic and disturbing by 21st century standards, they are also credited by some as being the most effective highway safety measures ever enacted. Website: link