DAMAGED LIVES (1933)

Damaged Lives (1933, Drama, Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, Starring Diane Sinclair and Lyman Williams) is a stark and cautionary tale about the consequences of reckless behavior, particularly focusing on the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. Diane Sinclair plays Joan Bradley, who becomes embroiled in a tragic situation after her husband, played by Lyman Williams, contracts syphilis from a brief affair. The film is notable for its direct approach to a taboo subject during the early 1930s and is one of the era’s “social hygiene” films aimed at educating the public. While the acting is somewhat melodramatic, the movie is an intriguing piece of cinematic history, reflecting the period's moral and social concerns.