Fit to Fight (film)

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.

Chick, who never sought treatment at the prophylaxis station, suffers a bad case of gonorrhea which eventually leaves him physically disabled.

[2]: 68–69 The film ends with Billy and Kid McCarthy saluting Sandy Hook as they're transported overseas to fight for the US, while the other three men are shown confined to hospital.

It was written and directed by Edward H. Griffith (who, at the time, had the rank of lieutenant), and photographic work was performed by the Army Medical Museum's instruction laboratory.

Assistant surgeon general C. C. Pierce issued a letter requesting that state and local governments provide the film forbearance from their normal censorship practices, given its educational value.

[1] The release of Fit to Win (along with a similar CTCA production aimed at a female audience, The End of the Road) marked a turning point in how sex hygiene films were received in the United States.

Whereas previous films in the genre had been generally well received by critics and praised for their delicate handling of the topic of venereal disease, Fit to Win faced denunciation and censorship attempts from many sides.