Figure 1.--This is Alexander (Baby Dumpling) from the Blodie series of films during the late 1940s and early 50s. Here he is in a made-up Scout uniform. I'm not sure why they didn't use official Scout uniforms or because of his age a Cub uniform. The film here is "Blondie in Society".

After looking over the information here on Scout films and television programs we have a few observations. An interesting question is why have there been so few Scout film made. One would think that a group that so many boys have been involved in wouls have had any number of films made about it. Scouting in America was the principal non-school actibity for boys until the 1970s when many more activities became increasingly available. As it apparent from this page, however, a very small number of films have touched on Scouting--and really only one ("Follow Me Boys!") actually really devoted to Scouting. Amother interesting question is why are there no British films on Scouting, after all Scouting was founded in England. There are few countries, perhaps only America, in which Scouting has been so hrealded. While the number of American films is limited, HBC has been able to find no English films at all. We also note in America boys in made up youth groups meant to portray Scouts.

Small Number of American Scout Films

An interesting question is why have there been so few Scout film made. One would think that a group that so many boys have been involved in wouls have had any number of films made about it. Scouting in America was the principal non-school actibity for boys until the 1970s when many more activities became increasingly available. As it apparent from this page, however, a very small number of films have touched on Scouting--and really only one (Follow Me Boys!) actually really devoted to Scouting. This is especially surprising given the relatively large number of films devoted to the Hitler Youth which operated for a realtively short period. HBC can not answer this question authoritatively, but we can suggest some possible factors. Some possible factors include the following: 1) Movies like dramatic situations, perhaps Scouting was considered too prosaic. 2) Similarly the basically positive image of Scouting appears to attract fewer film makers than the negative inage of the Hitler Youth. 3) Films are now focused on the teen market, and it is common for modern to teens to dismiss Scouting and as a resukt may not want to see a film about Scouting. 4) The BSA in America has put legal barriers in the depiction of Scouts thus many producers may simply avoid the topic. These are somplu some of our initial thoughts, we would be interested in reader insightgs on the subject.

Virtually No English Scout Films

Amother interesting question is why are there no British films on Scouting, after all Scouting was founded in England. There are few countries, perhaps only America, in which Scouting has been so hrealded. While the number of American films is limited, HBC has been able to find no English films at all. An English reader writes. You may be correct about movies, at least I can't recall one either. There is at least one TV program I know. It was a serial at Saturday Children's film Programme. I will have to do research to find out its name. I do believe it was made by the RankFilm sponsered Children's Film Foundation. The film was a sea Scout adventure. The boy hero was a Sea Scout. The role was played by a boy actor called Dennis Waterman. He went on to have a successful adult acting career. The title of the film I do not know but I will found out its name." Another British writer tells us, "I don't know if Waterman is known in the U.S., but in the U.K. he is still a famous actor - though now well into middle-age." An English reader writes, "There is a huge body of literature here in England--school stories. Scouts and Cubs have not attracted qyuite as much attention., but even so, ghere are lots of stories written about Cubs and Scouts. And as HBC writes, it is rather curious that there are virtually no movies are television programs."

Made-up Groups

We notice that in American films and television that Boy Scouts are often depicted as made up groups rather than as actual Scouts. This can be seen in the made-up uniforms rather than official Scout uniforms. Sometimes made-up name are used, such as Beaver Scouts, Boy Rangers, or other terms. The term "Ranger" was often used because the Boy Scout and Girl Scouts had by law the exclusive tight to use the term "scout" for youth organizations. We are not entirely sute why this is done. The Boy Scouts of America have I believe threatened legal actioins in some cases. I am not sure about the details. They may have wanted some kind of royalty payment or script approval to make sure Scouting is portrayed positively. I am not aware of actual court cases. Perhaps HBC readers will know more about this. To avoid the problems, producers have turned to the easier expedient of simply making up a group. The uniforms varied, but generally more some resemblance to real scout uniforms. Another factor here is the age of the boys. In some cases they are not old enough to be Scouts.

Cub Scouts

Cub Scouts are the most numerous participants in the Scout family. Even so, we note relatively few depictions of Cubs in films. If Scouts are depicted, almost always it is Boy Scouts. We are not sure just why Cubs are so rarely depicted in movies and television.

Created: 6:55 PM 1/29/2008
Last updated: 2:09 AM 1/30/2008