Poor Patty

 

 (imdb)

THE SHAME OF PATTY SMITH-1962-Average girl Patty (Dani Lynn) is raped by three grease balls while her boyfriend Allan (Carlton Crane) is forced to watch (off screen). Then an on-screen narrator (Frank Biro) tells us this is a movie about illegal abortion. Patty doesn't want to tell the police or see a doctor. It's obvious her boyfriend just wants to get away from her. Her roommate Mary (Merry Anders) sends her to a doctor later on, who tells her she's pregnant. He can't help because abortion is illegal. Another doctor says he can do it for $600, but she gets fired from her job. She goes to a priest for help but he condemns her. A Swedish doctor tells her abortions are legal in Sweden. Then Allan puts her on to sleaze rag Colbert (Bruno VeSoto) who says he can get someone who can do it for $200 but she has to pawn her gold cross. She gets the abortion from an “unemployed pharmacist” and winds up in the hospital. Dr. Miller (J. Edward McKinley) and Lt. Powell (Jack Haddock) investigate and close down the illegal clinic. Despite that, it ends tragically.

 I wasn't really prepared for the seriousness of this low budget, pro-abortion, anti-illegal abortion black & white drama. This is the only film directed by Austrian born Leo Handel, the executive producer of PHANTOM PLANET (1961).

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