Perversion for Profit (1964)
Produced by The Christophers
Narrated by George Putnam
Perversion for Profit (circa 1964) is one of the most famous—and infamous—examples of Cold War–era social guidance filmmaking. Produced by the Catholic organization The Christophers and narrated by broadcaster George Putnam, the film warns viewers of what it calls a growing “flood tide of filth” spreading through American culture via magazines, paperbacks, and newsstand publications.
Created at the height of mid-century moral panic over obscenity, the film presents a dramatic case against the supposed dangers of pornography and “sex-mad magazines.” Through narration, illustrated art cards, and examples of real publications, viewers are warned about the influence of girlie magazines, nudist publications, men’s adventure titles, physique magazines, and lurid paperback novels.
Among its most striking imagery is a symbolic octopus representing the spread of obscenity through modern mass media—its tentacles reaching into homes, schools, and communities through high-speed printing and national distribution networks.
Ironically, the film also preserves remarkable historical footage of the very publications it condemns. Viewers can glimpse numerous magazine covers and interiors from the period, including rare appearances of early gay publications such as ONE: The Homosexual Viewpoint (May 1959), along with physique magazines and other mid-century periodicals.
Today, Perversion for Profit is widely viewed less as a warning and more as a revealing artifact of its time. Its dire narration, sweeping claims about moral decline, and dramatic imagery offer a fascinating window into the cultural anxieties of the 1950s and 1960s—particularly surrounding sexuality, media, and the fear that changing social attitudes might threaten traditional American values.
For modern audiences, the film functions both as a piece of social history and as an unintentionally campy example of mid-century propaganda filmmaking.
Presented here for historical and educational purposes.