[Birthright]

[Birthright]

Series Title(s):
Columbia University educational films
Contributor(s):
Southern Educational Film Production Service.
Georgia. Department of Public Health.
Hall County (Ga.). Health Department
Publication:
[Atlanta, GA] : Georgia Dept. of Public Health, [1951]
Language(s):
English
Format:
Moving image
Subject(s):
Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
Prenatal Care
Syphilis -- prevention & control
Abstract:
This film features a pregnant couple named John and Liza Lloyd. They live with Liza's parents, and John works with his father-in-law raising chickens. One day, John and Liza get in a fight, and John gets drunk and has an affair with a bartender named Nell. Soon after, Liza tells John that she's pregnant, and Nell learns that she has syphilis. The public health nurse encourages Nell to contact the people with whom she recently had sexual relations, but she never learned John's name and consequently had no way of contacting him. Newly pregnant Liza feels perfectly fine and refuses to see a doctor, despite John's urging. One day in town, John decides to take a free general health test, where he learns that he, too, has syphilis, and is told that if his wife isn't tested and treated, there could be serious consequences for her and their baby. Liza meets a woman named Kitty at the health clinic where they both took classes for expectant mothers, and soon Liza, John, Kitty, and Kitty's husband Fred are all good friends. John tells Liza that he has syphilis, so she agrees to go to a doctor and take tests that confirm that she, too, has the disease, but that she can be treated. Kitty and Fred's baby is born perfectly healthy as John and Liza fear for the health of their own unborn child. Eventually, Liza births a healthy baby boy, much to the couple's relief. In the weeks after the baby's birth, John refuses to hold him and seems to be overwhelmed with guilt for having jeopardized the health of his wife and son. Eventually, though, after Liza has forgiven him and encouraged him to hold the baby, John gives in and they are a happy family. Throughout the film, the importance of expectant mothers seeing a doctor immediately after learning they are pregnant is emphasized.
Copyright:
The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
Extent:
042 min.
Color:
Black and white
Cast:
Boyce Brown, Marjory Morris, Paula Haygood, W.O. Jarrett, Mrs. W.O. Jarrett, Howard Williams, Allie Mae Williams, C.S. Buchanan, Robert Fisher, Claribel Jones, W.T. Grant, Jr., "Jake" Ellerd, Edward Mangum, Sarah Tankersley, Major Nucholls, Patsy Brown, Charles Westbrook.
Credits:
Script by George C. Stoney ; photography by Ralph Woolsey ; sound by Bil Godsey ; music director, Louis Applebaum ; music by Lan Adomian ; edited by Fred Lasse ; assistant editor, Barbara Clements ; assistant cameraman, Bob Gordon ; assistant director, Speight Cooper ; associate producer, Ralph A. Woolsey ; directed by Bill Clifford.
Provenance:
Received: (date unknown) as a donation from the United States Public Health Service.
Technique:
Live action
NLM Unique ID:
8800049A (See catalog record)
OCLC no.:
31656354
Permanent Link:
http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/8800049A