NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Kino Blu-ray (February 2020): Kino have transferred the 1945 exploitation film Mom and Dad to Blu-ray. It is Volume One of their Forbidden Fruit: Golden Exploitation Picture series. This is from a "4K restoration from 35mm archive elements" and it starts with this text screen: "The original camera negative of Mom and Dad has suffered severe nitrate decomposition and is mostly lost. This 4K restoration is derived from the best surviving elements: two separate 35mm prints and a 35mm fine grain master struck directly from the surviving 25 minutes of the nitrate camera negative, preserved by the Academy Film Archive." Most of the presentation looks very strong with excellent contrast and depth but there are segments which suffer from the above-mentioned damage and inconsistencies.

On their Blu-ray, Kino use a linear PCM mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. It's imperfect but serviceable with a score by an uncredited Dave Torbett (Syncopation) with the two numbers, Where Shall We Dream Tonight? and That's What You Do by Edward J. Kay and Eddie Cherkose sounding modest. Kino do not offer any subtitles on their Region 'A' Blu-ray.

The Kino Blu-ray includes an audio commentary by Eric Schaefer, author of Bold! Daring! Shocking True! A History of Exploitation Films, 1919-1959 - a perfect person to delve into this "high school girls 'in-trouble” piece of nostalgia. He talks about the film, its maker and the unique way it was marketed to its audience. It is an exploitation film and talks about the high quality of the cinematography, director 'one-shot' William Beaudine (Billy the Kid vs. Dracula) - how his career evolved, producer Kroger Babb (("Kroger") and much more. He's great in discussing details of this exploitation effort and its surprising success plus he does quite a bit of narration. There are many other supplements including an original theatrical trailer, 18-minutes of Mom and Dad radio spots that were essentially testimonial advertisements for the film provided to radio stations on LP records. These discs could also be played over drive-in sound systems and in theater lobbies. Sex Hygiene is a 1/2 hour short from 1942, co-directed by none other than John Ford. It is described ion IMDb as "Several servicemen relax by playing pool, but one of them goes off to spend time with a prostitute. Later, he discovers he has contracted a venereal disease. A graphic and frank presentation of the types and treatment of venereal disease follows." There are four Sex hygiene lectures with vintage childbirth footage including the 1/4 hour The Story of Bob and Sally from 1948 directed by Erle C. Kenton (Island of Lost Souls), Not Wanted (The Wrong Rut) is 10-minutes. During the 1950s, prints of Not Wanted were obtained by independent distributors and re-released to the exploitation film circuit under the title The Wrong Rut. It was usually shown with the following short film, which combines footage of Not Wanted with a sex hygiene lecture and explicit childbirth footage. The last two are Life and Its Secrecies running 11-minutes and the 7-minute Human Wreckage. There are also four sex hygiene 'book pitches'; Drive-In Theater (1:12), Donn Davison (15:43), Michael and Helga (3:38) and Walter Hale (3:40) plus a gallery of exploitation trailers (including Mom and Dad, The Wrong Rut and Street Corner. The latter paralleling Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad and the included extras have infinite kitsch appeal. What an extraordinary window into morals, attitudes of sexual segregation and hygiene misconceptions (although as far as these films go - Mom and Dad was reasonably accurate) of the time It's fascinating it is own way... and the infusion of the hygiene films (clinical reels) is bizarre with child-births and diseased sex organs (in an effort to scare kids out of having sex). A perfect title for Kino's Forbidden Fruit: Golden Exploitation Blu-ray series. Great supplements including the commentary. Recommended to any who want to indulge in something very different.

Gary Tooze