June 8, 1956 – The Donald Duck Short Film How to Have an Accident in the Home Premieres
“My middle name is Jonah, and Jinx is in there, too. Hoodoo fits me like a glove, but Fate’s my name to you.”
On June 8, 1956, the Donald Duck short film How to Have an Accident in the Home was released. This is the first in a string of education films starring Donald that ran through the late ’50s and early ’60s, and was filmed in Cinemascope. It was directed by C. August Nichols, with story by Jack Kinney and Bill Berg.
The short opens with an introduction by J.J. Fate, who shows off an average neighborhood, and an average citizen who lives there (Donald). Donald, however, encounters several troubles on his way home, including being chased by a streetcar and nearly getting hit with a falling piano. Donald thinks he is safe at home, but Fate reminds the audience that nearly 5 million people suffered injury due to accidents in the home in the past year, and is angry that they all blame him. He shows Donald recklessly using a rocking chair to stand on while hanging a picture, with Donald leaving holes in the wall and falling off the chair. Fate then takes a tour of Donald’s accident-filled house, with cluttered stairs, tangles of wires, several lit cigarettes and pipes, and an iron left on and burning a hole through the ironing board. Due to a leaky pipe letting out gas, when Donald attempts to light his pipe, the house explodes.
Donald trips on a misplaced throw rug, spilling water from a full fishbowl and literally landing in trouble
The next example Fate shows is Donald carrying a full fishbowl and slipping on a throw rug. Fate slows the fall down on the instant replay, and shows each misstep Donald takes to land on the ground with the fishbowl on his head. The next example is Donald in the bathroom, where he slips on soap, gets burned on a vent, and electrocutes himself using his electric razor in the bathtub. Fate explains that, while Donald is an upstanding, average citizen, he takes several chances in his home that should be avoided for safety’s sake. One example is an overloaded circuit with frayed wires, and another is sticking his head in the oven when cooking with gas. Donald continues to have accident after accident, including falling down the stairs in several different ways. Finally, after one nasty fall, Donald decides to clean up his act – literally. He then goes to work, “where it’s safe,” he proclaims, only to have the audience find that he works at the Surefire Dynamite Company. In the end, Fate warns the audience not to blame him for their carelessness.
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