Pages of Death (1962) User Reviews

Unintentional hilarity

[peefyn · 6/10 · 11 February 2016]

The American hysteria around everything popular in youth culture around the 50s and 60s led to quite a few productions meant to scare kids away from temptations. This one is about magazines and paperbacks with sexual content, as they turn young kids into sexual maniacs.

The story starts with a worried couple talking to the police about their 11 year old daughter not coming home from school. An investigation is started, her teacher is interviewed, and also the last people who saw her. As the police finds out what happen, they also find the root of the problem: how easily accessible magazines, books, films and slides with sexual content is. The movie has bookends where are narrator explains how this is a problem, and what do to about it.

This is obviously a quite cheaply made, run-of-the-mill movie with little memorable about it (except its hilarious premise). Other than some unintentionally fun dialog, there are a couple of scenes that carries some emotional weight: the policemen receives troubling news from the station, and prepare to tell it to the girl's parents, and a boy's parents leaning the truth about their child.

If you have friends who like to watch movies Mystery Science Theater-style, riffing along to what is happening on screen, you can have a great time with this movie. It is also a treasure trove for "plunderphonics" musicians, with some great material for sampling.

A remake in needed

[drsmith1966 · 2/10 · 5 July 2017]

If I could do this film over again it would be most loved by the left and myself. Paul is such a very sexy good looking guy that i would have to make him a gay person who has a ton of male porn and magazines in his secret draw. but there would be no death in this remake. Paul finds a very eager and willing friend to bring home after school and go at it like two horny kittens..but later the friend decides to act like he was raped by Paul against his will.. so all the parents and cops get involved to blame poor Paul for his dirty deed. but just as the cops are about to take Paul away to the funny farm. The so called friend victim runs out of the house yelling to the cops and parents.."Please don't take him away, I'm sorry for what i said..I Love you Paul..The parents faint from the shock of what they just heard and the cops shake their heads like Joe Friday for about two dozen times..and Paul and his friend, now turn into lovers, kiss and embrace then walk away down the street heading for the beach..The End.

Period propaganda piece

[Pavolini · 7/10 · 22 January 2016]

A curiosity.

Below average propaganda piece like others that were shown to children in the 1950s and 1960's. The story is simply a moralistic justification for abridgment of constitutional rights.

The film was produced by Charles Keating - a knave who later spent 4 and-a-half years in prison for his role in the savings & loan fiasco.

Other similar film screeds from the same era include the infamous "Boys Beware" and "Perversion for Profit" which featured LA television personality George Putnam and was also produced by Charles Keating. Putnam later apologized for his role in the film.

Interesting that the soundtrack borrows directly from " Plan 9 from Outer Space." I wonder if Ed Wood had anything to do with this production?