Dwain Esper, the Father of the Exploitation Flick

In the early 1930s, independent film producer Dwain Esper dubbed himself "the King of the celluloid gypsies." It was a fitting title because of his carnival background and the fact that, like carnival promoters of his time, Esper traveled with his risqué movies from town to town, often setting up tent shows that were always one step away from being busted by the local authorities. While his films preached moralistic warnings against sexual promiscuity and illegal drug usage, they also titillated. To some, Dwain Esper was the father of the modern exploitation film.

From 1932 through 1948, he produced films with titles that included "Narcotic", "Hell-a-Vision" "How to Undress in Front of Your Husband", "How to Take A Bath", "Maniac", "Sex Madness", "Marihuana: The Weed With Roots in Hell", and his most famous film of all, "Tell Your Children", which was re-titled "Reefer Madness."

The quality of his filmmaking rivaled the filmmaking of Ed Wood Jr., the acknowledged worst director in Hollywood history. Some say that Esper's shoddy, sleazy, and inept filmmaking even surpassed Wood. In fact, there was nothing that Esper wouldn't do to shock an audience. His films included real Caesarian births, close-ups of real venereal diseases, car accidents, and junkies shooting up.

"Narcotic"

For his film "Narcotic", Esper displayed a mummified corpse called "Elmer the Dope Fiend" in theater lobbies or in tents. He had bought the corpse from a circus sideshow.

"Maniac"

In this film, a mad scientist gouges out a cat's eye and eats it. And the same "maniac" skins cats for their fur.

"Sex Madness"

In "Sex Madness", a chorus girl has an extramarital affair and contracts syphilis. For the rest of the film, the main character must deal with this disease in her marriage.

"Hell-a-Vision"

Esper bought an Italian film version of "Dante's Inferno" and added new scenes showing full-frontal nudity.

"Freaks"