Special Delivery (1963)

School bus movie starring Mansfield, Ohio police chief John Butler as the school bus driver. Produced in and around Mansfield, Ohio.

How Superior Coach Co. school buses move children safely to and from school. Dramatic film with great creepy closeups.

Young boy (Mickey Miller, almost 5) with Indian headdress running behind hedge, taking cover (“Indian” music theme as in Western movies), running to frighten other kids waiting for school bus (good Indian costume sequence)
Older girls mock him, “always dressed like Injun Joe”
Mickey wants to ride bus, but he is too young to go to school
Good CUs of teenage and preteen girls, early-60s style
MS kids climb onto bus, Mickey too but is elected
CU school bus driver’s face looking concerned
CU Mickey stringing arrow onto bow, shooting suction-cup arrow at bus (good)
POV shot out of vehicle driving by suburban houses (good)
VS kids getting on bus (good)
Bus on road in rural area
CU driver (low-angle) while driving (good)
VS driver’s face while driving (good)
CU Mickey’s reflection in cap hubcap while he applies warpaint on his face (good)
High-angle shot of yellow school bus pulling into parking lot
MS safety patrol boy helps guides kids out of bus
CU kids’ feet on steps of school bus as they disembark (good)
Whole lot of kids departing is shown in full (good — kind of conceptual)
Bus driver adds Mickey’s arrow to a group rubber-banded on back of his sunvisor
VS kids entering school building as bell rings
CU Mickey with headdress on washing his face in basin
VO: “Mickey says he won’t go to school on the white man’s stagecoach”
Mother VO: “well, I won’t drive him”
GS kids climbing onto school bus — farm background
CU bus driver smiling at Mickey (good)
CU sullen-faced Mickey getting onto bus
CU finger pushing white button (doorbell)
CU bus driver “Open it up, Mickey” (good)
CU Mickey opening up wrapped present (unwrapping), pulling out Indian bead necklace and putting it on around his neck
CU Mickey whispering into sister’s ear
Bus driver, teen girl and Mickey walk down steps and get into convertible
CU Mickey’s fingers fingering necklace
VS school buses parked in lot (pan around lot showing many buses) (good)
Mickey runs onto bus, inspecting it with joy, sitting in driver’s seat and twisting steering wheel
CU Mickey raises hand in Indian greeting: “How?”
CU hands checking warning light switches
CU headlights turning on into camera, then off again
CU hands on dashboard instruments
CU black shoe on accelerator pedal
CU tire moving, then stops (brake test)
CU girl: “OK, Mr. Marshall” (good)
VO: “Is that all right, Mr. Marshall?” (good)
VS bus driving along Midwestern rural/industrial streets
CU bus driver’s face (nose and mouth only) with countryside passing by
CU bus driver speaking into public address mike
CU POV from driver’s seat as they approach railroad crossing
Safety patrol boy gets off bus, checks for trains before proceeding
Driver speaks to patrol boy through PA system
Views up and down RR track
Car passing bus on left as bus pulls over to let it pass
VS POVs out of driver’s window
School bus flashes red lights as children walk towards it
Safety patrol girl gets into middle of road with STOP flag to stop traffic
MS kids riding on bus, yawning (documentary-style shot) (good)
Mickey’s sister makes him sit down when he stands up others
MS kids exiting bus
Safety patrol boy and girl practice exit drill out rear emergency exit
VS Ohio State Highway Patrol officer inspects buses for safety
CU officer affixing safety inspection sticker to bus windshield
CU model of school bus showing body frame construction (protective armor shell)
Film argues that quality sacrifices for lower prices are unwise
Aerial of school bus driving along rural road (good)
CU Mickey riding on bus, looking out of window, touching it with finger
LS school bus driving down curved road while honking car passes bus too fast
CU steady-minded bus driver’s face while driving (good)
CU rearview mirror showing cars backed up behind schoolbus
Driver pulls over to let other cars pass, then pulls out into road again
Millie: “Thank you for taking Mickey and me with you, Mr. Marshall.”
CU Mickey hiding his headdress, bow and arrow in the bushes — he doesn’t need to be a warrior any longer
Kids walking past camera on way into bus (good)
Kids climbing onto us
CU smiling Mickey (at driver) saying “Hi!” (good)
MS line of girls and boys at corner waiting for bus as it pulls up, then getting on (good)
CU youngster trying to get on bus, just as Mickey did
CU boy hangs his head crestfallen — he swallows, maybe sobs, because he wants to go to school
(end)

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