DAMAGED GOODS is a hilarious moralistic story about the risks of catching venereal disease from having easy sex. Made in 1961 and shown in schools in the USA, this is tame stuff indeed in which sex isn't shown or even hinted at; instead it's all about inference and implication. The main character is a promising young athlete whose best intentions are put to the test when he ill-advisedly sleeps with a prostitute after a hectic night out.
What follows is an amusingly dramatic and portentous story in which the spread of venereal disease is highlighted by the central love triangle. Jim, the lead, is infected, as is his easy bit-on-the-side, played by the scene-stealing Dolores Faith. Jim's chaste and steady girlfriend, with whom he's shared nothing more than a kiss, is safe. There's a little of the sensation film about this, and at the climax it turns into a straight public information film, with an official relying information straight to the camera and some scary real-life facts and, yes, images.
What follows is an amusingly dramatic and portentous story in which the spread of venereal disease is highlighted by the central love triangle. Jim, the lead, is infected, as is his easy bit-on-the-side, played by the scene-stealing Dolores Faith. Jim's chaste and steady girlfriend, with whom he's shared nothing more than a kiss, is safe. There's a little of the sensation film about this, and at the climax it turns into a straight public information film, with an official relying information straight to the camera and some scary real-life facts and, yes, images.