Know for Sure

1941
23min

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Ward Bond, Samuel S. Hinds, and Shepperd Strudwick in Know for Sure (1941)

Agrega una trama en tu idiomaDocumentary detailing the dangers and treatment of venereal disease. Tony Medroni is excited about the imminent birth of a son, but when the child is born dead, Tony must face the fact that ... Leer todoDocumentary detailing the dangers and treatment of venereal disease. Tony Medroni is excited about the imminent birth of a son, but when the child is born dead, Tony must face the fact that his own sexual history has caused the child's death. A doctor explains the problem to Tony... Leer todoDocumentary detailing the dangers and treatment of venereal disease. Tony Medroni is excited about the imminent birth of a son, but when the child is born dead, Tony must face the fact that his own sexual history has caused the child's death. A doctor explains the problem to Tony and discusses other cases with a colleague.

Dirección
- Lewis Milestone
Elenco

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3.9/10

183

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Dirección
- Lewis Milestone
Elenco

Ver la información de producción en IMDbPro

Fotos1

Elenco principal9

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Ward Bond

Patient
(sin créditos)

Joseph Crehan

Supporting Role
(sin créditos)

Samuel S. Hinds

Dr. Perkins
(sin créditos)

Tim Holt

Jerry Anderson
(sin créditos)

Edwin Maxwell

Dr. Paxton
(sin créditos)

Etta McDaniel

Supporting Role
(sin créditos)

J. Carrol Naish

Tony Madroni
(sin créditos)

Francis Pierlot

Mr. Spencer
(sin créditos)

Shepperd Strudwick

Dr. Morton
(sin créditos)

Opiniones de usuarios5

3.9183

Opiniones destacadas

5ss47912120

LOL Ward Bond was 38...!

Then-38-year-old Ward Bond sitting there fretting about syphillis, what he worried wasn't a plain ol' cold sore, after picking up a girl in a "dance hall" (was this 1941 or 1891?)as well as asking the doc if drawing blood is "going to hurt much" is good for a laugh. The doc even refers to him "as "kid" and "young man". You'd think Ward knew about prophylactics by then. Plus there's J. Carrol Naish, as always cast in an ethnicity he wasn't, as an over-the-top Italian stereotype.

6boblipton

Syphillis

Grocer J. Carroll Naish is happily awaiting the birth of his son. When the doctor comes in, he tells him the boy was born dead, and he thinks it's from syphillis.

Here's a short subject from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences that didn't play at the kiddie matinee. It speaks fairly frankly about venereal disease in the days when there wasn't any easy cure, before its spread could be controlled by antibiotics... but never eliminated.

It uses some words that were taboo under the production code: syphillis, of course, but also prostitute, a trade that was so taboo that it couldn't be shown . Directed without credit by Lewis Milestone, it's an interesting movie for an audience that might be going to war very soon; although there's no release date, the draft had already begun.

6djpass-1

Social history

This film is not in the league with "Sex Madness" and other exploitation films. Instead of trying to scare people away from a problem, it explained how to avoid or treat it. It is melodramatic, but well acted with good production. Tim Holt, Ward Bond and J. Carroll Naish appear as victims, and Lewis Milestone directed.(I image there were a lot of outtakes, though, when the actors couldn't help laughing when they had to say things like "I noticed a sore...down there.") I'm not old enough to remember syphilis--or patent medicine "doctors"--being a big problem, but I appreciate this film as a slice of the social history of our past.

5planktonrules

Well worth seeing just for the cast...

If you are a fan of classic Hollywood films, then you might get a lot out of seeing this film--about, of all things, sexually transmitted diseases. Why? Because seeing J. Carroll Naish, Ward Bond and Tim Holt all playing guys with VD is such a shocker--after all, these guys and many other famous character actors appear in this seldom-seen film.

As far as the actual quality of the film goes, it is of dubious quality. While some of the information is quite correct, the preachy style probably resulted in many laughing off the important information in this short film. In addition, Naish should have been ashamed of himself for playing such an incredibly stereotypical Italian-American. It was almost as bad as having Chico Marx playing the part.

Well worth seeing for fans of the strange and obscure.

cinnatusc

Screamingly funny

Yes, the director of the amazing "All Quiet on the Western Front" made an educational film about syphilis. Don't expect art, this thing is pretty atrocious, but hilarious, especially the flagrant Italian stereotype in the opening. "It was just a little sore!" If you're wondering how Lewis Milestone wound up "reduced" to this, it's actually his contribution to the war effort in the '40s, later re-edited into an educational film for America's Youth. The original is, to my knowledge, currently unavailable and probably lost. Not that we miss it, but it's sort of too bad. This can be found, in its "safe-for-schoolkids" form, on the "Educational Film Archives: Sex and Drugs" DVD from Fantoma.

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Trivia
Six years after this short was made, Samuel S. Hinds and Ward Bond would appear together in "It's a Wonderful Life."

Citas
Dr. Morton: You're wrong, Tony. With proper medical treatment, you can both be cured then you can have all the bambinos you want...

Versiones alternativas
There are two versions of this US Public Health film. The unedited version has graphic shots of syphilis sores, male genitalia and how to use a condom.