Perversion for Profit

"They lack the dignity of our dutial Christian heritage." So says "outstanding news reporter" know-it-all George Putnam (pronounced 'Putt-Numb', the man can't even pronounce his own name!). He is referring to the mongers of perverse material that are covering the nation with smut and trying to corrupt our youth (let's face it, they don't have anything better to do). We sit and watch as this creepy guy narrates, talking directly to the camera (staring uncomfortably right at you) about the evils of girly magazines, nudist journals, physique pictorials "and all the rest" (as he puts it). Since soft-core pictures of women's boobies will automatically turn you into a perverted slob.

Shots of him are intersperced with barely censored illustrations from said magazines. Full page spreads from Playboy, One, Sunshine and other tepid publications are displayed, with pieces of colored tape covering objectionable areas. That is, just barely.

This movie leaved basically nothing to the imagination, in terms of whit it exhibits visually. When seen today, the film becomes something else: a fascinating look at an underground Adults Only culture. The skin magazines of the 1950's and 1960's, which were legal, were hardly as `perverse' as the harcore 16mm `blue' movies that were being made at the time. Putnam promises that `What you have been shown here is not the worst' and he'd be right, but according to him, shots of half-naked women sitting around at a pool looking bored were depraved and deranged. Of couse the major bone that the consevatives have to pick is mentioned over and over: kids can legally get this stuff. There's no drive towards a solution, though, like maybe restricting the ages, plastic wrap, etc. How typical.

Of all profiteers of perversion, it is the homosexuals who fair the worst. Putnam holds up an image of a ten-year-old boy in a g-string (not a very pretty sight if you ask me - and I'm gay), and says `See at what tender age homosexuals prefer their conquests!' And he promises us that there are also slides and movies showing tawny young men in alluring states of undress (yummy).

Also glowered upon is sado-masochism. While recent films like Secretary attempt to explain it in a positive light, most of the world is still in the dark when it comes to S/M. Can we expect a thoughtful, positive or at least somewhat enlightening view on the subject in this film. No. Mr. Putnam treats it the same way he treats everything else, by doing the verbal equivalent of stamping a great big OBSCENE on every last image he shows us.

So, it's a sad story. This film that apparently conservated a lot of peoples minds on the the subject of obscenity. Despite Putnam's claim that they aren't trying to sensationalize their presentation, it's clear that that's what they had on their minds. Yet the movie is also talky and dull. Skip to the good parts, and then never, ever watch this movie ever again.

"A flood tide of filth is engulfing our country in the form of newsstand obscenity, and is threatening to pervert an entire generation of our American children!" So says 'reporter' George Putnam, who is not only upstanding but 'outstanding' as well! Putnam, a natty, well-dressed guy with Brylcreem in his hair, seems like the righteous sort of family man you might see volunteering as usher at your local parish. He uses amusing placards to warn us that magazine pornography (a two billion dollar a year business!) and other forms of filth reach 75-90% of our children (so much for that clever hiding space!) and that perversion is like an octopus reaching its tentacles out to the malt shop set--luring them into the insidious world of unnatural desires. "There are more than 800 distributors" peddling porn, and--no thanks to rapid transit and mass distribution--our children are being exposed to homosexuality at a faster rate than ever! Such dated naiveté is then accented with pulpy paperback covers and vintage sex rags which would go for big bucks today on eBay. One has to hand it to Putnam: he stands tall and holy, like a mighty Sequoia, putting emphasis on words like 'whips' and 'bestiality' with authoritative conviction. One can just imagine him hitting the local pub after the long film shoot, chatting up the neighborhood trollop and heading back to her place for a little R 'n R.

This film features George Putnam (who is described as an "outstanding news reporter" in the credits) talking about porno magazines. He informs us about the filth that is invading our homes and corrupting our youth and turning fresh-faced youngsters into homosexual communists etc etc. While most the film is like some sort of spoken word version of Reefer Madness, the most hilarious part is when Putnam starts reading from some pulp novel about street thugs filled with old-timey lingo and everything. First, imagine a guy who would have been described as a "square" back in the day reading the following passage with a lot of emotion: "What are we alive for but to get all the kicks we can? Sex, that's a kick. Sure damn good one. A guy can never get enough of that. Drinking, that's another kick. An okay kick. Marijuana, sure. Them's good, too. If you don't let it get the upper-hand with you. Heroin, H, there was something to be said for that. I tried it, but horse isn't such a good kick because it takes more than it gives. And before long, you use it and you don't get any kick." That's just the gist of it. There's plenty more to be made fun of here. Although, some of the stuff he brings up in here looks pretty bad. One magazine appears to contain child pornography. I'm just sitting there thinking, "Um, that's not the kind of thing you write to your local congressman about. I think think that's the kind of thing you tell the police about."

Perversion for Profit (1965)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

George Putnam, listed in the credits as being an "outstanding news reporter", tackles dirty magazines that were on bookshelves back in 1965. Standing in front of a map of the U.S., Putnam talks to the viewer about all the evil magazines that are turning people into perverts, lesbians, homosexuals, child molesters and various other sexual evils. As you can tell, the main draw to a film like this is just like the draw of REEFER MADNESS and that's just to see how much b.s. they can fit into one film. The film is quite funny because of how politically incorrect the film is so if you're easily offended then you might want to stay away. I personally never knew how many adult magazines were available back in the day so it was very interesting seeing the covers and what was being passed off as sexy then. The narration is so over the top and the stories he's telling are so stupid that you can't take them seriously for a second. The stuff dealing with homosexuals trying to lure young boys was outlandishly surreal. The entire film is a nostalgia trip for those certain people pushing their viewpoints with lies.

I've seen a number of reviews here by people who seem to think that this film is some kind of documentary. It's nothing of the kind. This is nothing more than a good old-fashioned exploitation film.

This film had no more intention of "saving souls from smut" than "Reefer Madness" had of dissuading people from smoking pot. The whole point of the exercise is to circumvent the legal and moral restrictions of the day and to make a fast buck while doing it.

These films all follow the same pattern:

1. "XYZ is evil/immoral/deadly"

2. "Here are some examples of XYZ so you'll know it when you see it."

3. "Fight XYZ!"

As the Master of Exploitation, Dave Friedman, points out in his autobiography, "A Youth in Babylon," the idea was to get the rubes to part with a few bucks to see something they could never see at the local Bijou.

Disguise it as "hygiene" or wrap it in patriotism or religion and the cops won't bother you.

Some other classic examples of the genre are "Mom and Dad," "Sex Madness", "Exposing the Nudist Racket". I believe all of these are available online.