ProCPR Blog

Recently someone reminded me of a scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber that featured and attempt at CPR.  It’s a pretty classic scene that goes horribly wrong.

In the scene, someone called Mental is holding Harry and Lloyd hostage.  They stop to get something to eat, and Harry and Lloyd try a prank which brings about an allergic reaction.  They then try to rescue Mental with “CPR.”  Or at least their own variation of it.

It starts with Mental having each of the others try these hot peppers. He leaves to make a phone call, and by the time he comes back, the guys have put the peppers on his burger. He has an allergic reaction to the peppers and falls onto the floor. Harry and Lloyd react quickly, pumping his legs in a ridiculous “heimlich” maneuver that isn’t, and then beating him on the chest. One of them tries to give rescue breaths, which Mental stops from happening. Mental does, however, carry pills with him, but he’s left those in the van. Instead, he had rat poison, which he’d intended on using on Harry and Lloyd. They give him the poison, thinking it’s the pills that he needs, and he finally passes out.

Watch the Video (Warning, some strong language. May not be safe for work.)

When I was a little kid, we’d sometimes watch episodes of Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.  I was always a bit confused, though, thinking that the kids would have been the same ones that were on The Cosby Show.  There was even a character named Rudy, which just added to that confusion.  Anyway, I found an episode of the cartoon that dealt with a CPR class that the kids were taking.

It was amazing to me that this issue was not only addressed, but also promoted, in a children’s cartoon.  This episode first aired on September 1, 1984.  CPR can be a very tough comment for young kids to handle, but when handled in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids, but rather brings it to them at their level, it can be very effective in building awareness of this life-saving skill.

Watch the Video

Here’s the video description: “It’s fun with dummies! (No not Rudy) When Rudy decides shooting some baskets is more fun than a CPR class, Fat Albert and the Cosby kids learn just how important CPR is thanks to their buddy Mudfoot. Just an FYI, this is not an instructional video.”

There are two CPR sequences in Casino Royale to mention. One that worked, one that didn’t. And neither of them accurately portrayed. Casino Royale is one of the latest James Bond movies, and was the first to star Daniel Craig in the leading role.

In the first scene, James Bond is poisoned. He realizes what is happening, and stumbles to a restroom with a glass and a salt shaker from a table he passes along the way. He proceeds to drink a cup full of saltwater, and then stumbles out of the building. He then makes it to his car where he injects himself with something, and proceeds to attempt to use a defibrillator on himself. Finally, someone else comes along and does it for him after he passes out. At this point, he recovers and the movie goes on.

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There’s a scene of CPR in the film The Abyss.  It is a bit of a longer scene.  While the CPR proves to be successful, it avoids some of the cliches that happen.  The CPR isn’t clean, nor is it very pretty, which tends to happen in many of the films that portray it.

I’ve not seen The Abyss, and only just found the scene in question.  It gets most of the CPR right, with the person performing it with straight arms and the head tilted so the airway is opened.  The rest falls into the realm of fiction, leading to Ed Harris slapping the woman in the face a few times in frustration while shouting at her to come back.  It is only after this that she is revived. It is ridiculous, but seemed to captivate the audience at the time the movie was released.

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In this entry in the CPR in Entertainment series, we’re going to talk about a show that I’ve never seen.  This CPR scene was recommended by Rex.  In the episode, which closes out the first season of the show, a lot of things happen which lead to the quick invention of CPR, hundreds of years before it was actually invented. In fact, it is Xena herself who invents CPR in her desperation to revive the dead Gabrielle.

CPR in Entertainment is a series based on rescue scenes found in both TV shows and movies. If you have a suggestion for a future entry, please comment below!

24 was a television show that went for eight seasons over nine years (one year was missed due to the writer’s strike, if I’m not mistaken).  It was an action packed show that dealt with a single day in the life of Jack Bauer, as each season only happened over one 24 hour time frame.  The entire series tackled only eight days, but each day was potentially years apart.

As this show dealt with a lot of hard hitting action, there was always a chance that CPR might come up at one time or another.  Did they manage to correctly display CPR for the world to see?  Well, there were a lot of episodes that featured CPR, but the one scene that I’m going to talk about this time is from season seven, episode ten.

In the scene, FBI Agent Renee Walker (played by Annie Wersching) attempts CPR on someone who they just pulled out of a truck before it exploded.  Her arms are bent, not locked, and the compressions are shallow, not deep.  Nor do the compressions come anywhere close to the 100 per minute rate that is supposed to be done.

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Back in season five of NBC’s The Office, they did an episode that featured a CPR class which was absolutely hilarious.  The opening of the episode also showed the importance of having a fire escape plan that your employees know about, and that you’ve practiced it.  I know that this isn’t a scene with CPR, but we covered it before, here: CPR on The Office (after the Super Bowl).

I hope that you enjoy this cautionary tale on having a plan of escape in case of a fire emergency.

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There is a scene in Back to the Future: Part II that has always made me laugh.  I posted on a few facebook pages, asking for favorite CPR scenes in movies or TV shows, and someone mentioned this movie.  While not exactly a scene representing actual CPR in action, it is hilarious.  I did some research into the history of CPR training, and found that the first demonstrations of cardiopulmonary resuscitation happened in 1954, and a doctor published a book called ABC of Resuscitation in 1957.  However, it wasn’t until the 1970s that CPR was promoted for the public to learn in the United States.  This means that the film is historically accurate with regard to the classic moment.

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In our latest column about CPR in Entertainment, we’re going to take a look at a scene in Jurassic Park.  In the scene, there is a 10,000 volt fence that young Timmy is on, when the fence is re-energized.  He is shocked and flies off of the fence.  Dr. Grant catches him and immediately begins CPR.

I did a little bit of research into this scene, as it always seemed weird to me that he flew off of the fence and that the shock didn’t kill him instantly.  I chalked it up to just being a little bit of movie magic. However, I was surprised to learn there was a good explanation.

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Mrs. Doubtfire is a movie from the early 1990s featuring Robin Williams as Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Like What about Bob?, the scene that I have selected isn’t technically CPR, it is the Heimlich Maneuver. This one is a big moment of revelation in the film, as it is the culmination of a very crazy dinner where the character of Daniel Hillard must dine with two different parties as two different personas. The Heimlich Maneuver comes into play as the character played by Pierce Brosnan has an allergic reaction to the meal he is eating and Mrs. Doubtfire springs into action.

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