''Stigma'' is a 1972 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
. Produced by
Charles Moss, while it was both written and directed by
David E. Durston. Prominent themes in the film include
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
and
sexually transmitted disease
A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
. It stars
Philip Michael Thomas in one of his early screen appearances, twelve years before he starred in the popular 1980s TV show ''
Miami Vice
''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...
''.
Plot
Set in a remote California community, the story follows a doctor (
Philip Michael Thomas) who learns a super form of
syphilis
Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...
is appearing among the residents. He and a few others must race against time to find the carrier before others fall victim.
Reception
The ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called it "a crackling good suspense melodrama."
Similarly, the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called it a "lively little drama... sturdy and involving."
In contrast,
Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
rated the film a "bomb," dismissing it as an "absurd melodrama."
See also
*
List of American films of 1972
This is a list of American films released in 1972.
Box office
The highest-grossing American films released in 1972, by domestic box office gross revenue as estimated by '' The Numbers'', are as follows:
January–March
April–June is
...
References
External links
*
* {{AFI film, id=54688
1972 drama films
1972 films
American drama films
1970s English-language films
Films about racism in the United States
Films about sexuality
Films directed by David E. Durston
1970s American films