The Wages of Sin (1938) - Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Film #18

The gold standard of exploitation films, Willis Kent’s The Wages of Sin is perhaps the most polished (and emotionally compelling) of the many low-rent melodramas that depicted the moral degradation of innocent women. Marjorie (Constance Worth) is an overworked laundress who treats herself to a night on the town, but a cocktail and a few puffs of “murder weed” scramble her moral compass and leads her into the arms of ruthless procurer Tony Kilonis (Willy Castello). After being exploited as a call girl and eventually imprisoned in a brothel, Marjorie escapes and confronts Tony, climaxing in one of the most unconventional endings of any courtroom drama. This special edition of The Wages of Sin was restored in 4K by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, from the original 35mm negatives, and is presented here in cooperation with Something Weird and Sonney Amusement Enterprises.