Back in 1934, while he was on the dole, Paul Cadmus "The Fleet's inn" . A Hoganhian painting of sailors and whores having a good time, was withdrawn from an exhibition because it offended an admiral. This event became a national scandal, but the painting was not displayed again until 1981.

The elderly Cadmus, being reticent in manner, was a difficult subject for film-maker Sutherland. But he persisted, cultivated the painter's confidence, and finally won from him an insightful presentation of his methods and some pungent comments about an, life and morality.