The Greatest Movie Ever

 The Greatest Movie Ever

What’s your favorite movie? At Oscar time, movie critics list their “ten best” for the year and often comment on the best movies of all time. Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Godfather, and Singing in the Rain top many lists. All these are great but my vote for the greatest movie of all time is Smoke Detectives. 

Smoke Detectives is the story of Count Floyd, a vampire of the Count Chocula variety, who lives in a haunted house filled with spiderwebs, coffins, dark corners, and fire-safety hazards. The Smoke Detectives, a gang of kids in trench coats and deerstalker caps, get a tip from his “Mummy” that the Count needs help. At first, the Count tries to frighten them before telling them old vaudeville jokes like “I just flew in from Transylvania and, boy, are my arms tired!” The detectives find fire hazards, like over-stuffed outlets and frayed cords, frightening the Count. They teach him about fire safety and he gets to work fixing his problems. 

Riveting, right? Probably not to you but when I showed this movie to my second-grade class every year, they were mesmerized. No one moved a muscle for twenty-five minutes. A rare moment of peace for me and a meaningful learning moment for them.  We laughed at the Count’s jokes and silly acting and learned along with him about fire safety. At the end, we’d bounce along as we sang the catchy jingle: Smoke Detectives are on the beat; Smoke Detectives are on your street; Smoke Detectives know what to do; Smoke Detectives like me and YOU!

What makes a movie great? Is it the cinematography, the story, the direction, or the acting? Those all contribute to be sure. But the lessons a movie teaches and the feelings viewers walk away with are what really make a movie great. My students learned fire safety rules and that they have power to change things. Children can identify a problem and solve it — and they can do it while having fun. Smoke Detectives are like me and you. We all have something to contribute. We can help others with knowledge and good humor. 

Twenty-five minutes of peace and twenty-five students learning and loving it made Smoke Detectives my pick for greatest movie. We walked away smarter and feeling joyful, ready to help our families and friends, perhaps while telling a few silly jokes. The best movies make you think and feel. Sharing with a few dozen little friends makes them great — like me and you. 

(Watch Smoke Detectives on YouTube. Many thanks to State Farm Insurance.)