''Is Your Daughter Safe?'', also known as ''The Octopus'', was an early
silent exploitation film
An exploitation film is a film that tries to succeed financially by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content. Exploitation films are generally low-quality "B movies", though some set trends, attract critical attention, become hi ...
produced and directed by
S. S. Millard. Written by
Max Abramson
Albert "Max" Abramson (born April 29, 1976) is an American politician currently serving as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Rockingham District 37 ( Hampton Falls, Seabrook) since 2018. He previously repre ...
, it was originally released in 1927 and presented around the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in the following years.
Production background
The film was created as a compilation of footage that was, in some cases, nearly fifteen years old, and included stock footage such as medical reels containing footage of
venereal disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...
s and films depicting
white slavery
White slavery (also white slave trade or white slave trafficking) refers to the slavery of Europeans, whether by non-Europeans (such as West Asians and North Africans), or by other Europeans (for example naval galley slaves or the Vikings' t ...
.
[Schaefer, 145.] The basic plot was a
cautionary tale
A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore to warn its listener of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, lo ...
about a young woman's journey into
prostitution and white slavery,
but, like the other films of the era, the plot was secondary to the sexual content. Many of the presentations were introduced at the front door, with live
nude women in glass booths at the entrances. Inside, the films were usually accompanied by a medical slideshow about
venereal disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...
and a lecture from an alleged
sexual education
Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including emotional relations and responsibilities, human sexual anatomy, sexual activity, sexual reproduc ...
specialist. This was a typical presentation template for the time, and set an example for later exploiters.
In
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...
, Millard was forced to retitle his film ''Is Your Daughter Safe?'' to ''The Octopus'' in order to meet the demands of city officials who found the title objectionable. The film was described by ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' as "possibly the strongest and most dangerous" film of its kind at that point, but it still passed the standards of a group coordinated by the
Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...
's Jason Joy, with the group initially stating that the movie taught "a very splendid lesson and that every girl over sixteen years of age ought to be compelled to see it."
The MPPDA, surprised at the lack of a condemnation, was eventually successful in gaining the condemnations from various women's groups and succeeded in withdrawing the film from a number of theaters in the Northwestern United States, paving the way for further challenges to the genre.
[Schaefer, 146-147.] The success in San Diego led to the film being censored or banned in a number of other communities as time progressed, including persuading a Main Street theater chain in
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
not to run the film and drawing condemnation for ''Is Your Daughter Safe?'' and a number of similar films by the
Motion Picture Theater Owners of America
The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) is an American trade organization whose members are the owners of movie theaters. Most of the worldwide List of movie theater chains, major theater chains' operators are members, as are hundreds ...
.
In spite of the controversy and censorship, however, some studies suggested that the film had a positive influence on youth. The
Payne Fund interviewed a number of troubled teenagers about the films, and one interview cited ''Is Your Daughter Safe?'' as a movie she learned from, saying that it "taught
erhow to beware of boys." Millard also was not above corruption to get clearance, casting
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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mayor
William Hale Thompson
William Hale Thompson (May 14, 1869 – March 19, 1944) was an American politician who served as mayor of Chicago from 1915 to 1923 and again from 1927 to 1931. Known as "Big Bill", Reynolds, Paul (November 29, 2009)"US-UK 'Special Relationshi ...
in the film to ensure passage by the city's censors.
Bibliography
* Felicia Feaster and Bret Wood, ''Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film'' (Baltimore, Maryland: Midnight Marquee Press, 1999)
* David F. Friedman, ''A Youth in Babylon: Confessions of a Trash-Film King'' (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1990)
* Internet Movie Database
S. S. Millard URL accessed April 13, 2007
* Larry Langman, ''American Film Cycles: The Silent Era'' (Greenwood Press, 1998)
* Eric Schaefer, ''Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959'' (Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1999)
See also
*
List of lost films
References
External links
*
Douglass Theatre
The Douglass Theatre is a theatre in Macon, Georgia was founded in 1921 by Charles Henry Douglass, an African-American entrepreneur who was an established theatre developer well versed in the vaudeville and entertainment business. Ben Stein owned ...
,
Macon, Georgia An internal letterdiscussing the booking of ''Is Your Daughter Safe?''
* {{IMDb title, 0135474, Is Your Daughter Safe
1927 films
1920s exploitation films
Films about sexually transmitted diseases
American sexploitation films
American silent feature films
American black-and-white films
1927 documentary films
1920s American films