To the People of the United States

To the People of the United States
Directed by	Arthur Lubin
Written by	Edmund L. Hartmann
Produced by	United States Public Health Service
Starring	Jean Hersholt
Narrated by	Jean Hersholt
Distributed by	War Activities Committee of the Motion Pictures Industry
Release date	November 21, 1943 (1943-11-21)
Running time	21 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

To the People of the United States is a short propaganda film produced by the US Public Health Service in 1943 to warn the American GIs against syphilis. It was directed by Arthur Lubin.

The film opens with the ground crew of a flying fortress talking to their colleagues about being grounded. It seems the other planes in their unit are off to fight the enemy, but they and their plane lay idle because their pilot is "sick". The pilot, whose face is never shown, talks with a doctor, feeling very embarrassed and guilty about what has happened. The doctor assures him that he will fly again when he gets better. When the pilot interjects that he has heard he wouldn't, the doctor asks "Heard from who? The kid next door or the drug patent salesman? Surely not anyone who knew what he was talking about." The doctor then informs him that if the disease is caught early, and he keeps up a strict treatment he will be able to go about his business normally again.

Once the pilot leaves the doctor addresses the audience "Do you want the facts? Well the first question is the extent of syphilis in America." A visit to the local draft board later reveals that nearly 47 of every thousand men called up have to be dismissed because they had syphilis. He then visits an Army hospital and is informed by the doctor that syphilis is like a "forest fire", no organization or saboteur could do half the damage that venereal disease does to the army.

The doctor then goes into the social stigma associated with syphilis, and the fact that so many people will not get a blood test to check for syphilis. He notes in his native Scandinavia, people were much more open about it, and it was a normal sight for people to get a blood test for syphilis. He shows a diagram of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, which he says has a comparable population as the State of New York, and how fewer Scandinavians have VD than New Yorkers, The film ends with a plea for everyone to get a blood test.

The director and all the actors volunteered their time for the film. However, the Catholic church objected to the subject matter, and USPHS Surgeon General Thomas Parron would not release the film. It was only shown to a few select audiences.

Awards

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

External links

• To the People of the United States at IMDb
• The short film To the People of the United States is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.