Sex Madness (1938)

Philanthropist Paul Lorenz is one of the more public faces in the fight against behavior that spreads the many "social diseases", such as syphilis and gonorrhea. An example of such behavior... See full summary »

Director:

Dwain Esper

Writers:

Joseph Seiden, Vincent Valentini

Stars:

Vivian McGill, Rose Tapley, Al Rigali

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vivian McGill	...	Millicent Hamilton
Rose Tapley	...	Mrs. Hamilton
Al Rigali	...	Mr. Hamilton
Mark Daniels	...	Wendel Hope (as Stanley Barton)
Linda Lee Hill	...	Sheila Wayne
Ruth Edell	...	Mrs. Fay
Charles Olcott	...	Paul Lorenz
Ed Redding	...	Dr. Hampton
Pat Lawrence	...	Tom Lorenz
Allen Tower	...	Dr. Harris (as Allan Tower)
Richard Bengali	...	Mr. Maynard
W. Blake	...	Dr. Grenoble
Frank Howsen	...	Dr. Bayard
Allan Lee	...	Mr. Winthrop
Jean Temple	...	Mrs. Winthrop

Storyline

Philanthropist Paul Lorenz is one of the more public faces in the fight against behavior that spreads the many "social diseases", such as syphilis and gonorrhea. An example of such behavior is going to or performing in burlesque shows, which promotes casual sex. Indeed, many in the audience at one burlesque show in New York have only sex on their mind, including young unmarried couple James and Jane, office colleagues Peggy and Betty (Peggy who is trying to seduce Betty), and Paul Lorenz's son himself, Tom Lorenz, who is looking forward to an after show group sex party, which will include some of the girls from the show, such as Sheila Wayne, who has syphilis but treats it as casually as her sex. One of the show girls who won't be attending the party is Millicent Hamilton. From a small town, good girl Millicent's pre-engagement to her boyfriend Wendel Hope was interrupted when she won a beauty contest with a trip to New York. She found life in New York more difficult than she expected...

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Plot Keywords:

sex | syphilis | exploitation | costume party | public domain | 

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Taglines:

Protect your daughters!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Human Wreckage

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinema Service Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

57 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Millicent is talking to her landlady, the window in the background falls shut. This distracts the actress, who nearly flubs her line.

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Crazy Credits

In versions titled "They Must Be Told" all the opening credits, even the title, are preceded by the following explanation: "FOREWORD: Down through the ages has rushed a menace more dangerous than the worst criminal. Syphilis. Let us seize this monster and stamp out forever its horrible influence. Syphilis must no longer play its deadly part in our lives preventing marriages ... breaking up families ... and resulting in innocent offspring born blind, diseased and maimed ... doomed to a life of misery. The subject of syphilis must no longer remain hushed, but must be fought in the open like any other dangerous contagious disease ... humanity must be enlightened! Ignorance must be abolished! Young and old ... rich and poor ... "

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Connections

Edited into Muchachada nui: Episode #2.5 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Wedding March"
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

User Reviews

Beds are for action! Not for relaxation!

Sure there are camp moments in Sex Madness, a film which somehow tries to gain the notoriety that 'Reefer Madness' has but fails despite having tons of elements that should point in it's favor.

In the beginning it starts off strongly, with all sorts of people going to a burlesque show (and jamming the auditorium up!). This show is probably the highlight of the movie, plenty of silly dancing, no nudity, and clunky choreography. I liked the personalities that showed up for this. A group of randy boys looking to party, a lesbian couple who can't stop pawing each other, and a man who gets all worked up he rapes the first girl he sees. Funny, but ALL of these plot lines get dropped for Millicent (!!), a dancer in the chorus, who finds out she has VD from her doctor. After taking a tour which she's all chipper about seeing icky cases of VD, she goes into treatment, carefully hiding it away from her fiancée. After going home and seeing another doctor who gives her a quack cure, she marries and.. well… you can guess the rest. Rest assured that as foul as it sounds, it drags somewhat, and is nowhere as memorable as 'Reefer', (admittedly, I thought It was going to be of the same looniness). It's okay for some laughs, but doesn't hold up.