Search - Damaged Lives on DVD

Should Have Worn A Raincoat...

Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein | under the rubble | 12/19/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Donald is going to be married to a nice girl. However, one night, after heavy drinking, he gets tangled up with one of those platinum-haired "party gals" we've been warned about. Well, the two go back to her place where they engage in carnality and frivolity like nobody's business! Afterward, Donald goes back to his life as though nothing had happened. Soon, he hears the clap of doom's thunder as he learns that he has contracted a horrible venereal disease! Even worse, he has infected his new bride with this hideous disease! Oh, the humanity! Donald sees a doctor who promptly fills him in on just how much his one night of wanton abandon has cost him. DAMAGED LIVES is to VD what REEFER MADNESS is to pot smoking, a melodramatic cautionary tale that only your great granny could possibly take seriously. Directed by Edgar G. (Black Cat) Ulmer, this movie is a must for your next hoot-a-thon! It comes with an added VD short film with the same basic plot. Watch it and wonder..."

I Married Joan...and then gave her the clap...

cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 06/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Guys, how many times has this happened to you? You go out nightclubbin' with the guys from work, hook up with a fast and loose chickadee, and the next thing you know you've got strange sores on your kidney scraper and your wife is complaining of an itchy yoo hoo...oh the humanity! Apparently enough of this was occurring back in the day to warrant a few edjumacational films to be made on the subject, including this little nugget of joy titled Damaged Lives (1933), the first `talkie' picture directed by Edgar G. Ulmer (The Man from Planet X, The Naked Dawn, The Amazing Transparent Man), who's probably best know for such Poverty Row features as The Black Cat (1934), the first film to team up Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and Detour (1945), an amazing little noir feature definitely worth searching out. Appearing in Damaged Lives is Lyman Williams (The Eleventh Commandment), Diane Sinclair (Tomorrow's Children), Marceline Day (By Appointment Only), Charlotte Merriam (The Avenger), Murray Kinnell (Think Fast, Mr. Moto), and Jason Robards Sr. (The Fatal Hour), father of actor Jason Robards.

Everything seems to be coming up roses for Donald Bradley Jr. (Williams). He just got promoted to executive assistant in his company (I suppose it helps if you father actually owns the business) and he's engaged to comely young woman named Joan (Sinclair). But all that's about to change, for the worse I might add, all because of one reason...Donald couldn't keep it in his pants. One night, after work, Donald goes out for a night on the town with a business associate named Nat, who also brings along a little blonde number named Elise. After hitting a few gin joints, the trio end up at a swinging party at someone's home, and Nat, stewed to the gills, hooks up with another girlie, leaving Donald and Elise to fend for themselves. The pair decides to hit the bricks, making the rounds prior to returning to Elise's posh pad for a nightcap. Shortly afterwards Donald tries to take his leave, but Elise's feminine wilds, and a whole lot of booze, result in him spending the night. The next day old Donald, feeling the pangs of guilt gnawing at his innards, spills his guts to Joan about his dalliance, and not only does she forgive him, but they decide to elope...time passes and things are going aces with the newlyweds, that is until Donald gets a desperate call from Eloise...seems she's got the clap, and she fears she may have passed it on to Donnie. Donnie slips into a state of denial, you know, the whole `this can't be happening to me' thing, but guess what? Not only does Donnie have the taint, but also he's given it to Joan, who learns about it during a routine check-up...oh Donnie, what have you done?

First off, I want to say Donald was a real snarky a-hole. You may have already gotten that impression given the information I've supplied, but you don't know the half of it...when we first see him, he's only just recently received his promotion, and he's barking orders out like he owns the place. Eventually he tones it down a few notches to the level of twerp. At no point in the story did I ever feel any empathy for the character. Even if I'd ever had what he had I still wouldn't have felt anything for him. He had everything going for him, a cushy job, lots of money, an attractive (and forgiving) girlfriend and still that wasn't enough...oh well, you lay down with dogs and you wake up with fleas. The best part of this film for me was when Donald was taken to a clinic by his friend, who also happened to be his wife's physician, and the doctor at the clinic takes Donald on a tour of the examination rooms, all of which happen to be populated with individuals suffering from some form of VD. You see, Donald was still in a serious state of denial, so the physician at the clinic hoped to open his eyes by revealing to him some rather severe cases, the result of the transmitted diseases going unchecked for lengthy periods of time. This ended up turning into a sort of sideshow of disgusting medical maladies, as behind each door the situation was worse than the last. By the end, skinny Donald looked like he was about to keel over from all he had seen. As far as the film itself I thought it was very well put together, featuring a strong and flowing sense of direction. Actually, it's probably one of the best made `edjumacational' features I've ever seen. Things did seem a bit overly melodramatic near the end, but then again, the subject manner was certainly more taboo back when the movie was released than it is today. Nobody wants a venereal disease, and if you get one, you not likely to go announcing it on the roof tops, but I got to figure back in the day the social ramifications alone were much more severe if word of infection ever got out. Another really humorous part of the film comes near the end, as Donald and Joan are visiting another couple, which they consider friends. This other couple had a child, and previously in the film we'd seen Joan chumming it up with the kid. After the taint has been revealed, the kid wants Joan to pick him up, but the father gets a little freaky fearing the disease might somehow rub off on his kid. Could it have happened? Probably not, but he wasn't going to take any chances...talk about an uncomfortable scene. Needless to say, Donald and Joan took their leave shortly afterwards...that's right, take your taint from our home. I will say this for Donald, once he got past the denial stage, he turned into a `glass is half full' type, while his wife was definitely a `glass is half empty' persona (she's all like "We're dead inside...this horrible thing has killed us!"). I did like how the subject matter was handled, though...the film was informative and tended to shy away from the exploitive nature of the material or being overly judgmental of the characters. All in all an entertaining and enlightening feature, still relevant after some seventy plus years.

The picture quality on this Alpha Video DVD release is rough, but watchable. The picture quality is faded and slightly blurry, but given the age of the feature, this may be as good a transfer print as was available. I've never really associated Alpha Video with high standards of quality, but at least their prices are nice. The audio is about as good as the picture, that is to say not great, but passable. Included on the DVD is an extra feature in that of a 17 minute edjumacational short titled The Innocent Party (1959), released by the Kansas State Board of Health. It involves a high school kid contracting syphilis from an encounter with a trampy girl, and then he unknowingly passes it along to his steady girlfriend...smooth move, Ex-Lax.

Cookieman108

Some other possible titles for this film...This Shame I've Wrought, Tainted, My Husband Slept with a Diseased Floozy and All I Got was the Clap, The Wedding Gift, The Honeymoon's Over, VD, It's Not Just for Sailors Anymore, There's a Party in My Pants and Everyone's Invited, Pass the Penicillin, The Fire Down Below, or Mr. Itchy Pants...
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