AS BOYS GROW (1957 - 16:17)
Preaches its message in the person of a Track & Field coach who determines it's time to explain to the team all about the birds & the bees once one of his students asks why fellow teammates are so physically mature while he at the same age isn't. Coach chooses to wait until after practice to have an informal chat about the subject with the boys. What he tells them amounts to a landmark in the history of American sex education, providing as it does frank details about sex & matters associate that only a liberal section of the country like the San Francisco Bay area would have dared at that time. Discussed are the various types & speeds of male development, nocturnal emissions, masturbation (declared to be "something normal"), and even more importantly, the fact, frankly stated, that sex is a pleasurable activity.
MOLLY GROWS UP (1953 - 14:20)
finds Molly starting to act a little funny in the eyes of family and friends. Then she has her first period - "the curse", as she calls it. But Mom's there to help explain everything to her; indeed, in those days, it was generally thought best that Mom was the best one to do such things. Even still, the importance of having the School Nurse explain the details of such matters is recognized as she is seen to instruct Molly and the rest of her female classmates on such issues as the menstrual cycle, tampons & feminine napkins, and activity do's and don'ts (regular dancing okay, square dancing not okay). Intended to deal more with the physical ramifications of puberty rather than the psycho-sexual.
PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF PUBERTY (1953 - 17:41)
depicts Johnny & Janey during "the in-between period of adolescence". Using animated diagrams, the development of the primary (reproductive) and secondary (body hair and physical development) sex characteristics in males and females is analyzed. Focusing more closely on providing a detailed nuts & bolts explanation of the physiological aspects of puberty than the preceding two films, changes in appetite, brain cells, uneven primary & secondary development, blemishes & the endocrine system are carefully explained.
HUMAN REPRODUCTION (1947 - 21:24)
the grand daddy of all American sex education films, begins with the happy news that the feminine half of some friends of the family are having a baby. This leads junior to ask some rather interesting questions! Dad tries his best to answer his son's inquisitions while this film provides the inner monologue he needs to answer them correctly. Concentrating on presenting the most detailed (and most disturbing) illustrations of all the preceding films, its release launched a major controversy throughout America over the legitimacy of sex education in the nation's schools.
IN THE BEGINNING (1935 w/ Sound Added 1937 - 15:42)
takes on the subject of evolution with a sensible exposition of the commonalities of mammalian reproduction. Seminal useage of animation and microphotography throughout to illustrate the lesson.
NATURALLY - A GIRL (1973)
presents a more modern and open view of a growing girl's sexual maturity, offering particular insight into the personal feelings of the young developing ladies.
YOUR BODY DURING ADOLESCENCE (1955)
outlines what changes boys and girls will go through due to the activities of the seven glands that govern the growth of maturing adolescents, especially the pituitary and sexual glands.