This film is part of a DVD set entitled "Treasures III"--a set of four DVDs all about social issues and reform. The second disk (where you'll find this one) is about women's issues in particular.
This is a very odd film when seen today. It isn't just that the film is about contraception and abortion but because of its weird eugenics message. Eugenics, if you are unaware of it, is the notion that the "fittest" in society have a moral obligation to procreate and the unfittest should must have their base desires under control or be eliminated in order to keep these "inferiors" from breeding. In 1916, this meant rich White folks had a moral obligation to make lot of babies and those who were less desirable (such as Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and the "feeble-minded") should be considered as prime candidates for birth control! Today this sounds terribly racist and like the Aryan ideal--it was a widely held and acceptable view at the time.
The story is told from the viewpoint of a prosecuting attorney and his family. The man wants kids but doesn't realize his lazy and selfish wife is getting abortions because kids will spoil her good time. Additionally, when her scum-bag brother gets the servant's daughter pregnant, the selfish wife sends this poor lady to her abortion doctor. However, when the servant's daughter dies, the husband prosecutes and finds out the truth about his wife. Then, in a closing moment, you see this couple through the years--childless and lonely--with the specters of their unborn children hovering about them.
While the film might be seen by some an an anti-abortion film, it is much more a polemic about White and educated folks not getting abortions or practicing birth control. In many ways, it's actually very well made and it generally makes its points, though they are a bit confusing and vague at times. However, some of the old fashion aspects of the film are very dated and strange--such as the trip to Heaven as the film begins to see the worlds where all the babies are kept until they are needed--the wanted ones, the unwanted ones, the surprise ones and the aborted ones. It's pretty creepy but also an amazing look into an important part of our history and the debates about eugenics.
The title, by the way, refers to what the saddened husband said to his now sterile wife after her repeated abortions.
This is a very odd film when seen today. It isn't just that the film is about contraception and abortion but because of its weird eugenics message. Eugenics, if you are unaware of it, is the notion that the "fittest" in society have a moral obligation to procreate and the unfittest should must have their base desires under control or be eliminated in order to keep these "inferiors" from breeding. In 1916, this meant rich White folks had a moral obligation to make lot of babies and those who were less desirable (such as Blacks, Asians, Hispanics and the "feeble-minded") should be considered as prime candidates for birth control! Today this sounds terribly racist and like the Aryan ideal--it was a widely held and acceptable view at the time.
The story is told from the viewpoint of a prosecuting attorney and his family. The man wants kids but doesn't realize his lazy and selfish wife is getting abortions because kids will spoil her good time. Additionally, when her scum-bag brother gets the servant's daughter pregnant, the selfish wife sends this poor lady to her abortion doctor. However, when the servant's daughter dies, the husband prosecutes and finds out the truth about his wife. Then, in a closing moment, you see this couple through the years--childless and lonely--with the specters of their unborn children hovering about them.
While the film might be seen by some an an anti-abortion film, it is much more a polemic about White and educated folks not getting abortions or practicing birth control. In many ways, it's actually very well made and it generally makes its points, though they are a bit confusing and vague at times. However, some of the old fashion aspects of the film are very dated and strange--such as the trip to Heaven as the film begins to see the worlds where all the babies are kept until they are needed--the wanted ones, the unwanted ones, the surprise ones and the aborted ones. It's pretty creepy but also an amazing look into an important part of our history and the debates about eugenics.
The title, by the way, refers to what the saddened husband said to his now sterile wife after her repeated abortions.