Fit to Win
Cast & Crew
Lieut. Edward H. Griffith
Sgt. Raymond Mckee
Harry Gripp
Paul Kelly
Lieut. Edward H. Griffith
Film Details
Synopsis
In a prologue, the effects and symptoms of venereal disease are explicitly presented, after which five boys enlist in the Army and go to a training camp. Although an officer tells them of the dangers of venereal disease, only one, the famous college quarterback Billy Hale, abstains from indulging in the pleasures of a brothel, prefering to keep clean and be faithful to the girl he loves. Two of the boys develop bad cases of syphilis that keep them from being sent overseas to share the honor of serving their country. One of them is cured, but the other develops acute rheumatism which lasts throughout his life. Hale and the other two boys serve well. Hale becomes a captain, and the others die in the fields of Flanders. Hale returns after the war and marries the girl he loves.
Director
Lieut. Edward H. Griffith
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The production was planned by Lieut. Col. William F. Snow M.C.U., U.S. Army, as a part of the Surgeon General's health program for service men. The film was copyrighted first under the title Fit to Fight and was originally made for use by the Army to warn soldiers of the dangers of sexual immorality. Public Health Films bought the film after the war and released it after making alterations and changing the title to Fit to Win. Many theaters segregated men from women during the showings and admitted only adults. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided in July 1919 that the film could not be shown in New York City since Licensing Commissioner Gilchrist was against showing it. The National Association of the Motion Picture Industry attempted to prohibit the commercial distribution and exhibition of this film. Director-writer Lieutenant Edward H. Griffith was a director for Thomas A. Edison, Inc. before the war. Goldwyn Pictures Corp. and Metro Pictures Corp. cooperated with Griffith in producing the film. The photographic work was done by the instruction laboratory of the Army Medical Museum.
