The story behind One Got Fat, a 1963 bicycle safety film, is simple:
A group of children, all wearing ape masks, ride their bicycles to the park for a picnic. Along the way, all but one are eliminated for violating basic bike safety rules.
This charming film is narrated by Edward Everett Horton (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970). Given that Horton was best known as comic actor, the film seems all the more strange and amusing for his involvement.
(You, like us, might see the story of ten people being killed one by one as harking back to And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie.)
The children have great names: Rooty-Toot Jasperson, Tinkerbell MacDillyfiddy, Phillip Floogel, Mossby Pomegranate, Filbert Bagel, Nellie Zwieback and Stanislav Higgenbottom.
Our pick are Trigby Fipps and “Slim” Jim Macguffny. They share a bike because Slim’s “collapsed from the effects of his diet”. Trigby drives into a deadly hole because his vision is blocked by the “eclipse” of his fat pal.
Last up is Orville Slump. He carries all the packed lunches because he has a large basket on his ride. Sensible Orville gets to live alone with his memories and sound cycling know-how. But he won’t be admired for long because he feasts on the all his pals’ remains, namely their pack launches. Orville, you see, is the ‘One [who] got fat’.
Spotter: BikeRetroRaunch
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