Damaged Goods (1937)

Marriage Forbidden is the film version of Eugene Briaux' once-notorious 1912 stage drama Damaged Goods. This pioneering study of the consequences of venereal disease had been praised by none other than George Bernard Shaw; the film version likewise boasted a "famous name", muckraking novelist Upton Sinclair, who is credited with the adaptation. George, a young man from a good family, makes the mistake of going "all the way" with Margie, a girl with a bad reputation. Feeling guilty, George tries to wriggle out of his upcoming marriage to Henrietta, the daughter of a congressman. The wedding proceeds as planned, however, with the expected long-range tragic results for Henrietta and her child. Acting as the "voice of reason" is Pedro de Cordoba as kindly Dr. Walker. Produced in 1936 by Phil Goldstone, the film was first released as Damaged Goods in 1937, then under its Marriage Forbidden cognomen the following year. Neither version was able to earn a production code seal, and both ran into heavy censorship problems when distributed nationally.

Starring: Douglas Walton, Arletta Duncan, Pedro de Cordoba, Esther Dale, Ferdinand Munier
Director: Phil Goldstone

Drama

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