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Fit to Fight (film)

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Fit to Fight (film)

Fit to Fight is a silent sex hygiene film about the dangers of venereal disease written and directed by Edward H. Griffith. It was produced by the Commission on Training Camp Activities (making it the first film to be produced by the US government) and initially shown to American World War I soldiers. After the war, a slightly edited version was commercially released to the public in 1919, under the title Fit to Win. The film proved controversial due to its graphic imagery and its limited support for prophylaxis. It was subject to censorship attempts, and contributed to the emergence of the exploitation film as a distinct niche.

It tells the story of five recruits who exhibit varying degrees of compliance with the sexual health advice given to them at training camp and suffer corresponding consequences. The three men who have contact with prostitutes without seeking immediate medical treatment suffer venereal disease symptoms of varying severity. Ultimately, Billy, the only man who completely avoids contact with a prostitute, is held up as a model of ideal behaviour, and receives the admiration of his peers.

No footage from the film survives today.

The film begins with a prologue (comprising 1,000 feet of film), showing photographs of the lesions caused by venereal disease, before entering into the main story.

The film's story follows five men drafted into World War I:

The five of them attend the same training camp. At the camp, they receive a lecture on the dangers of venereal disease, with varying reactions. Later the men travel to a nearby town and drink bootlegged liquor. They are solicited by prostitutes; Billy declines, but the other four follow the women into a brothel. Hank goes no further than a kiss, but the other three engage in intercourse. Kid McCarthy heads immediately to the camp's prophylaxis station to receive a chemical prophylaxis, recalling the earlier instructions of their lecturer. Jack visits the station the next day, and Chick never goes.

All the men other than Billy and Kid McCarthy subsequently suffer from some degree of venereal disease. Chick, who never sought treatment at the prophylaxis station, suffers a bad case of gonorrhea which eventually leaves him physically disabled. Jack and Hank are both infected with syphilis, with Hank bearing a lesion on his lip as a result of the kiss.

Kid McCarthy taunts Billy, accusing him of being too cowardly to patronize a prostitute. Billy knocks McCarthy out with a punch, telling him that he is "not a coward because he won't go with a dirty slut". McCarthy sees the error in his ways, and he and the rest of the men at the camp gain a new respect for Billy's chastity.

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