Voila! Finally, the Kinsey
script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the movie directed by Bill Condon and
starring Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Peter Saarsgard, Timothy Hutton, yadda yadda. This script is a transcript that was painstakingly
transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of Kinsey. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally
tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to
drop me a line. You won't
hurt my feelings. Honest.
[ Man #1 ]
Don't sit so far away.
- Anything that creates
a distance should be avoided.
- [ Man #2 ] Okay.
And try not to frown.
- I'm sorry. Was I frowning?
- You have to relax.
How can I be expected to open up
if you're not relaxed?
- Right.
- Take a deep breath.
Start again.
As you can see, this piece of paper
has been divided into squares.
There are 287 of them.
Your sex history will fit
on this single page in a cryptic code.
Don't forget to mention that
there's no written key to the code.
The interview subject
will only be candid...
ifhe knows he's speaking
in the strictest confidence.
Right. Okay.
So, when were you born?
June .
Are you single or married?
Married.
- What is your race?
- Don't waste time asking the obvious, Martin.
- Fill it in yourself.
- What is your religion?
- Methodist.
- How often do you attend church?
Not at all now,
but I did regularly until I was .
How did you get along with your father
and mother when you were growing up?
That's a multiple question.
It allows me to ignore any part
I don't want to answer.
- How did you get along with your mother?
- Fine.
- We had a close relationship.
- And your father?
- How did you get along with your father?
- [ Taps Glass ]
[ Man ]
And what are we to do?
We turn away
from matters of the flesh...
and we turn to things...
of the spirit.
Lust...
has a thousand avenues--
the dance hall,
the ice cream parlor...
the tenement saloon...
the Turkish bath.
Like the Hydra...
it grows new heads everywhere.
Even the modern inventions
of science...
are used to cultivate immorality.
The gas engine...
has brought us
the automobile joyride...
and an even more
pernicious menace...
the roadside brothel.
Electricity...
has made possible
the degrading picture show.
Because of the telephone...
a young woman...
can hear the voice of her suitor...
on the pillow, right next to her.
And let's not forget
the most scandalous invention of all--
the talon-slide fastener...
otherwise known as the zipper...
which provides every man and boy
speedy access...
to moral oblivion.
[ Man ]
Are you currently in good health?
I suppose so. Mm-hmm.
What makes you doubtful?
Every doctor I've ever seen.
Early disease left me
with a weakened heart.
Did you have any illnesses
that kept you out of school?
I had typhoid fever and rickets.
Also rheumatic fever.
Measles, chicken pox, pneumonia...
and several bouts of influenza.
[ Clears Throat ]
Pomeroy, what are you doing?
You're worse than Martin.
Never make judgments about people.
I wasn't.
Your body posture told me that my list
of ailments made you uncomfortable.
Maybe it did. Sorry.
Maintaining
a nonjudgmental attitude...
is harder than you think.
The best way is to smile,
nod your head...
while looking me directly in the eye.
Where were we?
Your health as a boy.
It improved greatly when I
finally discovered the outdoors.
I never got over the excitement
of setting off into the wild...
escaping bed, illness, family.
Alone?
No. No. Never alone.
I was surrounded by friends.
Being in the outdoors taught me
to rely on my own judgment.
I started to learn about things
by grasping them...
tasting them, looking at them.
- Biology?
- Yes.
Biology.
The science oflife.
The fields and woods became
my new place of worship...
my cathedral.
The only sadness they brought
was when I had to leave them.
How old were you when you first
tried to pleasure yourself?
[ Sighs ]
No. No. No euphemisms.
If you're talking
to a college graduate...
use ''masturbation,''
''testicles,'' ''penis''...
''vagina, '' ''vulva, ''
''urination, '' ''defecation. ''
With the lower-level male,
it's ''jacking off,'' ''balls''...
''prick, '' ''cunt, '' ''piss, '' ''shit. ''
I don't know, Gebhard. Maybe your Harvard
degree is too ivory tower for our purposes.
I was brought up out west.
I've rubbed shoulders
with ranchers, miners my whole life.
- And I thought you were
gonna shave that mustache.
- I like it.
It's a disguise, a cover-up.
Look at any movie. The villain's
always the one with the mustache.
My wife likes it.
You have a chance to make an important
contribution to knowledge and science.
Are you telling me you'd give that up
for a little facial hair?
Yes, I suppose I am.
Ah.
Well, keep it trimmed.
Let's get back to masturbation.
- [ Bird Cooing ]
- That's a mating call.
So, how'd you wind up
at the Stevens Institute, Al?
I thought you wanted
to be a biologist.
There are enough scientists
in the world, son.
Engineers
are what society needs now.
I, um--
I had one of the old fits again.
I tried to stop it.
''Any habit which causes the sex fluid
to be discharged must be resisted.
''Doctors link it to
an assortment of illnesses...
''including insanity,
blindness, epilepsy...
even death.''
What if it happens
while you're asleep?
''It is said that the loss of one ounce
of seminal fluid...
equals the loss of ounces of blood.''
I'm killing myself,
and I'm not even awake.
What are we supposed to do?
''Keep your bowels open...
''read the Sermon on the Mount...
''sit with your testicles submerged
in a bowl of cold water...
think of your mother's pure love.''
Why don't we pray.
- [ Kinsey ] Come on. Keep firing questions.
- [ Sobs ]
- [ Kinsey ] Come on. Keep firing questions.
- [ Sobs ]
Extreme rapidity makes it
very difficult for a subject to lie.
How young were you the first time
you had an orgasm while dreaming?
- How frequently did you have wet dreams?
- What did you dream about?
How young were you when you first
experienced hugging or kissing?
- Necking?
- Petting?
- Oral sex?
How young were you when you no longer
thought of your parents' home as your own?
[ Kinsey Sr.]
Al, it's getting late. Let's make the rounds.
- Al.!
- Be right down!
Pack of Fatimas.
Okay, son. That'll be cents.
You're a criminal, sir. I shall report you
at once to the local authorities.
DearJesus,
a goddamn Protestant.
- Did you not sell this vile weed to a minor?
- What business is that of yours?
It is the Lord's work to protect
the young from temptation.
- Men like you, sir, men of weak character...
- Get the hell out of my store.
- I've given you proper warning.
-are offensive to right-thinking
American citizens--
Shut up! You know
what you are, Father? A prig.
- Al.
- A skinflint, a petty tyrant and a hypocrite to boot!
You think you matter?
You don't matter.
There's something wrong with him.
- Come on, Al.
- No.
Maybe your workload is too heavy.
You could drop mechanical drawing.
I've withdrawn from Stevens.
That's impossible.
I'm a senior member of the faculty.
Someone would've informed me.
Why? Everyone there hates you.
I'm going to Bowdoin to study biology.
And how do you intend to pay for that?
They've given me a partial scholarship.
And I've socked away
most of my scouting money.
You've become a shady person, Al...
a person who keeps secrets.
I had no choice.
What a disappointment
you turned out to be.
- [ Pomeroy ] How many years
of schooling did you complete?
- Twenty.
After taking my undergraduate degree
at Bowdoin...
I received my doctorate
from the Bussey Institute at Harvard.
I took a position
as assistant professor of zoology...
here at Indiana University.
At first I studied
the Rhaetulus didieri...
or stag beetle.
Then I discovered
a far more fascinating insect.
[ Kinsey ] This is the American Cynipidae,
or gall wasp.
Here the wasp deposits an egg...
into its host plant.
In this case, an oak tree.
The adult wasp chews its way
through the tree...
and copulates.
At which point
it has the good sense to die.
The animal kingdom includes...
at least two million insect species.
So, what makes the gall wasp
so fascinating?
I've spent the last three years...
crisscrossing the continent,
collecting gall wasps.
And what have I learned from my tiny friends,
half the size of the household ant?
[ Whispers ]
That you need a date.
- Shh!
- [ Student Giggles ]
After studying thousands of these pesky
creatures under the microscope...
I've yet to find a single gall wasp
that's the same as another.
In fact, some are so different...
that the offspring of one generation...
bear no more resemblance to their parents
than a sheep bears to a goat.
There are those of us who might
take comfort in this fact.
Consider the implications.
If every single living thing is different
from every other living thing...
then diversity becomes
life's one irreducible fact.
Only variations are real.
And to see them...
you simply have to open your eyes.
Hello. Mind if I sit here?
Why?
Because you're
the only unattached male...
and I'm the only unattached female.
That's very sensible.
A man who cooks. How refreshing.
I picked it up when I went out west
to collect galls.
I was gone for months, and I don't think I
saw more than a dozen people the whole time.
- Sounds lonely.
- Oh. [ Chuckles ]
I enjoyed it.
I've been reading up on gall wasps.
- I think I know why they appeal to you.
- Uh-huh.
They have great big wings,
but they can't fly.
They are incapable of getting
from this hill to that hill...
unless it's close enough to walk...
which means it's possible...
to retrace each generation's steps,
hill by hill...
by hill by hill...
all the way back
to the very beginning.
The gall wasp Garden of Eden.
That's very interesting, Miss Millen.
You've managed to bridge the gap between Darwin
and the Book of Genesis in a single phrase.
- McMillen.
- Mmm?
- Clara McMillen.
- Oh!
I'm Prok.
- Sorry?
- It's a nickname my graduate
students have given me.
Pro-- fessor K-- insey. Prok.
At first I worried that it suggested
an inappropriate level of intimacy...
between teacher and student...
that could lead to
a loss of respect down the line.
I think it just means they like you.
Yes. Eventually I realized that.
Um, tomato bisque and sandwiches?
Please.
[ Clara ]
Such an impressive collection.
Thanks. They used to be
categorized by period.
But then I rearranged them
alphabetically by composer.
I find it's more efficient.
Did you ever think about playing professionally?
Because you're very good.
Oh, please. Thank you.
But, uh, ''very good'' isn't good enough.
I got you a present.
- Ah!
- Here.
Oh.
Oh, how marvelous!
- They're the right size.
- Oh!
Oh!
[ Laughs ]
- Oh! [ Laughs ]
- [ Laughs ]
At what age did you first
have premarital intercourse?
I didn't.
- So, at the time of marriage you were a virgin?
- Yes.
Was your spouse also a virgin?
Yes.
When you got married,
did you want to get married?
Very much.
[ Kinsey ] I see marriage as a lifetime
partnership between equals.
You're a brilliant scholar
with a keenly perceptive mind...
and a profound respect for nature.
You're a capable hiker and camper
and a champion swimmer...
and you're the one girl in a million
who's as interested in insects as I am.
To be honest, Prok...
I'm just not sure.
Okay.
- I consider myself a free thinker.
- Yes!
Frankly, I find you a little ''churchy.''
''Churchy''?
And I've had another proposal.
I'm not saying no. I just need time.
Prok.
I think you're mean!
Mean, heartless and cold!
Astounding.
If you'll have me.
A gall wasp in amber.
- How old is it?
- About million years or so.
Does Mrs. Kinsey
like her wedding present?
It's perfect.
- I'm sorry.
- No, no, I--
I--
How beautiful.
May I?
I'm sorry.
I'm a little nervous.
It's okay. W-We don't have to--
No!
I'm ready.
- Forgive me, Mac.
- No, I'm sorry.
It's just-- It hurts too much.
It's-- It's a long drive to my parents'.
We should get some sleep.
Robert's had a
in mechanical drawing...
a in mathematics...
and a clean ...
in shop practice.
Huh. That's splendid, Robert.
Congratulations.
I was worried that his teachers
were showing him favor...
due to my senior position...
but they tell me he is
the most gifted student in his class.
Well, living with the best teacher
at Stevens doesn't hurt, Father.
Oh, please.
[ Laughs ]
At this rate, he'll finish his degree
in, uh, three years.
Al, tell us what you've
been working on.
- Well--
- [ Kinsey Sr.] Don't bother, Al.
She won't be able to follow you.
She's only had a fourth-grade education.
I'm studying gall wasps, Mom.
I've gathered over specimens,
which is really only a drop in the bucket.
But my aim is--
Ten years ofhigher education, and he's
still collecting bugs. [ Laughing ]
Prok's also written a biology textbook.
Really?
It's read in colleges across the country.
It's actually a very good read.
So I assume you plan
to start a family soon.
No, no, I-- Don't rush it.
Once you have children, you're
tied down forever--your life is over.
What?
I don't know what I expected, exactly...
but he's far worse
than I ever imagined.
He is pretty awful, isn't he?
- ''I once read...
- Shh! [ Laughing ]
''that the decline of the Roman empire...
was the result
of too-frequent bathing.''
- [ Snorts ]
- Shh! Shh!
Shh.
''Some speculate...
''that rampant adultery...
is a possible cause of earthquakes.''
I'm sorry you had to witness that.
I think I really fell in love
with you tonight.
Seeing you here.
Do you think
we can make this work, Mac?
I don't know.
I've-- I've heard some people...
just don't fit together.
There's no one I'd rather be with.
Physically? I mean--
If only there were some way to know.
That's it, Mac.
Every problem has a solution--
even this one.
We just need to talk to someone,
an expert who's studied the matter.
What are you doing?
Why waste any more time?
Your hymen shows
an inordinate thickness.
Dr. Kinsey,
how large is your penis?
Excuse me?
When erect, how large is it?
How long from the scrotum?
Here?
Here?
Here?
I'm surprised you didn't pass out.
Is there anything we can do?
It's a common-enough problem.
Would you like to take care of it today?
- Sure.
- [ Chuckles ]
- Oh!
- God!
- God. God.
- [ Laughing ]
[ Martin ] What was the maximum number of
times you had intercourse with your spouse...
in any seven-day period?
I'd say... or so.
At least three times a day the first week,
so , at a minimum.
Is there tongue kissing during foreplay?
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Hand on breast?
- Yes.
- Mouth?
- Hand on female genitalia?
- Hand on penis?
- Yes.
Mouth on female genitalia?
- Mouth on penis?
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes.
I became pregnant with Anne in .
I decided to give up my graduate work.
By the time Anne was born,
I had collected over gall wasps.
Joan came along a year later.
Just afterJoan's fifth birthday,
I reached my goal of half a million wasps.
And Bruce is our youngest.
Bruce found the gall
that hatched the millionth wasp.
It was in the mountains
outside Mexico City.
They grow up so fast.
[ Man ] Wejust didn't know
who to talk to, Professor Kinsey.
[ Kinsey ]
What about your parents?
[ Woman ]
I'd rather die.
[ Man ] We heard you had good advice
for some of the biology students.
Sexual difficulty among newly married people
is more common than you think.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
- How long have you been married?
- Two months now.
And, Emily, you've had absolutely
no response during that time?
It's like I'm dead down there.
We went to the doctor,
and he said there's nothing wrong.
Does Ben ever use his fingers
to excite you?
Um...
why bother...
now that we can do the real thing?
What's your most common
sexual position?
There's more than one?
Mac and I are still discovering some.
Emily, were you sexually experienced
before you got married?
No.
[ Giggles ]
I still thought babies
came out of women's navels.
Did you ever masturbate?
It's all my fault.
I'm damaged in some way.
I'm frigid.
I don't think that's the problem at all.
Ben, do you ever perform
oral sex on Emily?
Uh, I-- I don't know
what that means, sir.
Genital kissing.
My brother told me
that that causes problems...
later on...
with having babies.
Oh, I don't think that's true.
No, I heard that too.
I can assure you, there's no relation
between oral sex and pregnancy.
But how do you know?
How do I know the Earth is round?
It just is.
But... has anyone actually proven...
that there's no connection?
If you're asking whether
there's been a scientific study...
devoted to the subject
of oral copulation and fertility...
well...
frankly, I don't know.
Well...
then how can you be sure?
I felt like a blundering amateur.
I couldn't imagine where
those kids' crazy idea came from...
until I discovered this--
Ideal Marriage:
Its Physiology and Technique.
Oh, dear.
''Oral contact, while acceptable
as a means of stimulation...
is pathological if carried through
to orgasm and possibly injurious.''
I must be in grave danger then.
Wait. ''The hand should never be used
for the purpose of sexual excitation.
''There is but one finger of love with
which to approach the female genitals...
and that is the male organ.''
It's all just hooey.
Morality disguised as fact.
-Just do your tie.
- Hmm? Oh.
Professor Kinsey's methods...
of collecting vast numbers
of gall wasps...
over a wide geographic range...
have made him a starred scientist.
They have also earned him
his immortal nickname...
- ''Get-A-Million'' Kinsey.
- [ Guests Laughing ]
[ Mutters ]
''Bore-A-Million'' Kinsey.
His new book,
The Origin of Higher Categories in--
''Sinnips''? ''Cynips''?
Close enough.
Traces the origin of the gall wasp
back to its birthplace...
in the Upper Cretaceous.
So, now I give you...
Dr. Kinsey.
Thank you, President Wells, for that
incisive description of years of work.
[ Clears Throat ] I thought you
might actually have read my book...
until I saw those crib notes
in your palm.
[ Laughing ]
Crib notes!
Of course,
my other book on cynips...
hasn't been checked out
of the library in six years.
I'd be surprised
if a dozen people have read it.
But I guess I always knew
that gall wasps weren't going to...
make them beat a path to my door.
In any case, thank you, Herman.
This is-- This is splendid.
A really fine event indeed.
- Thank you.
- [ Wells ] Cheers, Prok.
- Congratulations.
- [ Guests ] Hear.! Hear.!
[ Woman ]
Cheers.
Some reform-minded undergraduates...
paid me a visit the other day,
Thurman.
They are campaigning for a sex course.
I already cover sex in the hygiene class.
Which the student paper called
the most useless course on campus.
Oh, Kinsey. I'm glad to see middle age
hasn't softened the edges.
- Mrs. Kinsey.
- Not only is your class irrelevant, it's irresponsible.
There's a V.D. epidemic
sweeping this country, Thurman.
And that's my fault? I don't know
whether to be insulted or flattered.
Besides, there's a cure for syphilis...
and it's called abstinence.
Penicillin works just as well.
Herman, the trustees appointed you
to shake things up around here.
Why not address the need
for sex instruction that deals frankly...
with students' real questions,
real concerns?
Open sex instruction
promotes daydreaming.
It is better to address these matters
in a general medical course.
You mean an anti-sex course...
with irrelevant gabble
about dahlias and bees.
Gentlemen. Please.
I am going to take the students'proposal
under advisement.
Good.
But since I just got this job...
and wouldn't mind hanging on to it
for a couple of weeks...
I think I'm gonna stick with
the hygiene course for now.
- [ Projector Motor Running ]
- [ Man On Film ] Medical authorities state...
that, of the type of teenage girls applying
at public health stations for aid...
the percentage that is infected
with venereal disease...
is always very high.
[ Man Narrating ]
In all of these cases...
where youthful energy
and inquisitiveness are unrestrained...
- [ Swing ]
- the sex urge is always present...
and promiscuity nearly always follows...
- [ Both Chuckle ]
- with its inevitable harvest...
of abortions, illegitimate births and...
disease.
- What's your trouble,Jerry?
- Well, I-- I've got a pretty bad sore down here.
Just stretch out on that table over there.
We'll have a look at you.
[ Narrator]
The story vividly portrays...
the misery caused to innocent victims...
- [ Groans ]
- by the ignorance or selfishness...
of individuals infected with syphilis.
[ Doctor ]
You had to learn the hard way...
that you can't tell by the looks of a woman
whether she has syphilis or not.
I guess that finishes me.
I'll have to quit school and go someplace
where people don't know who I am.
[ Narrator ]
The cure forjuvenile delinquency is...
an education in the dangers
and consequences...
of breaking the time-tested rules...
laid down for the regulation
of human conduct.
The idea that men need sex...
is a lie.
If it were true...
the boy who exercises
his sex organs regularly...
would achieve the greatest
sexual experiences in later life.
Whereas, in fact, that boy
is likely to be sexually dead...
by the time he reaches adulthood.
Abstinence poses no difficulty...
for the college-age male.
Men don't reach their sexual peak
until the age of .
It is the lower-class male...
often Negro...
who finds it difficult
to control his urges.
However, perfect inhibition...
although an ideal to be striven for...
is not always achievable.
Stress and the worries of the day...
can lead to a weakening of resolve...
opening the door to temptation.
When tense at bedtime...
I find there are
little tricks to relaxing.
If I can't get to sleep...
I like to close my eyes...
and think of all theJohns I know.
- [ Muffled Snickering ]
- Oh.
Well, not onlyJohns.
Sometimes Peters.
- [ Snickering, Chuckling ]
- How about Dicks?
- [ Loud Laughter]
- I'm sorry?
If you're here to enroll
in Dr. Kinsey's class...
If you're here to enroll
in Dr. Kinsey's class...
it's only open to faculty members
and their wives, graduate students...
seniors and married undergraduates.
Come back and try in the spring.
Are you a senior?
Um, we're engaged.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
Why offer a marriage course?
Because society has interfered...
with what should be
a normal biological development...
causing a scandalous delay
of sexual activity...
which leads to sexual difficulty
in early marriage.
In an uninhibited society, a -year-old
would know most of the biology...
which I will have to give you
in formal lectures.
So, let's start with the six stages
of the coital sequence.
Stimulation...
lubrication, erection...
increased sensitivity...
orgasm and nervous release.
Both sexes experience
all six stages equally.
Stimulation.
Who can tell me
which part of the human body...
can enlarge a hundred times?
Um... miss.
I'm sure I don't know.
And you've no right to ask me
such a question in a mixed class.
I was referring to the pupil
of your eye, young lady.
And I think I should tell you you're in
for a terrible disappointment.
It is often with the eye
that stimulation begins.
The actual adjustments which are made
in the male and female genitalia...
are shown on this slide.
The vagina must be spread open...
as the erect male organ penetrates.
You will see
that the clitoris is swollen...
thus providing
the erotic stimulation necessary...
for the completion of the act
on the part of the female.
You will also see
that this point on the penis...
which is one of the most sensitive points,
is similarly stimulated.
- Ohh!
- [ Groans ]
Where on earth did you get that cap?
Oh. Professor Kinsey. I'm sorry.
It's a whaler's hat.
Not very pretty,
but extremely practical in a storm.
- Do I know you?
- I'm in your marriage course. Clyde Martin.
How are you finding it, Mr. Martin?
Oh, it's the most enlightening class
I've ever taken.
Well, I'd better get going. I've got
a job interview at the zoology department.
Forget that. Come with me.
All right.
Don't worry. Dr. Kinsey will be staying late.
He'll get to all of you.
Can too much sex cause cancer?
Will wearing high heels
make me sterile?
I think my vagina's abnormally shaped.
Can you get syphilis from a whistle?
Is homosexuality a form of insanity?
I think about my cat.
A lot!
Does su-s-s-suppressing sex...
lead to stuttering?
[ Kinsey ]
Is my penis smaller than most?
Does too much masturbation
cause premature ejaculation?
Is it unusual for my boyfriend
to touch my anus?
All excellent questions.
They all have the same answer--
I don't know.
From a sexual standpoint,
it's hard to say what's common or rare...
because we know so little
about what people actually do.
This leaves most of us
feeling anxious or guilty.
Am I interested in the right things?
Do I do things the normal way?
One of the ways of finding out
what people do...
is to find out what they've done.
So please, take the time to fill out
these sex questionnaires.
Try to be as accurate and honest
as you possibly can.
This will only work--
Pass them along, please.
This will only work
if you tell the truth.
[ Martin ]
Dr. Kinsey, this is really... amazing.
These colors are incredible.
It's the most complete collection
east of the Mississippi.
We have over
separate varieties of irises.
Good work, Martin, but you're using
the wrong muscle group.
Come on. Here.
Bend the legs. Use the thighs.
- Okay.
- The arms should only be used to guide.
No,you do it. Guide.
Ah!
Lemonade.
Mac, these responses will floor you.
The gap between what we assume
people do and what they actually do...
is enormous.
[ Martin ]
You know what amazes me?
There's no relation between
how sexy a girl looks and her sex life.
The ugly ones
seem to get all the action.
I always thought ''ugly''
was an ugly word.
Sorry.
Not only does every male in the class
have a history of masturbation.
Most of the women do too.
That doesn't surprise me.
What about premarital sex?
About a third of the married men
claim at least one experience.
- It's only one in for the women.
- If they're telling the truth.
[ Martin ]
And there's extramarital sex too.
Not just heterosexual,
but homosexual.
I just wish we could get
more volunteers.
A hundred cases
is hardly representative.
Maybe it's because it's a questionnaire.
Feels too much like homework or a test.
I agree. Also, people don't know
if they can trust you.
- They have to be sure their secrets are safe.
- But that's ridiculous.
Everyone knows I keep those questionnaires
under lock and key.
Clyde has a point.
You're asking people to reveal
information that's very sensitive...
possibly even damaging.
What if you just talked to them?
Then all their secrets
would be in your head.
Martin, you should have
spoken up months ago.
I can't tell.
Was that a compliment?
Yes, I think it was.
People resist at first.
But I'm trying to choreograph
the questions...
so they'll be disarmed into answering.
- How many different things
have you put in there, Daddy?
- It's the Kinsey stew, sweetie.
''Clean out the refrigerator'' night,
you mean.
Martin's been surprisingly helpful.
He's an ideal practice subject, since he's
had relations with both men and women.
- Where have you been?
- Swim practice.
- How'd it go?
- Pretty good.
- Coach said he might start me at the next meet.
- Bruce, that's wonderful.
I told you there won't be any more swimming
unless your science grades improve.
I can't help it, Dad. I hate biology.
That's because you have never
developed your intellect.
Physical activity is important, Son...
but your interest in sports
is excessive.
Yes. Maybe he should
take up engineering instead.
The one-on-one
is turning out to be so elastic.
Talking to people yields more information
than I ever imagined.
I think it will prove to be
a groundbreaking technique.
What if they make things up?
That's what I'd do.
I'm building in little trip wires
to catch lies and inconsistencies.
- Would you like to take my sex history, Daddy?
- Do you have a sex history?
No.
What about you, Anne?
You've been dating Jim for a while now.
We've done some petting.
I figured we wouldn't
try intercourse until college.
That's probably better.
If Anne can have intercourse,
I should be able to too.
Your sister's
and seriously involved with someone.
Does it hurt?
- What, dear?
- Breaking the hymen.
Oh...
just a little--
it's nothing too bad.
It helps if you spread the vulva
to facilitate penetration.
Can we please talk
about something else for once?
Other families don't do this.
It isn't normal.
When did you become such a prig?
My friends aren't even allowed to come over here.
Their parents think you're a menace!
You spend too much time in the water.
All that chlorine's done something to your brain!
- Have you learned nothing?
- Sometimes I don't know where he came from.
Nothing!
Bruce? Bruce.
I don't wanna talk about it.
He won't get off my back.
[ Kinsey ] I heard about this community
from a former student of mine.
This is my third trip, and already
the results have been astounding.
By my calculation, there are over
cases here in Chicago...
and no one's ever even bothered
to talk to them before.
It's a gold mine of information, Martin,
and we've got it all to ourselves.
What'll it be, handsome?
Two scotches.
I find liquor is an essential tool
for social lubrication...
although it has involved more drinking
than I thought I would ever do in a lifetime.
Let's get started.
Hello, I'm Professor Kinsey
from Indiana University...
and I'm making a study
of sex behavior.
- Can we sit and talk?
- I assume you're joking.
No, I'm not.
I'd be grateful if you'd answer
some questions about your sexual history.
Mary here is a professor.
She says she wants to study
my sex behavior.
- Well, tell her to stick around and watch.
- [ Man Chuckling ]
- Andy's here. You have to see what he's wearing.
- [ Sighs ] I can't wait.
That Andy.
Hello. I'm Professor Kinsey from--
Excuse me. I'm Professor Kinsey.
Excuse me-- Hello.
I'm Professor Kinsey
from Indiana University...
and I'm making a study
of sex behavior.
- Can I ask you a few questions?
- I've heard about you.
- You're the sex doctor, right?
- I guess I am.
If you'd be kind enough to talk to me,
it would be of great help to science.
Sure. What do you want to know?
[ Man ]
Same boy. Tommy Potts.
We were messin'around
in a haystack...
you know, the way kids'll do.
Pop walked in...
found us, locked us in the barn.
[ Sighs ]
Called my brothers in.
They, um--
They branded us.
Took turns doin' it.
Then they beat us raw.
Broke a couple ribs, collarbone.
Tommy, he, uh--
he didn't make out as well as I did.
- What age were you?
- Thirteen.
- And you've been on your own since then?
- I get by.
It's not that I mind being queer.
'Cause I don't.
It's just, um...
I wish other folks
weren't so put out by it.
Homosexuality happens to be...
out of fashion in society now.
That doesn't mean
it won't change someday.
Right.
But why didn't I see it before?
Human beings are just bigger,
slightly more complicated gall wasps.
All I have to do is collect
more than anyone else...
and homosexuals
are the perfect place to start.
- [ Laughing ]
- What?
I'm sorry. I just had an image of some
of our friends hearing you right now.
As if the marriage course
isn't bad enough.
Now, Prok, promise me you'll get at least
four hours sleep before heading back.
Of course.
And let Clyde share in the driving.
Prok?
Okay, Mac.
I'll sign off now.
- [ Water Running ]
- I love you.
Love you too.
You know what
impressed me tonight?
Mmm?
The way that you talk to people.
You can get just about anybody to open up.
Oh, well, it's just a matter of, uh...
putting yourself on their level.
No, it's more than that.
You really seem to care.
- This rating scale of yours?
- Mm-hmm?
Uh, zero to six--
Zero being exclusively heterosexual...
and, uh, six being
exclusively homosexual.
A great many people line up
somewhere in the middle.
- What makes you think that's true?
- Common sense.
Remember, about a third
of our heterosexual histories...
have homosexual acts,
and vice versa.
Right.
I guess I'm about a three, huh?
Based on your sexual history...
I'd say that's, um, right.
How about you?
I suppose I've been a one or two...
most of my life...
even though it's taken a long time...
to recognize it.
And now?
Probably...
th-three.
Have you ever
done anything about it?
Would you like to?
I've taken on so many
other people's secrets.
I don't want any of my own...
and certainly not with you.
You still haven't said anything.
It's not like I'm...
surprised exactly.
I've observed...
certain things over the years.
Such as?
A look or a gesture.
The pet student who suddenly
becomes a member of the family...
and then just as suddenly disappears
when you tire ofhim.
I think you must know me
better than I know myself.
But I'm not sure...
I understand.
Haven't I always been open
to whatever you wanted?
It's not you, Mac.
You're the best partner any man could have.
I'm just not enough. Is that it?
Please, Mac.
This is inside of me.
To what extent, I don't know.
But I'd be a hypocrite
if I pretended it wasn't there.
- When I took your history...
- Don't! Don't!
- didn't you admit to having
sexual feelings for other men?
- Don't use that against me!
I'm sorry. But what keeps you from
acting on your feelings? Convention.
No! It's our marriage!
It's our children!
Exactly. Social restraints.
Did you ever stop to think
that perhaps those restraints are there...
to keep people
from hurting each other?
I don't sleep with other men
because I love you...
and I don't want to hurt you.
But what if it didn't hurt me?
Then I'd be hurt.
You're just afraid that I won't love you
anymore, which is impossible, Mac.
The human animal is capable
of all kinds of sexual expression.
Not all sex has to be sanctioned
by love, enriched by emotion.
- To the Greeks--
- Stop!
Stop lecturing, Prok.
Stop using science
to justify what you've done.
Oh, Mac.
- Mac.
- [ Whimpers ]
Listen to me.
You're my girl.
You always will be.
The bond we have, the life we share--
sex is nothing compared to that.
I can't talk about this anymore.
[ Kinsey's Voice ] Most people think
that what they do sexually...
is what everyone does...
or should do.
But I might remark that nearly all
the so-called sexual perversions...
fall within the range
ofbiologic normality.
For example, masturbation...
mouth-genital contacts
and homosexual acts...
are common
among most mammals...
including humans.
Society might condemn such practices
on moral grounds.
However, it's ludicrous
to call them unnatural.
But based on
the first Book of Genesis...
and according to public opinion...
there's only one
correct sexual equation--
man plus woman equals baby.
Everything else is vice.
But the orgasm record of the males
in this classroom alone...
proves the ineffectiveness
of social restrictions...
and the imperativeness
of the biologic demand.
Why are some cows highly sexed...
while others just stand there?
Why do some men
need orgasms a week...
and others almost none?
Because everyone is different.
The problem is,
most people want to be the same.
They find it easier to simply ignore...
this fundamental aspect
of the human condition.
They're so eager
to be part of the group...
that they'll betray their own nature
to get there.
If something pleasurable
and strongly desired is prohibited...
it becomes an obsession.
Think about this.
You have better things to do...
than help a middle-aged woman home
with her groceries.
Prok got worried
when he couldn't reach you.
Said he had to take histories
later this evening...
so he'd like an early dinner.
- Hmph.
- Preferably :.
Hardly gives me time to boil an egg.
- Can I help?
- No. I'll manage.
I just-- I'm sorry
he made you play messenger.
No. I volunteered.
Mmm.
Hear that?
- What?
- The sound of an empty nest.
Must be a big adjustment.
Have you heard from Bruce yet?
No. He's loving college.
Maybe it's just
being away from here.
- Oh.
- Would you like a piece of pie?
- Rhubarb?
- Have a seat.
You know, Clyde,
I didn't like you very much at first.
I don't blame you.
- Most women would have had me murdered.
- Oh, I considered it.
I hate to think of myself
as conventional.
But if this had to happen...
I'm glad it was you.
And I... have to admit
there have been some benefits.
It certainly sparked things up sexually.
I suppose we'd both grown bored
without even realizing it.
I think you've handled it
remarkably well.
I learned something a long time ago.
Once Prok has his mind set,
it's no use trying to stop him.
Yes.
He is...
relentless.
Clyde?
You know, this thing
between Prok and me...
it was fine for a while, but...
I guess I just really miss
sleeping with women.
That's perfectly understandable.
It's clear from your history,you have
a greater sexual interest in women than men.
Good.
Then you won't mind
if I ask Mac to have sex with me?
I mean, only if it appeals to you,
of course.
- Would it be separately or together?
- Oh, definitely just you and I.
Oh, I think I might like that.
What do you think, Prok?
Mac. The Rockefeller Foundation
is coming today.
You-You know,
I enjoy this... tremendously.
We still have to catalog
those prints, Martin.
- Please.
- Coming, Prok.
- Please.
- Coming, Prok.
- It's just-- It's a very full day.
- Mm-hmm.
Coming!
[ Kinsey ] One key to understanding
a foreign culture is its pornography.
Every culture produces
its own peculiar sexual imagery--
as distinct as its cuisine.
As you can see, Brazil's imagery
tends towards zoophilia...
while Italy favors nuns and priests.
In England, one often sees depictions
of the stern headmistress--
wankers and spankers.
While in the Far East,
it's soft ''flage''and light bondage.
You've amassed
an impressive collection.
Thank you. Only what I've been able
to afford from my own savings.
But if the Rockefeller Foundation
agrees to our grant...
some of that money will help us
build a world-class library.
- Um, Herman? That's years old.
-[ Class Bell Rings ]
- Oh.
- Have you any idea when you might decide?
Prok, please, Dr. Gregg just got here.
- [ Wells Chuckles ]
- Sometimes I'm amazed anything has survived.
The Library of Congress has a policy...
of destroying whatever
it considers too erotic.
- The loss to science has been, uh, incalculable.
- [ Claps Hands ]
There's plenty of time to take
your sex histories before dinner.
Who'd like to go first?
I--
[ Stammering ]
I-I-- I don't, uh--
Early in my bug-hunting days,
someone asked me what I was looking for.
I said I wouldn't know
until I saw it statistically.
A scientist can only generalize
with reliable certainty...
if he has enough
statistical information.
Is this your first time
in Bloomington, Dr. Gregg?
Yes. It's lovely.
Hillier than I expected.
[ Kinsey ] That's why I've broken
the American population down...
into major social subgroups.
We'll get anywhere from
to a thousand histories from each group...
for a total of
give or take a few.
It could take years, but, at the end,
we'll finally be able to answer...
most of the basic questions
about human sexuality.
Herman, is the pot roast dry?
No. It's delicious.
The first publication
will be a male volume...
followed a year later
by the female study...
then another nine books dealing
with sex offenders, homosexuality...
The first publication
will be a male volume...
followed a year later
by the female study...
then another nine books dealing
with sex offenders, homosexuality...
pregnancy and abortion and art--
studied from a sexual standpoint,
of course.
With the children gone,
I don't get to cook big meals anymore.
Mac. Let's get to the point.
This project is one of
the greatest ever undertaken...
in connection
with the human animal.
But without support from the Rockefeller
Foundation, it will never get off the ground.
There are those who argue that...
sex is largely a matter of feelings
and psychological attitudes--
things beyond your training
as a zoologist.
That's like saying a biochemist can't
analyze cooking because he's not a chef.
- It's inane.
- Prok, come on.
That is, it's really a very stupid way
of looking at things.
One of the aims of science
is to simplify.
The only way to study sex
with any scientific accuracy...
is to strip away everything
but its physiological functions.
And this team you're proposing?
I'll need two pair of hands at least--
both with advanced degrees in science.
And Clyde Martin, of course.
[ Gregg ] Since you're working
in such a delicate area...
they need to be as clean
as Fuller Brush men.
Um--
Door-to-door salesmen, Prok.
I think what Dr. Gregg is saying
is that anyone involved in the project...
needs to have motives that are entirely pure
and scientific and above reproach morally.
- I couldn't agree more.
- [ Gregg ] Ah.
- Now, there's one more thing.
- Mm-hmm?
I hope you're not planning to dwell
on sexual oddities and perversions.
Science is always interested
in the rare.
Yes, but it's advisable
to stick to what's normal.
You don't want to shake people up.
Of course not.
I'm just a taxonomist-- a measurer.
I'm happy to leave
the social policies to others.
Ah. Ah.
Well, that all sounds good.
Very good.
So, if you're ready...
I'd like to begin with
a few background questions.
No. All wrong. Start by putting
the subject at ease.
No. All wrong. Start by putting
the subject at ease.
- Would you care for a drink, Mac?
- Why, a glass of water would be very nice.
Do anything fun this weekend?
My daughters were in town,
so I never stopped.
We had a marvelous meal
Saturday night.
- Really? What did you cook?
- I started with a little--
See how much more relaxed
she's become?
If you ease in
with innocuous questions...
people forget
they're giving sex histories.
How did you first
find out about masturbation?
I invented it, son.
Sometimes I tie a rope
around my balls when I jerk off.
- And what other masochistic acts do you enjoy?
- Does that mean ''queer''?
How often do you have intercourse?
- Two or three times.
- A month?
- No, a day.
- Mmm.
How often do you reach orgasm?
- Once.
- A day?
No. Only once.
About years ago.
I was sitting on a piano stool
listening to music.
Mm. Oh, that's good.
How old were you when you first engaged
in sexual activity with a partner?
- [ Foreign Accent ] Fourteen.
- How?
With horse.
How often were you having intercourse
with animals at age ?
Is true. I fucked a pony.
You are genius.
How did you know?
You just said
you had sex with a horse.
No. Whores.
Not horse. Whores.
Do you find my answers typical?
- Am I normal?
- Am I normal?
[ Man, Foreign Accent ]
Am I normal?
Yes. I found a book
in the dining room buffet...
under all the tablecloths,
and I used to put it under my shirt...
and go into the bathroom
and sit and read it.
But I was very frightened.
- [ Man ] She told her mother
that she didn't like it.
- How will I get it back?
Or maybe it was just
her mother who didn't like it.
Before you know it,
the police bangin' on the front door.
Hell, I didn't even know it was illegal.
- Now I'm in here for five years.
- One of them old gals
caught me out in the field.
I guess I was about nine, .
And she say she was gonna
show me a new game called ''puddin'.''
- And, well, I guess I kinda liked it.
- [ Indistinct ]
- Horses in the stable, and by watching them--
- [ Continues, Indistinct ]
The father said, ''I put my roll of bills
in your mother's pocketbook...
- and I got you for change.''
- But it felt good.
- [ Woman ] I saw myself as nasty and terrible--
- [ Man ] I believe in God--
[ Elderly Woman ]
I went to my mother--
''Mama, is this true?
Do men put their thing in women?''
[ Man ]
I only did it that one time.
If you weren't a virgin,you were
a fallen woman. Nobody would want you.
Tested us for, uh,
masculine and feminine traits.
- They were both naked.
- It was part of me.
You may kiss the bride.
Did you hear Professor Kinsey
found a place for us to live?
Oh, let me guess.
It's just a few blocks from here.
- How did you know?
- He likes to keep the troops in one place.
- [ Chuckles ]
- At least you passed the test.
- What do you mean?
- Well, he took your sex history, didn't he?
Mm-hmm.
Well, he wouldn't have let Clyde
marry you unless you fit in.
Uh, didn't Clyde mention
the calendars?
Prok likes for us to keep a record
of our sexual activity.
- Tell them about that dream
you had the other night.
- Mmm!
I was in the middle of
the most intense erotic encounter--
- He wouldn't say who with.
- when all of a sudden the doors flew open...
and there was Prok standing there
with that stern look of his.
''Gebhard, hurry up! You're wasting countless
thousands of hours of project time.''
Well, needless to say,
the mood was broken.
So he woke up, and I had to take over.
It was the quickest orgasm he ever had.
We're trying to get pregnant again...
so, uh, there was no raincoat
to dull the sensation.
- [ All Laugh ]
- Oh.
Do the Kinseys know
that you talk like this?
[ Pomeroy ]
Uh--
- Could I get a picture?
- Um...
why don't you call me when you
get back from the honeymoon?
We'll have a nice long lunch.
- Look at the birdie.
- Oh.
No, I've got the report.
Thank you.
[ Pomeroy ] Uh, often among boys
who live in cities and towns, comma...
- [ Typing ]
- less often among farm boys, period.
[ Gebhard ] Perhaps you wanna say
''boys from small towns''...
- instead of''farm boys. ''
- Say-Say farm boys. Farm boys.
What's the difference?
He's gonna rewrite it anyway.
Henry.
Everything looks in order here.
You can have either Thanksgiving
or Christmas off.
- Your choice entirely.
- [ No Audible Dialogue ]
Do you need anything before I go?
We'll never get this book done
if people start leaving early.
I'll stay if you let me
help you with these.
You don't have the time to answer
each one personally.
If people take the trouble to write,
it's the least I can do.
Mrs. Kinsey said to remind you
to come home to eat.
And your father phoned again.
Do you want me to talk to him?
No. I'll do it.
- [ Birds Calling ]
- [ Man ] For thine is the kingdom...
and the power
and the glory forever.
- Amen.
- [ Mourners ] Amen.
- Hello, Mildred.
- Mr. Morrissey.
Come say hello to Father.
I'm very sad for you, Alfred.
Well, it's not as though
I'll be alone.
My daughter's too fat
to get a husband.
And my son's lost his business.
He moved back home.
The only one I got rid of
is the big scientist.
Now he's working on some...
secret project.
He was always the secretive type.
Would you really like to know
what I'm working on, Father?
Oh, listen to this.
He's gonna tell me his big secret.
It's really not a secret at all.
I'm trying to find out
what people do sexually.
You heard right, Father.
It's a sex study.
Well, what do you expect me
to do, applaud?
No.
But I would like you
to contribute to the project.
Oh.
And you first moved
to Hoboken at what age?
Sixteen.
Could have done this interview
without me, Al.
I haven't told you a damn thing
you didn't already know.
Let's move on then.
- How young were you
when you first masturbated?
- What?
- Touched yourself.
- I never did that.
The male without a history
of masturbation is almost nonexistent.
Well, he exists, Al,
and you're looking at him.
This isn't gonna work.
I don't know why I bothered.
Stay where you are.
I'll try again.
How often did your masturbation
occur in adolescence?
There was a problem, a--
A ch--
''chronic condition,''
the doctors called it.
How long did this continue?
I was outfitted...
with a tight strap
that I had to wear at all times.
It-- It kept me from coming
into contact with my genitals.
It was a--
a highly embarrassing remedy,
but it-it proved effective.
The condition was cured.
How old were you?
I-I was .
I'm so sorry, Dad.
I'm feeling a little tired now.
Sounds to me like you're
wasting your time, Al.
Nobody wants to know
about these things.
How are you?
When can we see Dr. Kinsey?
- Hey. Hey, that's him! That's Kinsey!
- There he is.!
- [ Woman Singing:Jazz ]
- My name is Dr. Thurman Rice...
and I'd be happy to talk to you
about Professor Kinsey's...
- Over here.!
- repugnant book.
You are free to read and take notes...
but under no circumstances
is the manuscript to leave the room.
I won't deny the going
might get a little rough.
Dr. Kinsey's findings are surprising,
sometimes even shocking.
For example, marital sex, which is really
the only kind everyone agrees on...
is only one of nine means by which
the American male achieves orgasm.
Premarital sex, extramarital sex...
masturbation and homosexuality...
are much more prevalent than anyone
has ever imagined before.
I can assure you that Dr. Kinsey...
has done everything in his power...
to present this book tastefully.
So, I thought this
might be a good time...
to ask for a formal show of support.
Those in favor.
I just hope it's not going
to bring too much publicity.
With any luck, Mrs. Spaulding...
the general public won't even notice.
According to the Kinsey Report
Every average man you know
Much prefers his lovey-dovey to court
When the temperature is low
But when the thermometer goes way up
And the weather is sizzlin'hot
Mr. Gob for his squab
- That'll be ''sex-fifty'' please.
- A marine for his queen
A G.I. for his cutie-pie is not
'Cause it's too, too, too darn hot
[ Kinsey Lecturing ]
In an open society...
it is done through observation.
But in a Puritan culture,
sex remains a dirty secret...
often made dreadful through
plain ignorance of what to do.
[ Rice ] Mark my words,
as soon as the publicity dies down...
the American public will greet this book...
- with the thundering silence it deserves.
- [ Ends ]
What brings you to New York,
Dr. Kinsey?
We'll be taking the sex histories
or artists, writers and actors...
including the entire cast
of A Streetcar Named Desire.
We'll also be interviewing women
for our next book, which is a female study...
as well as meeting with our benefactors
at the Rockefeller Foundation.
Are you surprised
at the success of your book?
No. It shows that the world
has wanted this done.
Any plans on a Hollywood picture
based on the book?
I can't think of anything more pointless.
- [ Laughter ]
- What about you, Mrs. Kinsey?
Has your life changed much?
My husband's busier than ever.
I hardly see him since he's taken up sex.
[ Reporter ] What about
this female study, Mrs. Kinsey?
Gentlemen.
Gentlemen, gentlemen. Please.
If you want to write
about something useful...
I suggest you look into
the current sex offender codes.
The majority of sex offenders
in our prisons...
have nothing in their histories different
from the rest of the population.
Their only crime is being too poor
to hire a lawyer.
This is unfair.
Everybody's sin is nobody's sin.
And everybody's crime
is no crime at all.
''Everybody's sin is nobody's sin.''
That wasn't my point at all.
The newspapers lift things out of context
to make sensational reading.
Still, it's hardly your place
to offer moral prescriptions.
You're sounding more like
a-a preacher than a scientist.
My father always hoped
I'd become a preacher.
And why do you insist on flaunting
your association with the foundation?
Haven't I just given you the best-selling
scientific volume ever published?
- Not only here but across the globe.
- Yes.
And it's casting a bright light
on every aspect of the project...
especially some
of your latest methodology.
Who have you been talking to?
- Well, I assume that most of it is gossip.
- Alan.
It's been said that, uh...
you've taken to observing women.
- Go on.
- In a heightened state of arousal.
It's true?
Yes. And do you know why?
We went to the leading gynecologists
and asked for physical measurements...
and they barely knew
what we were talking about.
When it comes to female sex organs...
we're all tragically ignorant.
[ Silent Stammer]
Who are these women?
- Volunteers. Friends of the project.
- Prostitutes.
No. Prostitutes are useless.
They fake their orgasms.
-Jesus--
- Alan.
The sex histories we have
are invaluable.
Everyone knows true science
lies in direct observation.
Nothing can replace
what the eye can see directly.
- Or the camera.
- Camera?
Don't tell me.
Y-You're making movies?
Just some photographic studies
of mammalian behavior.
Oh. Nature films.
Animals.
Yes, if you like.
Gentlemen, you're about to meet
a truly rare creature.
Even the most casual contact
arouses a sexual response in her.
In intercourse,
her first orgasm occurs...
- within two to five seconds after entry.
- [ Mac Clears Throat ]
- All set there, Barbara?
- [ Woman ] I think so.
Come on in.
- Hello.
- How do you do?
Did I mention that Barbara didn't have
her first orgasm until she was ?
Notice how she gently strokes
the inner lips and the clitoris.
Eighty-four percent of our sample
stimulate themselves in this way.
What about the vagina?
For all but a small minority of women,
the vaginal tube is a dead cavity...
practically devoid of nerve endings.
As you can see,
the introduction of the penis...
does nothing to relocate
the source of stimulation...
even with as skillful a partner
as Pomeroy.
- That is you, isn't it?
- Last time I looked.
For years, women have been told that
a clitoral orgasm is immature, neurotic.
So they've struggled with great anxiety...
to relocate the orgasm in the vagina...
when, for many,
it's a biologic impossibility.
According to the psychoanalysts,
this woman is frigid.
[ Kinsey ]
Good news, everyone.
The Rockefeller Foundation
announced its annual grants today.
We've received $
for the next year--
the highest grant they've ever bestowed
on a scientific project.
- [ Group Chattering ]
- Well.
And they've agreed to underwrite
a new corporation...
making us future employees
of the Institute for Sex Research.
- To Dr. Kinsey.
- [ Group ] Hear! Hear!
- [ Martin ] And Mrs. Kinsey.
- [ Group ] Hear! Hear!
And to our husbands--
the Fuller Brush men of sex.
- [ All Laughing ]
- Come here, my little prick nibbler.
[ Group ]
Oh.
[ Kinsey ]
Come on. Everyone, enjoy yourselves.
Ah. You don't look happy.
No, I am. Really.
It's just that Clyde is going
to be away for so long this time.
Ah. Well, don't worry.
I'll keep an eye on him.
A lot of good that will do.
What are you trying to say,
Mrs. Martin?
God, you're pretty.
- [ Kisses ]
- [ Kinsey ] Drink up your grapejuice, gentlemen.
We have gathered only histories...
and we have
the female volume to complete.
Starting tomorrow,
we need to triple our efforts.
Well, it's still tonight, and since
my third leg keeps hittin'me in the face...
I think it's time for a tumble.
In the bonobo chimpanzee--
our nearest primate relation--
sex is the glue
of social cohesion and peace.
[ Continues Dictation ]
Cleared of notions like romantic love...
or religion or morality...
their society's behavior
hangs together...
as a coherent unit
ofbiology and conditioning.
Based on the experiences of females
who have contributed to our histories...
we have observed a wide range
of motivations for extramarital coitus.
At times, it is a conscious or unconscious
attempt to acquire social status.
In other instances,
it gives them a variety of experiences...
with new sexual partners who are sometimes
superior to their marriage partner.
There are occasions
when it is done in retaliation...
for the partner's
extramarital activity...
or for some sort
of nonsexual mistreatment.
Some females discover new sources
of emotional satisfaction...
while others find it impossible to share
such an intimate relationship...
with more than one partner.
We have also encountered
a considerable group of cases...
in which husbands encourage their wives
to engage in extramarital activities...
in an honest attempt
to give them the opportunity...
for additional sexual satisfaction.
[ Kinsey ] I've corresponded with
this man for over years, Pomeroy...
but I never thought he'd agree to meet.
He's amassed a lifetime of data.
Working for the Forestry Department
has involved a lot of traveling...
so I've met a wide array of people.
- By the way, my name is--
- Please. There's no need.
Kenneth Braun.
Don't worry, Dr. Kinsey.
I trust you.
We're actually a lot alike, you know.
- How so?
- I record everything too--
the depth of every vagina
I've encountered...
the length and circumference
of every penis...
the time to reach orgasm...
the distance of ejaculation.
I've written it all down.
This is the record of my--
my life's real work...
which is sex, by the way.
Um, I find that recording is a--
is a way to experience things
a second time, don't you?
I also have certain... rare abilities.
From a completely flaccid start...
I can become erect and ejaculate
in seconds flat.
I'd say that's pretty much
physiologically impossible.
Why, the rush ofblood alone would--
Oh! Oh!
[ Exhales ]
Shall we get started?
My grandmother introduced me
to sexual intercourse when I was .
My first homosexual act
was, uh, with my father.
Uh, I was --
Of the members
of my extended family...
I've had sex with of them.
That's five generations now.
My penis is . inches long...
with a diameter of . inches
when fully erect.
In my youth, I averaged eight cubic
centimeters of semen per ejaculation.
By the time I was
I was down to five.
I've had sex with
separate species of animals.
I've had intercourse
with people.
I've had sexual relations with...
preadolescent males and...
preadolescent females.
Have you ever seen a boy orgasm?
No.
No, right.
I guess that's why I'm such a catch.
Physiologically, it's almost identical
to an adult orgasm.
Screw this.
I'll see you down at the bar.
I thought you trained them
to be impartial.
Sometimes it's difficult.
Yeah, well,
I suppose someone like me...
really puts your beliefs
to the test, huh?
- How?
- You know.
- Everybody should do what they want.
- I've never said that.
No one should be forced to do
anything against their will.
No one should ever be hurt.
You know, you're a lot more square
than I thought you'd be.
Let's get on with it.
Sure.
[ Wells ]
Please, Governor.
- [ Man Shouting Over Phone ]
- You're so angry, I can't reason with you.
When you calm down, we'll discuss it.
[ Sighs ]
Seems that the archbishop of Fort Wayne...
tipped off the customs board.
What is it with these people? They're simply
depictions of man in his natural state.
I don't know much
about natural states, Prok...
but here in the state of Indiana
we have a problem.
We'll just have to take
the customs office to court.
And who's gonna pay for that,
the Rockefeller Foundation?
You're an inch away
from losing your grant as it is.
That's not true.
What do you mean?
Hoover is still annoyed
that you won't help him...
find homosexuals
in the State Department.
It is rumored that he is
compiling dossiers... on you...
the activities of your staff.
And, as you well know, there have been
complaints about your statistical methods.
Trumped-up nonsense.
Nothing but disguised prudery.
Prok.
Maybe there were small mistakes
made in the male study...
but we've corrected them
in the female volume.
This will be a very great book,
Herman.
- Much better than the first.
- Let's hope so.
- [ Man On Radio ]
Liberty and license are as far apart...
- [ Man # Indistinct ]
as liberty and tyranny.
[ Man # ] Kinsey
is a deranged Nebuchadnezzar...
leading women out into the fields...
to mingle with the cattle.
''Self-appointed messiah
of the sexually despised.
''Having had his way
with the male of the species...
Kinsey now insecticizes
American womanhood.''
Did you get any sleep at all
last night?
How many years do I have to study
human behavior...
before I'm no longer an entomologist?
- Why do you read them, Prok?
- I'm trying to find out why
people hate this book so.
You told them their grandmothers
and their daughters are masturbating...
having premarital sex,
sex with each other.
- What did you expect?
- Some respect!
Don't answer it.
- Hello.
- [ Man ] Say, Kinsey, what kind of sick man are you?
- Why do you wanna go around poking your nose--
- [ Line Clicking ]
We're in trouble.
The cost of film stock is astronomical.
Shouldn't our nonprofit status
get us a discount?
Prok, you've got to let some of this go.
We need a full-time accountant.
- [ Commotion ]
- What in heavens--
- Stop this!
- [ Grunting ]
Stop it at once! In my office.
Gebhard, get in there.
- Everyone, back to work.
- [ Chattering ]
Do you have any idea
what a delicate time this is?
Our enemies are watching
everything we do.
We can't afford a single slip-up.
This has nothing to do
with the project.
- Everything is about the project!
- Oh, it's just a--
- a misunderstanding.
- No, it's not.!
You let things get out ofhand
with Martin's wife...
and now she wants to leave him.
Isn't that right, Martin?
And what about you, Gebhard?
Are you planning to leave Agnes and the kids?
- No, of course not.
- Then end it.
- I've tried.
- It's not difficult.Just tell her it's over.
- No explanation necessary.
- [ Out Of Breath ] All right.
[ Exhales ]
Clyde, I'm--
I'm very sorry about all of this.
I saw this coming.
Gebhard should have
nipped it in the bud.
You are so full of shit!
What are we to you, Prok?
We'rejust lab rats?
Is this just another part
of the project--
[ Exhales ]
to prove that sex--
No. No, I'm sorry.
Fucking is...
nothing more than--
than friction and harmless fun?
Well, let me tell you...
that is a risky game,
because fucking isn't just something.
It's the whole thing.
And if you're not careful...
it will cut you wide open.
Go home to your wife, Clyde.
She's going to need you.
I thought the rules were clear.
No intense romantic entanglements.
They only make people's lives unstable.
I guess we all can't be
as disciplined as you, Prok.
-[ Door Closes ]
-[ Kinsey ] The question of marital infidelity...
-[ Door Closes ]
-[ Kinsey ] The question of marital infidelity...
remains one of the most complicated
issues facing our society today.
Reconciliation
of the married individual's desire...
for a variety of sexual partners...
and the maintenance
of a stable marriage...
presents a problem which has not been
satisfactorily resolved in our culture.
The fact is, America is awash
in sexual activity...
- only a small portion of which
is sanctioned by society.
- [ Whispering Chatter]
Sexual morality
needs to be reformed...
and science will show the way.
- [ Whispering Continues ]
- Sometimes--
I sometimes wonder
what this country would look like if...
the Puritans had stayed at home.
What if all the rogues and libertines...
had crossed the Atlantic instead?
[ Constricted Voice ] But the enforcers
of chastity are massing once again...
to dissuade the scientist,
intimidate him...
convince him to... cease research.
- [ Chattering ]
- [ Man ] For heaven's sake!
- If you could get him-- [ Indistinct ]
- Yes, Mrs. Kinsey.
Mac.
He's killing himself.
And you have to help me stop him.
- Okay.
- Hmm?
Hi.
[ Weak Voice ]
Doctors say my heart...
sounds like a cement mixer.
At least they found one.
Seems I've developed
a dependency on barbiturates.
So...
if I've been a bit harsh lately--
- How's Alice?
- She's fine.
We're fine.
You should get some sleep.
It's always been my biggest fear,
Clyde--
dying before I finish this work.
In the course of these hearings
on tax-exempt foundations...
we intend to show how Communists
are financed in the United States.
There is a diabolical conspiracy
back of all this...
and its aim is the furtherance
of socialism in America.
Do you agree that Kinsey's research...
aids the communistic aim...
of weakening and destroying
the youth of our country?
I do not agree, sir.
Well, tell me, Dr. Gregg...
does the Rockefeller Foundation
really believe...
that it belongs in the business
of sex research?
I think it's probably something...
the foundation shouldn't
have anything to do with.
[ Gregg ] Dr. Kinsey's project
is now in a position...
to obtain support from...
other sources.
- [ Spectators Murmuring ]
- [ Gavel Rapping ]
[ Wells ] With the loss of support
from the Rockefeller Foundation...
Dr. Kinsey's project will need
other funding if it is to survive.
- [ Classical ]
- Prok?
Prok, you home?
We are running a budget surplus
due to increased enrollment...
which is a direct result
of Dr. Kinsey's success and fame.
- [ Continues ]
- [ Wells Continues ]
A small amount of this money...
would be enough
to keep the project afloat.
Prok?
- Prok?
- [ Wells ] Why don't we put it to a vote?
All those in favor
of increasing Dr. Kinsey's grant?
That's it then.
This woman was beaten by her father
when she first menstruated.
Now she's incapable
of physical intimacy of any kind.
And this man-- ''Dear Dr. Kinsey...
''it has taken me
a long time to write to you...
I suppose because
I was too ashamed and I--''
Where'd that blood come from?
I punctured my foreskin.
I-- I wanted to understand different--
different kinds of sensations.
It, uh-- It didn't give me
any pleasure.
And there--
And there was only a little--
pain.
[ Crying ]
I couldn't help them, Mac.
I couldn't figure it out.
Just stop punishing yourself.
Now I--
I've ruined it for everyone.
This is an exercise in futility.
Huntington Hartford is heir
to the A & P fortune.
He can solve your financial problems
with the stroke of a pen.
I won't beg, Mac.
[ Sighs ]
I won't beg.
- [ Piano ]
- Ohio deplores fellatio but tolerates cunnilingus.
Whereas in my home state of Indiana...
all forms of oral sex are illegal,
even within marriage.
Mmm. The current sex laws are completely
out of touch with the real world.
I've had four wives.
Some people say
that makes me a sex offender.
- [ Guests Laughing ]
- Well, Hunt, if you keep interrupting Dr. Kinsey...
you're going to have to find a fifth.
- [ Guests Chuckling ]
- Please go on.
Even now, states will punish
a single act of adulterous intercourse.
[ Hartford ]
I'm thinking ofbuilding a museum.
What's your opinion of modern art,
Dr. Kinsey?
It's not my area of expertise,
Mr. Hartford.
- I really don't consider myself
qualified to discuss it.
- Well, why not?
Just because
I own some supermarkets...
that doesn't mean I'm only capable
of talking about groceries.
Oh. Do you hate modern art
as much as I do?
Squiggly lines, empty canvases,
white on white.
So, the next book will deal
with sex offenders?
We need money, Mrs. Hartford.
We--
- [ Dishes Clatter ]
- We need someone to give us money.
You have no idea
what I've had to endure...
just to obtain the same rights
other scientists take for granted.
My funding has been slashed, and my name
has been dragged through the mud...
in every newspaper and magazine
across this country.
Every dollar I've ever earned has--
Leave me alone!
[ Clears Throat ] Every dollar I've ever
made has gone back into the project.
But fighting this customs case has cost us
an appalling amount. We're broke.
- Dr. Kinsey--
- Please.
I'm not even sure
how much time I have left.
Help me.
I have to get it all on the record.
Well, I'm very sorry.
Any support I give might be misconstrued
as an endorsement of sex.
I can't afford that kind of exposure.
I see.
But I'm sure something
will come through.
You're right.
Rich people have lazy minds.
Took them five minutes
to find a water glass.
- I'm taking you to the hospital.
- Mm-mm. Mm-mmm.
No. No more beds.
I spent my whole childhood
lying in bed.
Let's go back to the hotel, Mac.
I wanna pick up a few histories
in the morning.
[ Woman ] We'd been married for years,
with three marvelous children.
And as soon as my youngest
left to go to college...
I took a job in an arts foundation.
I met a woman there--
secretary in the grants office.
We became fast friends, and...
before long,
I fell in love with her.
Hmm. This came as quite a shock,
as you might imagine.
The more I tried to ignore it...
the more... powerful it became.
You have no idea...
what it's like
to have your own thoughts...
turn against you like that.
I couldn't talk to anyone
about my situation...
so I found other ways to cope.
[ Sniffles ]
Uh, I took up drinking.
Eventually, my husband left me.
Even my children fell away.
[ Voice Breaking ]
I came very close to... ending it all.
It's just another reminder
of how little...
things have changed in our society.
What are you talking about?
Things have gotten much better.
Oh? What happened?
Why, you did, of course.
After I read your book, I realized...
how many other women
were in the same situation.
I mustered the courage
to talk to my friend...
and she told me,
to my great surprise...
that the feelings were mutual.
We-We've been together
for three happy years now.
You saved my life, sir.
[ Martin ]
Just, uh, one more question.
You'vejust told me your entire history--
childhood, family, career...
every person you've ever had sex with--
but there hasn't been
a single mention of love.
That's because it's impossible
to measure love.
And as you know, without measurements,
there can be no science.
But I've been thinking a lot
about the problem lately.
Oh. Problem?
When it comes to love,
we're all in the dark.
So,you do think it matters?
What time's our flight, Mac?
Not for a couple of hours.
Let's stop in the woods.
Mac?
I'm right here, Prok.
Just imagine...
these trees
are over a thousand years old.
Hence the name:
Sequoia sempervirens--
always green, always alive.
Mac, did I ever tell you
about the Mbeere?
No, not that I recall.
They're an ancient East African tribe.
They believe that trees
are imperfect men...
eternally bemoaning
their imprisonment--
the roots that keep them
stuck in one place.
But I've never seen
a discontented tree.
Look at this one-- the way its roots
are gripping the ground.
I believe it really loves it.
Come on, Mac.
What's the hurry?
There's a lot of work to do.