This is a typical sex exploitation film from the early 1930s - complete with wild parties, sex out of wedlock, lesbianism, etc. A chorus girl's exposure to the "casting couch" also exposes her to syphilis.Exploitation filmmakers hoped to capitalize on the taboo subjects of venereal disease, sex before marriage, lesbianism, etc. while skirting the Motion Picture Production Code of 1930 which forbade a film from containing such content. Films like this would tour the United States for years - mostly being shown in rundown, skid row theaters. This film has been re-edited and re-titled ("Human Wreckage", "They Must Be Told", "Trial Marriage", "About Trial Marriage") many times to attract the same audience to film, to take advantage of a taboo subject which may have gotten press recently or to appease local censors who disapproved of the film's content.You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page Also, if you are interested in the rich, uniquely American history of exploitation films, there are two excellent books on the subject:"Forbidden Fruit - The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film", Felicia Feaster and Bret Wood, Midnight Marquee Press, 1999."Bold! Daring! Shocking! True! A History of Exploitation Films, 1919 - 1959" Eric Schaefer, Duke University Press, 1999

Screenplay: Joseph Seiden and Vincent Valentini



With Vivian McGill, Rose Tapley, Al Rigeli, Stanley Barton, Linda Lee Hill.

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Reviewer: foradequadre - - June 3, 2020

Subject: possibility to use footage in documentary?

We would be happy to send you more information on the documentary and about ourselves.

Thanking you in advance,

Kind regards,

Norma Nebot,

Associació de periodisme Fora de Quadre

mail@ Hi, we're a Spanish association preparing a documentary film about sexual agressions to women and we would love to be able to include some of the footage of "Sex Madness" in the editing. How can we contact you to find out if this is possible?We would be happy to send you more information on the documentary and about ourselves.Thanking you in advance,Kind regards,Norma Nebot,Associació de periodisme Fora de Quadremail@ foradequadre.org - June 3, 2020possibility to use footage in documentary?

Reviewer: BusyB's - - April 24, 2020

Subject: Probably produced in 1932



That said, I will leave it to the rest of the 'reviewers' to judge the work. I was fascinated by the comment that this wasn't 1938 and with a little research, found that the calendar used to show the passage of time at 36:10 is truly a 1932 calendar. It is unlikely that they used stock footage that was 6 years old.That said, I will leave it to the rest of the 'reviewers' to judge the work. - April 24, 2020Probably produced in 1932

Reviewer: Eponymous - - January 25, 2020

Subject: 1934, not 1938 Wikipedia and IMDb notwithstanding, this film is from the early 1930s, not 1938. The production values, music, hairstyles, clothing etc., are all from the early 1930s. "Sex Madness" started out as a stage show and began screenings as a film sometime in 1934. A search of the Newspapers.com database returns numerous citations for the years 1934-1937. For instance, Page 7 of the March 6, 1934, edition of the Passaic, N.J., Herald-News refers to "advertising used outside the Playhouse Theatre in connection with the motion picture 'Sex Madness'." Page 12 of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of April 3, 1936: "It is true that certain pictures have been banned from the screen in our state (that had been released by producers): 'Sex Madness,' 'No More Children,' 'Streets of Sorrow,' 'Potemkin' and others." - January 25, 20201934, not 1938

Reviewer: ZelphX - favorite favorite favorite - June 13, 2019

Subject: LOL I actually did, at 5:12! - June 13, 2019LOL

Reviewer: indah222 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - January 13, 2018

Subject: pokrt online Thanks for some other informative blog. The place else could I am getting that

type of information written in such a perfect approach?

RAHASIAQQ have a venture that I am just now running on, and I’ve been at the look out for such information. - January 13, 2018pokrt online

Reviewer: tbragg - favorite - February 26, 2017

Subject: Make one slip and you're f*cked And so is your husband and your infant.



Puritanical crapola, the typical fear tactics at work. If this is exploitation, where's the dirty stuff? Where's the sexiness to counteract all the guilt?



Reefer Madness is depressing but a lot more fun. - February 26, 2017Make one slip and you're f*cked

Reviewer: mrbooboo - favorite favorite - October 16, 2016

Subject: Fodder for MST3K... Maybe scandalous back in the day,but very tame by today's standards.The title is to bring people into the theaters,but failed to deliver what the title promised.Most movies back then had to go through the Hays Code... - October 16, 2016Fodder for MST3K...

Reviewer: guardian22111 - - November 26, 2015

Subject: Please before you insult our prophet, know Him first.

And ask you to do any search on the Net about him then decide at the end.

You can surf this

http://rasoulallah.net/ar/ I invite those all who insult our prophet to read about him. What do you know about him from your reading not movies. I grantee to you that if you know him well, you will never accept such words about him .And ask you to do any search on the Net about him then decide at the end.You can surf this - November 26, 2015Please before you insult our prophet, know Him first.

Reviewer: Larrysdesk - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - October 6, 2015

Subject: A Struggle Shows what a struggle it was, and still is, to rid us of this scourge. The corrupt medical profession, then as now, doesn't help. - October 6, 2015A Struggle

Reviewer: kenny+hendrick - favorite favorite favorite favorite - December 17, 2014

Subject: Awesome bit of propaganda for the development of AMA Wow....who's the fine chick with the awesome haircut? Boy oh boy, those were the good ole' days.



Anybody got the "quacks" number? - December 17, 2014Awesome bit of propaganda for the development of AMA

Reviewer: Apeism is Stupid - favorite - May 20, 2014

Subject: Garbage... And more garbage... - May 20, 2014Garbage...

Reviewer: Robbmeister X - favorite favorite favorite favorite - November 14, 2013

Subject: More Sex Please, We Like to Party I have a BFI collection called The Birds and the Bees I'm fond of, compiled out of old sex education films. Pretty much all of them prior to the '60s are pro-abstintence efforts, and though this film uses the format mainly to target an adult audience, it plays as an extended take on any of those shorts in my collection. There's a cosy, nostalgic value in these old films, even if they're as somewhat hamfisted as this one. Producer Dwain Esper was also behind (as director) the 'so bad it's brilliant' Maniac and (as producer) Reefer Madness, which in spite of its modern cultdom is a merely awful film in spite of some amusing moments, shapeless, hectoring and sluggish. This is actually a suprisingly competent and pacy, entertaining affair despite the lack of care which has gone into it. I'd prefer it to be camper, though. There's a guy playing a medical expert in this film - the "If this is not stopped, mankind is bound for a new age of darkness" one, who I'm almost sure is also in an identical role in one of my BFI flicks. If so, then his role here only scraps his bombastic direness as an actor. Anyway, enjoy. At least the makers had good taste in music. The orchestral excerpts popping up from time to time are from the first movement of Bruckner's Symphony No.8 - November 14, 2013More Sex Please, We Like to Party

Reviewer: simplertimes - favorite favorite - July 25, 2013

Subject: SAVE MY SOUL ! WHAT ARE ALL THE BRAIN DEAD RELIGIOUS MORONS DOING ON HERE ? - July 25, 2013SAVE MY SOUL !

Reviewer: kristinmak - favorite - September 17, 2012

Subject: Producers were smut peddlers in reality I just read about one of those old time producers, turns out these type of films were created deliberately to sound "helpful" but in reality were the producers way of getting smut into regular theatres. They could not release them otherwise. My grandmother told me the same thing, and that NO BODY bought the idea that these were educational unless you were very ignorant. Basically, only southern bumpkins bought the idea that these films were for real. It has something to do with the "45 Goals of Communism" (look it up, google it). Yes, this is all true, I'm not making it up lol. Once you watch them, you'll realize they are horrible quality, bad acting- and not very educational at all. Everyone already knew about this stuff, but there was a faction who was desperate to get some sort of smut out in basic population so they made these films. - September 17, 2012Producers were smut peddlers in reality

Reviewer: Vintagefan01 - favorite favorite favorite favorite - August 20, 2012

Subject: Lesbians? Who was a lesbian in this film? - August 20, 2012Lesbians?

Reviewer: el_gallo_azul - favorite favorite favorite - August 19, 2012

Subject: tchoh! very disappointed to see other social ills 1. millicent's father needs to watch a similar movie but with 'smoking' as the theme.



2. Tony Lorenz and his friends need to watch a similar movie but with 'drinking' as the theme.



it's a noble attempt at essential puritan education other than these points. - August 19, 2012tchoh! very disappointed to see other social ills

Reviewer: mohamid - favorite favorite favorite favorite - June 26, 2012

Subject: Madness of today mohammad would have loved this movie as it has no

warnings about having sex with pigs and 9 year old

girls. the leatherboys at the homo clubs love to

listen to the queeran while doing each other.

please, get your tongue out of your anus and quit

filling up a movie review site with pleas to join your silly delusions about a medieval pervert. - June 26, 2012Madness of today

Reviewer: orderofjames - favorite favorite favorite favorite - June 14, 2012

Subject: Are You Kidding Me! What did you do, copy and paste the entire Qur'an? Go find some women to oppress or something.



Enjoyed the movie though. - June 14, 2012Are You Kidding Me!

Reviewer: Psy-Fi - favorite - May 19, 2012

Subject: Great title! Lousy movie. - May 19, 2012Great title!

Reviewer: tianzhiwu - favorite favorite favorite - September 13, 2011

Subject: 看得不是很懂啊 看了20几分钟，感觉似懂非懂，一般般把 - September 13, 2011看得不是很懂啊

Reviewer: Brian Pinette - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - September 6, 2011

Subject: Very good for the time it was written and released It is almost verbatim in the same type of dialogue, titles that the films shown to the U.S. armed forces as well as other films shown abroad to soldiers re: social diseases. During that time in history, this was the belief. The morals were different as was everything. Science in this regard was in its infancy. For that matter, talking pictures were still young. The acting and screenplay was okay for that time for such a serious topic that the major studios, MGM, Fox, alluded to, but could not actually speak of. - September 6, 2011Very good for the time it was written and released

Reviewer: arabtv - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 22, 2011

Subject: thanksss



http://www.tv3arb.com/ Great firm. May i quot this movie to display on this site: - May 22, 2011thanksss

Reviewer: mena2010 - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 9, 2011

Subject: amazing



http://www.box-officeonline.com



http://softprogrames.com this is amazing movie - May 9, 2011amazing

Reviewer: jeffzkrazie - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 7, 2011

Subject: The Splue The world's female fatale sex-o-maniac - May 7, 2011The Splue

Reviewer: splue - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - May 6, 2011

Subject: if sex is madness call me crazy! - May 6, 2011if sex is madness

Reviewer: allanmr - - November 27, 2010

Subject: Sins of the flesh THE SINS OF THE FLESH ARE NOT JUST SEX,AS PREACHED IN THE MEDIA BY MANY,BUT VIOLENCE,EVEN THE VIOLENCE OF WARS, THE WORST KIND OF VIOLENCE, KILING IN LARGE NUMBERS,BODIES BLOWN APART. YET THE MEDIA TENDS TO GLORIFY WARS,NOT DISCOURAGE THEM.IF WARS WERE OF GOD,HE WOULDN'T WANT US TO EVER LEARN WAR NO MORE,AS THE BIBLE SAYS IN ISAIAH 2:4. AND BECAUSE MAN, WHEN TEACHING ABOUT GOD,DOESN'T CONDEMN WARS,BUT IS OBSESSED WITH SEX,THE BIBLE ENDS IN THE WORST WAR EVER,SAYS REVELATION, WHICH DOESN'T DWELL ON SEXUAL SINS,GOD WILL EVENTUALLY DO THE TEACHING,GIVING THE DEVIL ENOUGH ROPE TO HANG HIMSELF.JESUS SAYS,HE FULFILLS ALL THE PROPHETS,INCLUDING THE PROPHET ISAIAH,AND ISAIAH 2:4.I HAVE NO DESIRE TO SEE THIS FILM,AND MOST WAR MOVIES I DON'T LIKE TO WATCH. - November 27, 2010Sins of the flesh

Reviewer: Dr Feel Rotten - - October 24, 2010

Subject: Now I know All these years of getting laid and even becoming a grandpa i never knew that being "friendly" would make my dick fall off.

If all these things were actually true and if jerking off caused blindness then by now I would have devolved back to a being with no eyes whatsoever like an earthworm.

Well now that I'm an old codger and my sex life is almost non-existent i guess i can relax and tell kids to not be "friendly".. After all.. They don't want to end up like me. - October 24, 2010Now I know

Reviewer: doowopbob - favorite - March 12, 2010

Subject: ....brsean.... ....Needs To Get A Life..!..He's To Be WATCHED..!..Busting Hymens Was A Hobby In My Teen Years In The Sixties...Sitting With The Parents While They Had No Idea Their Daughter Was On Her Knees Or Back, At My House Or The Arnold Arboretum Was A Cool Mind Game...A Young Mans Fancy Turns To Spring..(Bed Springs..!)...Oh The Movie Sucks..! - March 12, 2010....brsean....

Reviewer: whiskeycat - favorite favorite favorite - January 12, 2010

Subject: didn't watch all of it



I remember watching "the magic bullet" it's the story of dr. Paul Ehrlich who helped find a cure for syphilis. Prior to the discovery of Penicillin, STD's were treated with medicine that contained mercury, it must have been pretty awful taking that stuff.



I don't think penicillin came into wide spread use until the 1940's.





http://www.epigee.org/health/syphilis_treatment.html I guess they were trying to scare people and for a good reason, it was pretty bad getting an STD back then because we did not have the medicine to treat it.I remember watching "the magic bullet" it's the story of dr. Paul Ehrlich who helped find a cure for syphilis. Prior to the discovery of Penicillin, STD's were treated with medicine that contained mercury, it must have been pretty awful taking that stuff.I don't think penicillin came into wide spread use until the 1940's. - January 12, 2010didn't watch all of it

Reviewer: 1110babe - favorite - January 10, 2010

Subject: War on Syphilis (From everything2 on syphilis in the 1930s) First, an examination of the Chicago Syphilis Control Program. This program, part of a nation-wide effort in the years 1937-40, was the

"flagship" of the United States' "War on Syphilis". Much like the "War on Drugs" of today, it met with varied degrees of success and failure. It did provide much information about syphilis demographics, and allowed health officials a chance to inform an otherwise prudish population about a sexually transmitted disease.



When I watched this movie in light of the public health campaign it was more interesting, and that icky deformed foot certainly looked realistic! It was because of this campaign that blood tests became mandatory for wedding licenses, and pregnant women and babies were checked for STDs. So while, yes, it was poorly acted and poorly scripted, and off the charts lurid, the end had a lot of medical validity that, as they say, was torn from the headlines. I was ready to put it in the same category as Reefer Madness but then it morphed into something historical. So I'll give it a star because it inspired me to do some research and learn something. (Now I want to find out what sort of treatments they were offering in 1938 so back to my googling.) - January 10, 2010War on Syphilis

Reviewer: keygrip - - October 15, 2009

Subject: The worst film on the site by far Badly acted boring crap.

Don't bother with it. No stars - October 15, 2009The worst film on the site by far

Reviewer: Chetzpt22 - - July 23, 2009

Subject: brsean's strap on that book long review you wrote is a good example of why the world has been at war killing each other for thousands of years (like the one we have now!)because of religious frantic's - if I knew you I would build you a cross with a little wheel at the bottom of the T so you could strap yourself to it (better yet let a friend like yourself nail you to it)which for you might release some of that pent up whatever you have & for me it will let me know another religious nut is coming. I have no review - this person bummed me out so much on it I decided to just download it watch at a another time. - July 23, 2009brsean's strap on

Reviewer: DaNess - favorite - June 22, 2009

Subject: someone get brsean a life lol People who make huge negative and witty reviews like that are critic wannabes and have no life



I will admit in short-form that this short-flick is extremely boring - June 22, 2009someone get brsean a life lol

Reviewer: Seto-Kaiba_Is_Stupid - favorite - June 2, 2009

Subject: Hmm I've seen more dirt in "Saved by the Bell". - June 2, 2009Hmm

Reviewer: Katies - favorite favorite favorite favorite favorite - April 27, 2009

Subject: Great firm



http://www.siamtech.net Great firm. May i quot this movie to display on this site: - April 27, 2009Great firm

Reviewer: jandtsmom - favorite - April 14, 2009

Subject: Yawn Boring....... - April 14, 2009Yawn

Reviewer: brsean - favorite - April 9, 2009

Subject: Such a Popular Item ... What do the Saints Say?... St Alphonsus De Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, in "The Four Gates of Hell" says this about sins against chastity: "It is by this gate that the greater number of the damned enter. Some will say that it is a trifling sin. Is it a trifling sin? It is a mortal sin. St. Antoninus writes that such is the nauseousness of this sin that the devils themselves cannot endure it. Moreover, the Doctors of the Church say that certain demons, who have been superior to the rest, remembering their ancient dignity, disdain tempting to so loathsome a sin. Consider then how disgusting he must be to God, who, like a dog, is ever returning to his vomit, or wallowing like a pig in the stinking mire of this accursed vice (2 Pet 2: 22). The impure say, moreover, "God has compassion on us who are subject to this vice, because He knows that we are flesh." What do you say? God has compassion on this vice? But you must know that the most horrible chastisements with which God has ever visited the earth have been drawn down by this vice. St. Jerome says that this is the only sin of which we read that it caused God to repent of having made man, for all flesh had become corrupted (Gen 6: 6-12). And so it is, St. Jerome says, that there is no sin which God punishes so rigorously, even upon earth, as this. He once sent fire from Heaven upon five cities, and consumed all their inhabitants for this sin (Sodom and Gomorrah, Gen

18-19). Principally on account of this sin did God destroy mankind, with the exception of eight persons, by the flood. It is a sin which God punishes, not only in the other life, but in this also. Because, says God, you have forgotten Me and turned your back upon Me, for a miserable pleasure of the flesh, I am resolved that even in this life you shall pay the price of your wickedness (Ezek 23: 35). You say, "God has compassion upon men subject to this sin." But it is this sin that sends most men to Hell. St. Remigius says that the greater number of the damned are in Hell through this vice. Father Segneri writes that as this vice fills the world with sinners, so it fills Hell with damned souls; and before him St. Bernardine of Siena wrote: "This sin draws the whole world, as it were, into sin." And before him St. Bernard and St. Isidore said that "the human race is brought under the power of the devil more by lust than by all the other vices." The reason is because this vice proceeds from the natural inclination of the flesh. Hence St Thomas Aquinas says that the devil does not take such complacency in securing the commission of any other sin as of this, because the person who is plunged in this infernal mire remains lodged therein, and almost wholly unable to free himself again. "No one is so obstinate in sin as the impure," says St. Thomas of Villanova. Moreover, this vice deprives one of all light, for the impure man becomes so blind as almost wholly to forget God, says St. Laurence Justinian; which is in accordance with what is said by the prophet Hosea: They will not set their thoughts to return to their God; for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known God (Hos 5: 4). The impure man does not know God; he obeys neither God nor reason, as St. Jerome says; he obeys only the sensual appetite which causes him to act like a beast.

This sin, because it flatters, makes us fall at once into the habit of it, a habit which some carry with them even to death. You see husbands, and decrepit old men, indulge in the same thoughts and committing the same sins that they committed in their youth. And because sins of this kind are so easily committed, they become multiplied without number. Ask of the sinner how many impure thoughts he has consented to: he will tell you he cannot remember. But, brother, if you cannot tell the number, God can; and you know that a single willful immodest thought is enough to send you to Hell. How many immodest words have you spoken, in which you took delight yourself, and by which you scandalized your neighbor? From thoughts and words you proceed to acts, and to those innumerable impurities which those wretches roll and wallow in like swine, without ever being satisfied, for this vice is never satisfied.

But, Father, you will say, how can I hold out against the innumerable temptations which assail me? I am weak, I am flesh. And since you are weak, why not recommend yourself to God, and to most holy Mary, who is the mother of purity? Since you are flesh, why do you throw yourself in the way of sin? Why do you not

guard your eyes? Why do you gaze upon those objects from which temptations flow?...It is to be remarked, moreover, that this sin brings with it innumerable others: enmities, thefts, and, more especially, sacrilegious confessions and Communions, by reason of the shame which will not allow these impurities to be disclosed in confession. And let us remark here in passing, that it is sacrilege above all things, that brings upon us sickness and death; for, says the Apostle, He that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord; and then he adds: therefore are many infirm and weak among you. And St. John Chrysostom, in explanation of that passage, says that St. Paul speaks of persons who were chastised with bodily infirmities because they received the Sacrament with a guilty conscience.

My brethren, should you ever have been sunk in this vice, I do not bid you be disheartened, but arise at once from this foul and infernal pit; beg of God immediately to give you light, and stretch out His hand to you. The first thing that you have to do is to break with the occasion of sin: without that, preaching and tears and resolutions and confessions, all are lost. Remove the occasions, and then constantly recommend yourself to God, and to Mary the mother of purity. No matter how grievously you may be tempted, do not be discouraged by the temptation; at once call to your aid Jesus and Mary, pronouncing their sacred names. These blessed names have the virtue of making the devil fly, and stifling that hellish flame within you. If the devil persists in tempting you, persevere in calling upon Jesus and Mary, and certainly you shall not fall. In order to rid yourself of your evil habits, undertake some special devotion to our Lady; begin to fast in her honor upon Saturdays; contrive to visit her image every day, and beg of her to obtain for you deliverance from that vice. Every morning immediately after rising, never omit saying three "Hail Marys" in honor of her purity and do the same when going to bed; and above all things, as I have said, when the temptation is most troublesome, call quickly upon Jesus and Mary. Beware, brother, if you do not be converted now, you may never be converted. - April 9, 2009Such a Popular Item ... What do the Saints Say?...

Reviewer: Cousin Eerie - favorite favorite favorite - December 3, 2008

Subject: I'll tell you what's funny... The film itself wasn't actually made as a comedy, so by someone saying this film is 'funny' means that the quality of the film is so low, the acting so poor and the content so skewed that it is humorous.

This is a cult classic, such as Reefer Madness, Cocaine Fiends and the like. I find all of these films 'funny' for the same reason that Sex Fiends is.

Did you ever see Mystery Science Theatre 3000? None of the films on that show were supposed to be funny, but by the hosts of the show adding smart aleck comments and pointing out the bad acting and effects, it made the films hilarious.

I guess you just need a certain kind of humor to appreciate the hilarity of this film. - December 3, 2008I'll tell you what's funny...

Reviewer: Meatpies - - November 9, 2008

Subject: Who said this was supposed to be funny? Unfunny and overrated?



This wasn't supposed to be funny. And I don't recall anyone saying this film is supposed to be the next Gone With The Wind...



Maybe Thomas needs to switch to decaf - November 9, 2008Who said this was supposed to be funny?

Reviewer: Classic_TV_and_Radio_Fan - favorite - November 7, 2008

Subject: Crap UNFUNNY AND OVERRATED! - November 7, 2008Crap