Coronet Films

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Coronet Films (also Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was a producer and distributor of educational films from 1946 to 1968 founded by David A. Smart. The company produced instructional short films aimed at young teenagers and high school students which were produced by dozens until the mid-1950s when production tapered off. Social guidance on topics such as dating, family life, courtesy and citizenship were typical themes of the films with occasional educational topics such as the solar system and the human body.

Correction: The date of 1968 seems too early, since Coronet was active during the 1973-1974 school year when they placed over sixty (60) titles for evaluation with Project METRO of the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC), in central Connecticut. Titles included "A Is For Alphabet", Color, Color Everywhere", "Dating Scene", and "Understanding Shakespeare: His Stagecraft". Source: METRO's "1974 MULTI-MEDIA EVALUATION REPORT" (privately printed and distributed to member school districts in central Connecticut). I was an employee of METRO at the time, and Coronet was one of our more valuable (in terms of quantity of product placed for evaluation) film vendors. In defense of the following comments about their "mockability", many of the titles in their catalog were produced early in the post-war film boom and showed their age, but they were typical of the quality, production values, and content of media of the period: no better, no worse, and often humorous in the context of the post mid-60's "sexual revolution", but true artifacts of their time.

After entering public domain, the films of Coronet were recognized by many as notable kitsch, especially after a few became shorts for the cable TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 which mocked the films' production values and underlying messages. Shorts featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 include Are You Ready for Marriage? and What to Do on a Date. The 1947 film Shy Guy featured the debut of a 19-year-old Dick York. Many films were directed by Ted Peshak.