This is an odd little film to review--a WWII G.I. sex education film focusing on STDs--and it says a lot about me that I'd watch such an odd piece of ephemera. If you do decide to watch it, be sure you haven't eaten anything recently--a few of the scenes might make you sick! Yes, the film is pretty explicit--with lots of male nudity and films of all kinds of nastiness--such as pus-spewing penises, sores and a scene involving the injection of medicine into the penis! This last one really made me cringe--and should do the same to any guy watching!! It's blunt and talks, mostly unflinchingly, to the servicemen to let them know what they might be in for when they have sex.
The information, as of 1942, was pretty accurate, though the film ONLY talks about Syphilis and Gonorrhea--not the rest of the STDs you might see in those days--such as herpes and Chlamydia. Because of this, the film, while accurate, is pretty incomplete. Also, the film loses a couple points because it often intersperses euphemisms such as "private parts" when the direct terms would have made sense--though oddly, it often was very blunt and avoided such jargon at other times. Finally, the film does a great job of scaring the troops but offers little more in the way of sex education. Still, considering that the War Department didn't want to face a crisis in STDs among the troops (like happened during WWI--one of those aspects of the "Great War" you seldom hear about in most history books), it was effective in putting the fear of God in the men!! NOT for the squeamish--don't say I didn't warn you!
The information, as of 1942, was pretty accurate, though the film ONLY talks about Syphilis and Gonorrhea--not the rest of the STDs you might see in those days--such as herpes and Chlamydia. Because of this, the film, while accurate, is pretty incomplete. Also, the film loses a couple points because it often intersperses euphemisms such as "private parts" when the direct terms would have made sense--though oddly, it often was very blunt and avoided such jargon at other times. Finally, the film does a great job of scaring the troops but offers little more in the way of sex education. Still, considering that the War Department didn't want to face a crisis in STDs among the troops (like happened during WWI--one of those aspects of the "Great War" you seldom hear about in most history books), it was effective in putting the fear of God in the men!! NOT for the squeamish--don't say I didn't warn you!