Mom and Dad (1945 film)

Mom and Dad
Poster dated 1947 listing times for sex-segregated screenings of the film
Directed byWilliam Beaudine
Screenplay byMildred Horn
Story byKroger Babb
Mildred Horn
Produced byKroger Babb
J. S. Jossey[1]
StarringHardie Albright
Lois Austin
George Eldredge
June Carlson
Jimmy Clark
Bob Lowell[2]
CinematographyMarcel LePicard
Edited byRichard Currier
Music byEdward J. Kay[2]
Distributed byHygienic Productions
Hallmark Productions
Release date
  • January 3, 1945 (January 3, 1945)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$67,001[3]
Box office$40–100 million (estimated)

Mom and Dad is a 1945 American sexploitation film directed by William Beaudine, and largely produced by the exploitation film maker and presenter Kroger Babb. Mom and Dad is considered the most successful film within its genre[4] of "sex hygiene" films. Although it faced numerous legal challenges and was condemned by the National Legion of Decency,[5] it became one of the highest-grossing films of the 1940s.

The film is regarded as an exploitation film as it was repackaged controversial content designed to establish an educational value that might circumvent U.S. censorship laws. Babb's marketing of his film incorporated old-style medicine show techniques, and used unique promotions to build an audience. These formed a template for his later works, which were imitated by his contemporary filmmakers. In 2005, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6][7] The Academy Film Archive preserved Mom and Dad in 2010.[8]

  1. ^ Schaefer, 199.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference pressbook was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Mom and Dad". Variety. February 6, 1957. p. 20. Retrieved June 10, 2019 – via Archive.org.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference loc was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Hans J. Wollstein, Mom and Dad (1947)", AllMovie
  6. ^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.