To the People of the United States: Difference between revisions
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The doctor then goes into the social stigma associated with syphilis, and the fact that so many people will not get a blood test to check for syphilis. He notes in his native Scandinavia, people were much more open about it, and it was a normal sight for people to get a blood test for syphilis. He shows a diagram of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which he says has a comparable population as the State of New York, and how fewer Scandinavians have VD than New Yorkers, The film ends with a plea for everyone to get a blood test. |
The doctor then goes into the social stigma associated with syphilis, and the fact that so many people will not get a blood test to check for syphilis. He notes in his native Scandinavia, people were much more open about it, and it was a normal sight for people to get a blood test for syphilis. He shows a diagram of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which he says has a comparable population as the State of New York, and how fewer Scandinavians have VD than New Yorkers, The film ends with a plea for everyone to get a blood test. |
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The director and all the actors volunteered their time for the film. However, the Catholic church objected to the subject matter, and USPHS Surgeon General Thomas Parron would not release the film. It was only shown to a few select audiences. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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*[[Jean Hersholt]] as Colonel Jensen - Medical Corps. |
*[[Jean Hersholt]] as Colonel Jensen - Medical Corps. |
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*[[Arthur Loft]] as Griffith - Member of the Local Draft Board |
*[[Arthur Loft]] as Griffith - Member of the Local Draft Board |
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*[[Robert Mitchum]] as Bomber Ground Crew |
*[[Robert Mitchum]] as Bomber Ground Crew |
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The director and all the actors volunteered their time for the film. However, the Catholic [[Legion of Decency]] protested, saying it failed "to stress that promiscuity is the principal cause of venereal disease." The Legion said the film would "pave the way for a flood of pictures by producers who do not hesitate to avail themselves of every opportunity for lurid and pornographic material for financial gain." The protests worked and on March 30 1944 the Public Health Service withdrew its sponsorship of the film. <ref>VENEREAL FILM HALTED: Sponsorship Is Withdrawn at Request of Legion of Decency |
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New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]31 Mar 1944: 23. </ref> It was only shown to a few select audiences.<ref>{{cite book|page=78-80|title=Surgeon General's warning : how politics crippled the nation's doctor|last=Stobbe|first= Mike|year=2014 |publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> |
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==Awards== |
==Awards== |
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The film was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)|Best Documentary Short]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/300192/To-The-People-Of-The-United-States/details |title=NY Times: To the People of the United States |accessdate=2008-11-23|work=NY Times}}</ref>{{dead link|date=May 2019}}<ref name="Oscars1944">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |title=The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners |accessdate=May 29, 2019 |work=oscars.org}}</ref> |
The film was nominated for an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)|Best Documentary Short]].<ref name="NY Times">{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/300192/To-The-People-Of-The-United-States/details |title=NY Times: To the People of the United States |accessdate=2008-11-23|work=NY Times}}</ref>{{dead link|date=May 2019}}<ref name="Oscars1944">{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1944 |title=The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners |accessdate=May 29, 2019 |work=oscars.org}}</ref> |
Revision as of 06:38, 14 August 2019
To the People of the United States | |
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Directed by | Arthur Lubin |
Written by | Edmund L. Hartmann |
Produced by | United States Public Health Service Walter Wanger |
Starring | Jean Hersholt |
Narrated by | Jean Hersholt |
Cinematography | Milton Krasner |
Distributed by | War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry |
Release date |
|
Running time | 21 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
To the People of the United States is a short propaganda film produced by the US Public Health Service in 1943 to warn the American GIs against syphilis. It was directed by Arthur Lubin and produced by Walter Wanger.[1][2]
Plot
The film opens with the ground crew of a flying fortress talking to their colleagues about being grounded. It seems the other planes in their unit are off to fight the enemy, but they and their plane lay idle because their pilot is "sick". The pilot, whose face is never shown, talks with a doctor, feeling very embarrassed and guilty about what has happened. The doctor assures him that he will fly again when he gets better. When the pilot interjects that he has heard he wouldn't, the doctor asks "Heard from who? The kid next door or the drug patent salesman? Surely not anyone who knew what he was talking about." The doctor then informs him that if the disease is caught early, and he keeps up a strict treatment he will be able to go about his business normally again.
Once the pilot leaves the doctor addresses the audience "Do you want the facts? Well the first question is the extent of syphilis in America." A visit to the local draft board later reveals that nearly 47 of every thousand men called up have to be dismissed because they had syphilis. He then visits an Army hospital and is informed by the doctor that syphilis is like a "forest fire", no organization or saboteur could do half the damage that venereal disease does to the army.
The doctor then goes into the social stigma associated with syphilis, and the fact that so many people will not get a blood test to check for syphilis. He notes in his native Scandinavia, people were much more open about it, and it was a normal sight for people to get a blood test for syphilis. He shows a diagram of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which he says has a comparable population as the State of New York, and how fewer Scandinavians have VD than New Yorkers, The film ends with a plea for everyone to get a blood test.
Cast
- Jean Hersholt as Colonel Jensen - Medical Corps.
- Norman T. Kirk, Surgeon General U.S. Army
- Thomas Parran, Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service
- Noah Beery Jr. as Bomber Ground Crew
- Joseph Crehan as Doctor at Hospital
- Richard Fraser as Young Doctor
- Thomas Gomez as Compton - Member of the Local Draft Board
- Anne Gwynne as Nurse
- Samuel S. Hinds as Harrison - Member of Local Draft Board
- Arthur Loft as Griffith - Member of the Local Draft Board
- Robert Mitchum as Bomber Ground Crew
Production
The director and all the actors volunteered their time for the film. However, the Catholic Legion of Decency protested, saying it failed "to stress that promiscuity is the principal cause of venereal disease." The Legion said the film would "pave the way for a flood of pictures by producers who do not hesitate to avail themselves of every opportunity for lurid and pornographic material for financial gain." The protests worked and on March 30 1944 the Public Health Service withdrew its sponsorship of the film. [3] It was only shown to a few select audiences.[4]
Awards
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.[5][dead link][6]
References
- ^ "Wagner, Lubin Make Social Disease Shortie". Variety. November 3, 1943. p. 4.
- ^ Bernstein, Matthew (2000). Walter Wanger, Hollywood independent. University of Minnesota Press. p. 175.
- ^ VENEREAL FILM HALTED: Sponsorship Is Withdrawn at Request of Legion of Decency New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]31 Mar 1944: 23.
- ^ Stobbe, Mike (2014). Surgeon General's warning : how politics crippled the nation's doctor. University of California Press. p. 78-80.
- ^ "NY Times: To the People of the United States". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
- ^ "The 16th Academy Awards (1944) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
External links
- To the People of the United States at IMDb
- The short film To the People of the United States is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- 1943 films
- American World War II propaganda shorts
- Films directed by Arthur Lubin
- American black-and-white films
- American films
- English-language films
- American documentary films
- Aviation films
- Films about syphilis
- Documentary films about health care
- Military medicine in the United States
- American social guidance and drug education films
- Short documentary films
- Short documentary film stubs