Mated


1952

Brief Synopsis

This documentary begins with a voice-over narration asserting the necessity of sex education to prepare young people for marriage. The narrator hypothesizes that women can become frigid if they choose mates for purely physical reasons and then grow disappointed by the lack of true love. "Sexual mala...

Film Details

Release Date
Apr 1952
Premiere Information
Los Angeles opening: week of 16 Apr 1952
Production Company
Federated Films, Inc.
Distribution Company
Sonney Amusement Corp.
Country
United States

Synopsis

This documentary begins with a voice-over narration asserting the necessity of sex education to prepare young people for marriage. The narrator hypothesizes that women can become frigid if they choose mates for purely physical reasons and then grow disappointed by the lack of true love. "Sexual maladjustments" are linked to other physical and psychological ailments, such as insomnia and backaches, with several cases related as examples. Sexual anatomy is then detailed with charts, still photographs and film clips explicating the processes of menstruation, puberty, sperm production, lactation, egg fertilization, gestation and the development of breasts and the penis. "White and yellow" breasts are compared to those of the "black races," which are described as "long, pointed and pendulous, like udders." Improperly developed organs and functions are also illustrated, and different sizes and shapes of bodies and body parts are compared. Various techniques for increasing breast size are discussed, including suction pumps and creams. Bisexuality and homosexuality are briefly mentioned. Then, Mrs. Moore, a pregnant woman, is shown visiting a physician for prenatal care. During the months of her pregnancy, she follows the doctor's advice to exercise moderately and check on the baby's health. After she goes into labor, the baby is delivered as a breech birth. The whole process, including the expulsion of the afterbirth and the episiotomy, are shown. Later, a doctor provides childrearing advice, including the admonishment to mothers that "the less baby is handled and fondled, the better off he is." Finally, the narrator cautions women to remain sexually attractive to their husbands, asserting that women bear all responsibility in a marriage to "keep sex lively."

Film Details

Release Date
Apr 1952
Premiere Information
Los Angeles opening: week of 16 Apr 1952
Production Company
Federated Films, Inc.
Distribution Company
Sonney Amusement Corp.
Country
United States

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The film's title card reads: "Mated, an Illustrated Lecture on Film." Gordon Schindler's opening credits read: "Written and supervised by Gordon Schindler" and "Photography and editing, Mr. Schindler." The end credits, some of which could not be read on the viewed print, read: "The following material was used with the kind permission of the copyright owners. Dr. Dickinson's material-The Williams and Williams, publishers of Dr. Dickinson's Atlas of Human Sex Anatomy; Photo and quotations of Havelock Ellis-Random House, publishers of Ellis' studies in the Psychology of Sex; Dr. Bauer's quotation-The Liveright Publishers, publishers of Dr. Bauer's Woman and Love; Prof. Everett's quotation-The Vanguard Press, publishers of Prof. Everett's Hygiene of Marriage; Good Secreting Breasts-The J. B. Lipping; Diagrammatic breast drawings by Tom Jones."
       Modern sources also point out that Mated combines old and newly shot footage. The same breech birth depicted in the film is shown in the 1952 picture Birthright, a fictionalized educational film about syphilis.
       Mated opened in Los Angeles in April 1952, but, according to a April 17, 1952 Los Angeles Daily News story, was closed by the vice squad for indecency. Hollywood Reporter reported in July 1952 that a jury voted to reinstate the film as a "scientific and educational production on sex hygiene." In January 1957, the picture was re-released and a Variety article stated that a Houston, TX exhibitor was jailed for showing the "lewd and lascivious" film.