The Desperate Women on AllMovie

Louis B. Appleton Jr. was the director of the low-low-budget Desperate Women, while Anne Appleton was the star. Hmm. . .a subtle pattern begins to emerge. Originally ballyhooed as "adults only" and shown only to segregated-by-sex audiences, the film is a cheesy but sincere plea for proper sex education--and against illegal abortion. The impressionable heroine is foolishly led to believe that birth-control devices are a certain protection against unwanted pregnancy; the film argues that the word "No" is the most effective contraceptive of all. Upon finding herself with child, the poor girl attempts to abort the baby, with tragic results (it goes without saying that the film was made several years before Roe vs. Wade). The director of photography on Desperate Women was Russ Meyer, who'd later go on to a spectacular career as producer-director of nudie exploitation films.