History Film / LastClearChance

* AmbiguousSituation: The short only ever states that Frank Jr. is killed in the collision at the end, and never states what happens to Betty. The only real hint is that while Frank is left to lie with Trooper Hal covering his remains with a blanket, Betty is loaded into an ambulance with her body uncovered suggesting she survived but was seriously injured.
* AnAesop: Observe all traffic laws all of the time, and be aware of the specific hazard that comes with railroad train crossings.

* DownerEnding: A distracted Frank drives into the side of a train, killing himself and seriously injuring his fiancée, while his brother helplessly watches.

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son -- who just got his driver's license -- that he shouldn't bend the rules, because even a small mistake can lead to tragedy, ''especially'' around railroad tracks. Because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train -- killing himself and possibly his fiancée -- not ten minutes later.

* ForgoneConclusion: We know someone will die during this short, since it opens with Trooper Hal outside of a cemetery, telling us that the son of a family friend has died.

* StartsWithTheirFuneral: The opening scene is of a funeral procession, which we learn is for Frank Jr.

* GoOutWithASmile: But only because Frank and Betty are oblivious to the danger of the oncoming train. They are presumably still waving back at Alan and smiling at the instant their car collided with the train.

But has his grim lesson sunk in, or will innocent people die this day at the hands of our mortal enemy, the train? (Answer: Yes.)

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Alan tells Trooper Hal he just got his driver's license a few hours earlier, after which Hal reveals that he saw him driving in town just a few days earlier and scolds him for it.

* CluelessAesop: Although the message of "pay attention while driving" is a good one that more people need to take to heart, it's made rather stupidly. The entire short is about how even minor distractions can be dangerous or even fatal. However, when the big accident does end up happening, it's because the driver was doing something so insanely stupid that even someone who'd never seen a car before could probably tell you it was a bad idea.

* FailedASpotCheck: Frank is too busy ''driving while waving at his brother behind his car'' to notice a massive train coming towards him. His girlfriend, the only other passenger, is similarly distracted.

* GoOutWithASmile: But only because Frank and Betty are oblivious to the danger of the oncoming train. They are presumably still waving back at Alan and smiling at the instant the train strikes the car.

* ScareEmStraight: Although it contrasted with many other driver's ed films of the era -- less preachy (it used a drama presentation, plus Boyett's natural conversational-style narration vs. the lecturing of other safety films) and less graphic (many driver's ed films prior to the 1970s showed graphic carnage of actual accident victims and destroyed cars) -- it still made its point: Obey all safety rules all of the time or you risk becoming a statistic.
** In-universe, it's a certainty that Alan will never be careless around trains. If reading the accident report that killed his friend didn't do it, witnessing the crash that killed his brother certainly will.

* TonightSomeoneDies: Foreshadowed with the opening –- a state patrol trooper stopping at the entrance to a cemetery but declining to go inside. He almost immediately reveals that the son of a close friend had died.

* TruthInTelevision: People do all these things and more around railroad crossings, even to this day. Operation Lifesaver exists for a reason. As well, the family in the short and what happens to them was based on a real family that went through a similar experience.

* JumpScare: "Now where did ''that'' train come from?"

* RailroadTracksOfDoom: The main point of the film, as the sponsor is Union Pacific Railroad and for obvious reasons they were personally invested in reducing the amount of train-car collisions in the country.

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son--who just got his driver's license--all the ways he could die horribly if he drives carelessly. ''Especially'' if he drives carelessly near railroad tracks. And then, because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train -- killing himself and seriously injuring his fiancée -- not ten minutes later.

* TonightSomeoneDies: Foreshadowed with the opening –- a state patrol trooper stopping at the entrance to a cemetery but declining to go inside. He almost immediately reveals that the eldest son of a close friend had died.

-->'''Railroad employee:''' Why don't they look, Carl? Why don't they look?

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Frank's mother expresses concern at the end of the conversation with Hal about her son Frank. Jr's driving and she and her husband decide to talk to him about it after he returns home. He dies in a train crash within moments.

* IdiotBall: Frank Jr. and Betty die ''because they're looking backwards and waving at Al instead of watching the road.'' They could have crashed into literally anything.

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son--who just got his driver's license--all the ways he could die horribly if he drives carelessly. ''Especially'' if he drives carelessly near railroad tracks. And then, because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train -- killing himself and his fiancée -- not ten minutes later.

* BloodlessCarnage: Betty's body is remarkably untouched considering she died in a ''train collision''.

* DownerEnding: A distracted Frank drives into the side of a train, killing himself and his fiancée, while his brother helplessly watches.

Idaho State Patrol Trooper Hal Jackson, concerned over automotive and train safety, visits with a local family (established as friends), whose youngest son has recently received his license. Through a series of scenarios detailing bad driving etiquette, unsafe driving -- one story ends in the death of one of the kid's friends -- and ignorance of safety around railroads, Jackson's goal is to impress upon the young lad the need to observe safety and driving laws all of the time.

* BehindTheBlack: During a long shot of an approaching train, the narrator tells us to notice how close the train has to be before we hear it. Seconds later, there is a mild JumpScare when a train headed in the ''other'' direction emerges from the side of the right screen.

* DownerEnding: A distracted Frank drives into the side of a train, killing himself and his fiancée, while his brother helplessly watches.

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son--who just got his driver's license--all the ways he could die horribly if he drives carelessly. ''Especially'' if he drives carelessly near railroad tracks. And then, because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train -- killing himself and his fiancée -- not ten minutes later.

** In-universe, it's a certainty that Alan will never be careless around trains. If reading the accident report that killed his friend didn't do it, witnessing the crash that killed his brother certainly will.

* BloodlessCarnage: Betty's body is otherwise uninjured despite her having died in ''train collision''.

* DownerEnding: Frank and his fiance die in a train crash due to carelessness as his horrified brother is only able to watch.

* JumpScare: "Now where did THAT train come from?"

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son--who just got his driver's license--all the ways he could die horribly if he drives carelessly. ''Especially'' if he drives carelessly near railroad tracks. And then, because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train--killing himself and his fiancee--not ten minutes later.

** In-universe, Alan reading the accident report that killed his friend and then witnessing the car-train crash that killed his brother and sister-in-law-to-be, it can be implied, is enough to instill safe driving habits in him for life.

* TonightSomeoneDies: Foreshadowed with the opening – a state patrol trooper stopping at the entrance to a cemetery but declining to go inside. He almost immediately reveals that the eldest son of a close friend had died.

* StartsWithTheirFuneral: The opening scene is of a funeral procession, which we learn is for Frank Jr.;

While maligned by some as [[{{Narm}} too narmish]] – particularly for a reactionary scene near the end of the film, where one railroad worker asks why some drivers fail to heed basic safety rules – it was lauded by many others as a sobering effort to instill safe driving in young drivers. Today, it also stands out as a showcase of rural America in the late 1950s, before superhighways – although a few four-lane highways are shown – and urban sprawl and when farming was still a major part of the economy in rural areas; plus, some old-school railroad crossing technology, most notably the wig-wag (swinging pendulum) crossing signal, can be seen in use, as well as a vintage, early 1900s-style railroad crossbuck (diamond-shaped) sign … years before the crossings were upgraded with modern signals, bells, and gates … plus the long relegated-to-history caboose at the end of several trains. The movie itself was filmed in southwestern Idaho, with some footage also filmed in northern Colorado.

* AskAStupidQuestion: The question Trooper Hal says many drivers ask if they are fortunate enough to survive a car-train collision: "Where did the train come from?" The answer, of course (as he says), is "the railroad tracks." The point being, of course, that a train can be expected at any crossing, at any time, that drivers must be aware at all times of that, and that one time of failing to heed warning signs and signals, or looking for a train is all it takes to get seriously injured or killed.

* BloodlessCarnage: Betty's body is otherwise uninjured despite her having died in ''train collision''. Although one interpretation could be that she did not immediately die and that death came later.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Alan tells Trooper Hal he just got his driver's license a few hours earlier, after which Hal reveals that he saw him driving in town just a few days earlier. Hal – who, it can be implied, didn't stop Alan because he thought he was licensed – doesn't scold too much however, and doesn't even give him a warning … he sees that Mr. and Mrs. Dixon's disappointment is enough. (Plus, Grandpa Dixon admits he allowed him to take the truck into town, even though he knew him to be unlicensed.)

* CluelessAesop: Althought the message of "pay attention while driving" is a good one that more people need to take to heart, it's made rather stupidly. The entire short is about how even minor distractions can be dangerous or even fatal. However, when the big accident does end up happening, it's because the driver was doing something so insanely stupid that even someone who'd never seen a car before could probably tell you it was a bad idea. Then again, real people do things just as dumb every day, so...

* FailedASpotCheck: Frank is too busy ''driving while waving at his brother behind his car'' to notice a massive train coming towards him.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Frank's mother comments that ''he'' has been taking too many chances on the road.

* IdiotBall: Multiple drivers ignoring basic safety rules … but most prominently Frank Jr. At least twice, he is shown crossing the tracks in front of a train, but managing to clear the tracks mere seconds before the train speeds through the crossing. The odds catch up with Frank Jr. in the end, although ironically enough, he is not trying to beat a train this time; it is his inattention to the crossing ahead – the flashing lights of the railroad sign and the train horn – that causes the deadly wreck. But at least three other drivers - one Al's friend, another a middle-aged man who was trying to pass another car while overtopping a hill and still another an elderly man who fell asleep behind the wheel (his wife, too, is presumably killed) – are killed during the course of the film.
** Trooper Hal points out multiple times that while an offending driver may have gotten away with violating traffic laws or ignoring safety rules without consequence many times before, his moral is that it only takes one time to become the victim in a deadly crash. For instance, with the man who passed several cars while climbing a hill in a clearly marked no passing zone, Hal mentions that it was his first – and last – accident.

* NeonCity: The film warns about how distracting the neon signs of a big city can be to drivers. This includes a few shots demonstrating how easy it is to miss traffic lights or railroad crossing lights against a background of equally bright signage.
* NostalgiaFilter: Trooper Hal sets the stage for the then-new superhighway system by reflecting back on the days of the horse-and-buggy, Ford Model Ts and tandem bicycles – all of which he says weren't just showpieces in old-time festivals but a legitimate part of life and within the lifetimes of most people 50 and older at the time of filming (summer 1959). Hal also reflects on quiet country roads and that everyone at the time stopped for railroad crossings, contrasting that with modern highways – the interstate highway system was in its infancy, although there were still plenty of four-lane superhighways in the late 1950s – and even railroad overpasses and underpasses that allow trains to pass through urban areas and/or travel over or under major highways without impeding traffic. Hal prefaces this, however, with the obligatory caution and his whole point: While highways (and cars) have gotten better and safer, the human body has not changed and that drivers need to be even more careful now and pay heed to all traffic laws all the time.
* RailroadTracksOfDoom: Much of the premise of the movie – trains pose a danger to drivers, they can be expected at any time of the day or night, double tracks can mean double trouble particularly with a second train just after the first one clears the crossing ... and the trope can be enforced if basic safety rules and warnings aren't heeded (ergo, the results of a car-train collision will likely be deadly). Indeed, the trope is reality for Frank Jr. and his fiancé, Betty (who initially survives but it is implied that she, too, will die). The rest of the movie is padded out by reinforcing other driving safety tips.

* SafeDrivingAesop: A cop drops in on a farm family to explain to the youngest son--who just got his driver's license--all the ways he could die horribly if he drives carelessly. ''Especially'' if he drives carelessly near railroad tracks. [[spoiler:And then, because they live in a cruel, merciless world, the ''older'' brother crashes his car into the side of a moving train--killing himself and his fiancee--not ten minutes later.]]

* StartsWithTheirFuneral: The opening scene is of a funeral procession, which we learn is for Frank Jr.; this is followed by Trooper Hal's lament of frustration at why drivers fail to heed basic, common-sense rules of the road, even if they know full well that an instant of a bad decision could result in death and destruction.

* TruthInTelevision: People do all these things and more around railroad crossings, even to this day. Operation Lifesaver exists for a reason.

->''"Why don't they look, Carl? Why don't they look?"''

-->-- '''Hal'''

''Last Clear Chance'' is a 1959 {{Glurge}}-fest brought to you by Union Pacific, that shows just how stupid people get around trains.

While maligned by some as [[{{Narm}} too narmish]] – particularly for a reactionary scene near the end of the film, where one railroad worker asks why some drivers fail to heed basic safety rules – it was lauded by many others as a sobering effort to instill safe driving in young drivers. Today, it also stands out as a showcase of rural America in the late 1950s, before superhighways – although a few four-lane highways are shown – and urban sprawl and when farming was still a major part of the economy in rural areas; plus, some old-school railroad crossing technology, most notably the wig-wag (swinging pendulum) crossing signal, can be seen in use, as well as a vintage, early 1900s-style railroad crossbuck (diamond-shaped) sign … years before the crossings were upgraded with modern signals and gates … plus the long relegated-to-history caboose at the end of several trains. The movie itself was filmed in southwestern Idaho, with some footage also filmed in northern Colorado.