Down the Hatch

This 1975 U.S. Navy alcoholism awareness film "Down the Hatch" shows the powerful, negative effects that can come from consuming, and becoming addicted to, hard liquor. The film tells the story of an alcoholic's journey from corrupted childhood, where his abusive, alcoholic step-father tells him he will never amount to anything, through an insecure youth filled with tragedy, to a bleak adulthood defined by regret, all the result of his and his parents' exposure to drink. Even a terrible drinking-and-driving car accident caused by teenage John, in which his girlfriend died, doesn't change John's habits. John ruins his marriage and family, his Navy career, and his life through the bottle. This film was produced by the Petersen Company, with a script by Harvey R. Langee, M.D., and featuring medical illustrations from The Ciba Collection of Medical Illustrations, 1972, by Frank H. Netter, M.D.