PAGES OF DEATH 1962

First released in 1962, this 27 minute short film purports to show the evils of pornography and its horrific effects on society with an emphasis on turning high school-age males into psychotic murderers. For decades it was considered a lost film, but in 2015 a 16mm print was discovered by the Oregon Historical Society who have kindly posted it on YouTube for our enjoyment in all its fading-to-red glory. 

Hysterically over-wrought and pushing its pro-censorship message with the subtilty of a jackhammer, its one of those educational/propaganda films in which the production history is almost as interesting as the film itself. It was produced by the radio program Hour of St. Francis and distributed by the Cincinnati, OH. based Citizens for Decent Literature. Also affiliated with the production was religious zealot and anti-pornography zealot Charles Keating, who spent most of the 50s and 60s railing against any type of adult entertainment. He then entered into banking where in the 80s he was president of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan whose failure cost over 20,000 customers (many of them elderly) their life savings and led to the "Keating Five" scandal. It would seem pornography is the root of all evil in society while evil bankers bilking people out of their savings is for the greater good.

Busy character actors Paul Picerni (THE UNTOUCHABLES TV Show) and Mark Allen portray a couple of hard-nosed police detectives investigating the murder and implied rape of a young girl in which the trail leads them to a store that sells candy, school supplies, and "adult magazines & sex paperbacks". The victim is portrayed as being the child of hard working middle class parents while the eventual suspect is a spoiled high schooler of obnoxious egotistical parents.

Picerni gets to recite a couple of "in your face" Jack Webb-type monologues, especially when discovering the suspects porn stash ("Evidently he's been ordering from the back of magazines...This is hardcore stuff"). In fact the whole thing has the slightly more sleazy feel of a DRAGNET episode. 

Also in the cast is John Larch who appeared in about every TV show during the 60s and 70s and the film's narrator is sportscaster Tom Harmon whose the father of actor Mark Harmon. Enjoy!