This black & white educational film is presented by the Illinois State Department of Public Health. It’s about the battle against Syphilis in rural areas of the state of Georgia. In particular, the film shows the work of the mobile syphilis detection and treatment unit, primarily among African Americans living in McIntosh, Glynn, and Camden counties. No copyright is present, this is circa 1938 based on research.
Opening titles: Presented by the Illinois State Department of Public Health – Three Counties Against Syphilis (:07-:35). Georgia on the map. Water crashes at the beach. Weeping willows. Former slave quarters. Marsh. Harbor for a boat. A man stares outward. Women go through the catch for shipment. A large wood mill. Plant for wood byproducts. A man works on a machine. A nurse works on a man’s arm. Our narrator explains how they are trying to get rid of Syphilis (:36-2:27). In Brunswick, GA a doctor works. People are tested at the public clinic free of charge. African American children at play. People tested. A man goes to a doctor in a rural area (2:28-3:43). In the woods, a rural land. Workers cut trees and chop wood. Turpentine stills. A man works. A mobile clinic comes to a rural area. The mobile clinic goes to three counties – Camden, Glynn, McIntosh in Georgia (this is shown on a map). A line on the map moves to show the distance between cities. The mobile clinic shows up to a rural African American area to test them. People start going into the back trailer. African Americans line up and exit a trailer. Older men walk by, laugh, and talk (3:44-7:04). A school bus brings patients to the clinic. Older women exit as well as younger women. The doctor talks with them. Inside the trailer is a complete clinic. Using tongs items are moved around. A nurse checks a boy and gives him an immunization against typhoid fever. A blood test for another. What kills the germ of Syphilis is in the needle. Each patient is given detailed information so they can understand. An African American male is checked by a doctor (7:05-9:39). No end credits, movie just ends.
Syphilis is a bacterial infection usually spread by sexual contact. The disease starts as a painless sore — typically on your genitals, rectum or mouth. Syphilis spreads from person to person via skin or mucous membrane contact with these sores.
An online resource has pointed out some of the interesting details in the film including the inside of the mobile clinic, and the medical unit visiting canneries, wood pulp factories, logging camps, country dance halls, elementary schools, and churches to treat patients with bismuth and arsphenamine injections. It shows both the Kahn and Wasserman blood tests and explains how to read the results. The film also shows the promotional literature using the phrase “bad blood” as a substitute for syphilis: flyers posted near gathering places and flyers used as wrappers for purchases, for example. It shows syphilis detection training for midwives and door-to-door canvasing. Most of the people shown in this film are African American. Most of the doctors, nurses, health professionals, and researchers are Caucasian. Other scenes include beaches, the ruins of a slave hospital, Sidney Lanier’s oak tree, marshes, Brunswick port, Brunswick public health clinic, St. Simon’s clinic, ox carts, and a school bus. Gospel music is heard in the background.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
