"That Kind of Girl" - On Netflix
What comes around definitely goes around in this surprisingly watchable cautionary film about syphilis which, we are told, was approved by the British Medical Board - the film, not the disease, although it's a close contest. Before there was a Jerry Springer Show there was the cinema, and this lushly shot tour of London, its clubs and nearby countryside is Jerry Springer done right.
This is the film that dares to ask, "What do you think of Hitler?" It was either a popular pick up line in the early 1960's or a code phrase used to activate post-war Austrian agents to attempt to bring Britain to its knees one more time.
There are worse things than syphilis or Hitler, and this film is not one of them. But if you wondered why Wargames' "Professor Falken" (John Wood) gave up on humanity, you'll soon find out, since it was apparently among his early jobs to hand out "You've got the clap!" greeting cards for British youth to send to their loved ones and not-so-loved ones.
The main causes of syphilis appear to be creepy ad executives, jazz, nuclear disarmament, and upper glass girls who won't have sex with their boyfriends. But wait, how does not having sex lead to syphilis, you ask? Simple. Because if girls who don't have VD refuse to have sex with their boyfriends, then their boyfriends will have sex with girls who do have VD, so that when you find out and have sex with him to get him back... you'll get syphilis. You'll also get pregnant. Which leads to the signature catchphrase of the film - "I’ve never been to the doctor to tell them I’m an unmarried mother and the man who got me pregnant has VD!” Well, there's a first time for everything, and vice versa.
Unlike US films of this genre, in which everyone goes blind, mad, and disgraced, this film proceeds to a happy ending - the other kind - with a bit of the British stiff upper lip and assorted other organs. By the end, you'll be rushing out to make sure you have enough postage stamps to support an active sex life.
Of interest is that many people do not know the origin of the "peace" symbol as the stylized acronymic logo of the UK Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Among the many little surprises in this film, aside from the primary one, we are treated to a look at the goings on of the CND of the time.
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