Summary: Fictional cautionary tale, aimed at young soldiers, showing the possible consequences of promiscuity, particularly when posted abroad.
Description: The film follows a group of young soldiers as they fly out to Malaya. One of them boasts about the clubs and night life, but an officer advises him to steer clear. After brief scenes in action in the Malayan jungles, the soldiers go for some relaxation. Greave and Clarke are shown picking up local prostitutes, although their younger colleague, Scobie, wisely refrains. The following morning, Greave feels ill and notices pus seeping from his penis (shown in close-up). He visits the the doctor who confirms that he has gonorrhoea ("the clap"), cautioning that you cannot tell by looking whether someone is a carrier, and he should have taken precausions such as wearing a "French letter". He must also refrain from sex for three months. (A short fantasy sequence shows the consequences of Greave having sex back in England, and spreading it through his local community.) After the tour of duty, the soldiers return home, Clarke to his pregnant wife. In the shower after a football match, he notices a red spot on his penis (again shown in close-up but thinks nothing of it. However, he later visits a doctor who tells him that he has syphilis, he must tell his wife and immediately receive treatment and they must refrain from sex for two years; a short sequence illustrates the "worst case scenario" - the baby is stillborn, Clarke becomes blind). The doctor then gives a lecture (to camera) about the tell-tale signs of gonorhhea and syphilis.
A coda, shot thirteen years later by the same doctor, describes some of the advances in medicine that can help to tackle these diseases, but still cautions against the perils of promiscuity.
