The ‘B-Feature’ on Kino’s “Reefer Madness” Bluray release. “Sex Madness” Is a pretty generic Health film warning of the dangers of Venerial Disease’s, particularly Siphilis.
And if you thought ‘Reefer’ was low budget…hoo boy, let me tell you…there IS no bottom of the barrel as far as this things concerned. What we have here is a 57(ish) minute long dramatization following a woman as she contracts the (then) deadly disease, gets mistreated for it and pays the ultimate price for…doing the right thing…I guess?
This ones kind of all over the place plot wise, we’re introduced to around a dozen characters in the opening 5 minutes, but the bulk of the film only really revolves around 2-3 characters past that. Its trying to put a simple message across ‘Practice safe sex and caution’ But because we’re in the hayes code era, they cant show anything other than light kissing and close dancing and the word ‘sex’ itself seems almost a taboo for most of the movies runtime.
As such, it becomes increasingly difficult to show the dangers of VD’s when the best they can muster are some poor quality sketches of Syphilitic sores and the use of ‘Marriage’ as a euphamism for bedroom antics.
That being said I do have to say, the film isnt averse to some VERY strange and entertaining decisions. Examples being all the men in this film being buried under what looks like 2lb’s of heavy makeup at all times. a raunchy lesbian couple in the opening act who myteriously vanish 10 minutes in and are never seen again, some terrifically campy acting and strange line delivery that raised a titter and some VERY choppy editing that makes Ed Wood feel like Scorsese.
The bulk of the film is low quality even by Poverty row standards with an overeliance on stock footage and foli effects to help pad the runtime. The film almost certainly would have been twice as engaging at half the runtime and this things about as basic looking as it comes.
In terms of ‘health films’ of this era, it’s not one of my favourites. Though I will give the film credit in the sense that it ends on a terrifically bleak and genuinely quite shocking point for the time, though with it being the 30’s it couldnt stave off a bolted on ‘happy’ ending for too long.
I’d say this was marginally better than ‘Reefer Madness’ in the sense that I think the plot holds together a little better and theres more entertaining moments to be had with it (even if ‘Reefers’ entertaining moments are grander and sillier…) This thing feels a bit more coherent alltogether, and while its still a bit of a plodder and isnt exactly ‘pushing the boundaries’ of cinema, it was entertaining enough that I didnt outright hate it.
Totally not essentail viewing, worth watching if you pick up Kino’s ‘Reefer’ bluray release. but otherwise. give it a miss.
TYTD Reviews 