Sex Madness (1938) drama
Voted by IMDb readers Worst Film of the 1930s
| "Sex Madness" Part 1 | This movie opens with some scolling text about the dangers of syphilis. The youth of the 1930s are mad about sex. Both men and women are going out to nightclubs to watch girls dancing in flimsy outfits and stripping. One of the young men going out to these burlesque shows, is Tom Lorenz, the son of the town's leading reformer, although his parents evidently don't know exactly what he's up to. In Part 1 there is also a lesbian encounter (with clothes on of course). A female secretary trying to put the moves on a female co-worker, takes her out to the burlesque show evidently to get her heated up. We also see an odd man making strange faces while the girls dance. |
| "Sex Madness" Part 2 | In Part 2, that odd man from Part 1 turns out to be a depraved sex killer and evidently we're supposed to think that the burlesque show got him worked up enough to kill again. Now we see a house party where the unattached men and women are pairing up for romance, which includes sex. I think this is supposed to demonstrate the loose morals of either city dwellers, or maybe show people. Millicent, one of the girls in the burlesque show, got there because she had won a beauty contest, which included a trip to New York. She wanted to be a star so she stayed there and looked for a job. |
| "Sex Madness" Part 3 | The "good girl" Millicent gets mixed up with theatre people because she needs a job. She is lured by promises, has sex with the man who makes them, he leaves her, and she discovers she has syphilis. Now she can't go back home to her boyfriend. The doctor she sees in New York City, says he can cure her, with some medication. He tells her she can go back to her hometown and find a local doctor to treat her. Then we see a scene where Mr Lorenz espouses some of his philosophy about sex education. |
| "Sex Madness" Part 4 | Now Millicent goes back to her small hometown, starts taking her syphilis cure, and several months go by. She can't get married right away, although she may want to, because she has to wait until her syphilis is completely cured. (They didn't have the quick cure we have today.) Finally she gets married to her long-term boyfriend, Wendel. Several more months go by, and they have a baby. But now Wendel is having problems seeing, and their baby seems to have some kind of problem as well. |
| "Sex Madness" Part 5 | Their baby is "desperately ill" with a "toxic condition". The doctor tells them the baby is syphilitic and one of more of the parents are the cause. Millicent breaks down as evidently the doctor she had seen was a quack and didn't actually cure her. Tom Lorenz also tells his father, that he has syphilis, but his father is understanding and wants to help him cure it. |
| "Sex Madness" Part 6 | The next scene is at a crusade to fight against syphilis. Paul Lorenz, has donated money for the cause, and Tom speaks at the meeting. Evidently Tom got syphilis from that house party in Part 2 above. Wendel is now completely blind, and Millie is taking care of him. She gets a call from her friend Laura in New York City who also has syphilis but is taking a cure that will take two years (!) and then will get married. At this news Millie bursts into bizarre laughter. |