The End of the Road (1919 film)
The End of the Road | |
---|---|
American Social Hygiene Association | |
Starring | Richard Bennett Claire Adams |
Production company | American Social Hygiene Association / Famous Players–Lasky / United States Department of War |
Distributed by | Public Health Films |
Release date | February 16, 1919 |
Running time | 7 reels |
Country | United States |
Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
The End of the Road is a 1919 American silent
A complete restoration of the film has been created by the National Film Preservation Foundation and may be viewed online.[3]
Plot
As described with colorful language in a
Cast
- Richard Bennett as the Doctor
- Claire Adams as Mary Lee
- Joyce Fair as Vera Lynch
- Raymond McKee
- Maude Hill
- Robert Cain
- Arthur Housman
- Alice Brady
- Helen Ferguson
Production and release
The End of the Road was sponsored by the Commission on Training Camp Activities (CTCA), a US agency created in 1917 with the primary goal of reducing the spread of venereal disease among US troops. The CTCA produced another film with an anti-VD message, Fit to Fight (later released to the public as Fit to Win), aimed at a male audience.[5]
The film was directed by Edward H. Griffith, who was then director of motion pictures for CTCA. Its writer, Katharine Bement Davis, was a sociologist and director of the Committee on Protective Work for Girls, under the United States Department of War. It was filmed on the Rockefeller family estate in Pocantico Hills, New York by US army cameramen.[5]
The End of the Road was originally intended to be screened for small private audiences of women such as church groups or at
Reception and censorship
The End of the Road was a popular success, but was subject to censorship efforts. The film was banned in Pennsylvania, and the National Association of the Motion Picture Industry ran a campaign attempting to have it banned from Chicago.[6] Reviewers criticized "the graphic nature" of the film, which included depictions of syphilitic lesions.[6]
See also
References
- ^ "The End of the Road". American Film Institute. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ Davis, Katharine (1918). Social Hygiene and the War. II, Woman's Part in Social Hygiene. New York City: American Social Hygiene Association. pp. 32–36. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- ^ "The End of the Road (1919)". National Film Preservation Foundation. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Reviews: The End of the Road". Exhibitors Herald. 8 (19). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 46. May 3, 1919.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58046-916-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-8223-2374-5.
External links
- Complete restoration of The End of the Road viewable via the National Film Preservation Foundation
- The End of the Road at IMDb
- The End of the Road (Excerpt) on YouTube