Smokey Bear Fire Prevention Public Service Announcements (PSA), 1971 - 1985

This film was edited to remove countdown leader from between the Smokey Bear PSAs. The content of the PSAs has not been altered. Creator(s): Department of Agriculture. Forest Service. (07/01/1905 - ) (Most Recent) Series : Forest Service Public Information Films and Public Service Announcements, compiled 1945 - 1995 Record Group 95: Records of the Forest Service, 1870 - 2008 Access Restriction(s): Unrestricted Use Restriction(s): Restricted - Possibly Note: Some or all of this material may be restricted by copyright or other intellectual property restrictions. The use and reproduction of the Smokey Bear symbol is restricted by Public Law 82-359, as amended by P.L. 93-318, Title 18 U.S.C. 711, and 36 CFR 271. Scope & Content: This film consists of several PSAs. The first opens on a dark screen with the words "a personal viewpoint". Ray Charles explains the different sounds he loves to hear in the forest and cautions viewers: "Please be careful with fire, because when we lose a forest we lose a lot more than meets the eye. The second PSA shows a close-up on an animated Smokey Bear as he says, "Next time you're in the forest do me a favor." Long shot of the word, THINK, with Smokey and a pine sapling replacing the letter I. "America the Ugly" shows a forest fire. The camera then zooms out until the fire is revealed to be a reflection in the left eye of a costumed Smokey Bear. Smokey looks at the camera and says, "Only you." "Mask" shows a lit, wooden match as it falls onto a group of matches arranged in the shape of the continental United States. All of the matches are then consumed by the fire. "America the Beautiful" is playing in the background. Over this singing a narrator states that "one careless second with a match and America the beautiful becomes America the ugly." "If you knew it was me would you have listened?" begins with a close-up of the face of a young, blonde woman. She cautions viewers to be careful with fire in the forest in order to prevent forest fires. Extreme close-up of her face and hair as she tilts her head down; a costumed Smokey Bear raises his head making it appear as though the woman's face was only a mask that he was wearing. Smokey says, "If you knew it was me would you have listened?" "I think I love You Smokey Bear" shows a female singer on stage with a microphone as she sings part of the song: I think I love you Smokey Bear. At the conclusion she walks over to a costumed Smokey Bear and strokes his cheek. "Little Fire" shows two young boys as they threw a lit match into dry brush; a hiker tossing a lit cigarette aside; a burning campfire with a car driving away; and an unmonitored trash fire. These images are juxtaposed with images of a raging forest fire. A narrator states that "Nine out of ten forest fires are caused by little fires." In "Wristwatch" there is a close-up on a Smokey Bear wristwatch with Smokey Bear painted on the face. The second hand begins at 10 and ends at 12. A narrator states, "By the time the second hand reaches 12, forest fires will have burned down another 100 trees unless you help." "Careless" begins with a light brown background and then an outline of a pine tree appears as if being sketched by an unseen hand. A flame appears and follows the path of the outline, consuming it. "Please help prevent forest fires" appears at the bottom of the screen. A narrator states that "It can take nature one hundred careful years to grow a tree, but man can burn it down in just one careless second. Please help prevent forest fires." Contact(s): National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RD-DC-M), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001 Phone: 301-837-3540, Fax: 301-837-3620, Email: mopix@nara.gov National Archives Identifier: 13458 Local Identifier: 95.160 http://research.archives.gov/description/13458

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