Reefer Madness.

Review #1760: Reefer Madness.

Cast: 
Dorothy Short (Mary Lane), Kenneth Craig (Bill Harper), Lillian Miles (Blanche), Dave O'Brien (Ralph Wiley), Thelma White (Mae Coleman), Carleton Young (Jack Perry), Warren McCollum (Jimmy Lane), Pat Royale (Agnes), Josef Forte (Dr. Alfred Carroll), and Harry Harvey Jr. (Junior Harper) Directed by Louis J. Gasnier.

Review: 
Sure, it doesn't take much to say that a person who has or hasn't used certain substances will have nearly the same view on a film like this. But it helps to know exactly what one is getting into before dozing in on a film like this, which has been colorized and even turned into a stage musical. The film was done apparently as church effort in the mid-1930s with the help of producer George Hirliman. Of course, Dwain Esper soon took over after it had been shot and added "certain" shots to add for the exploitation circuit, which is where the various titles come from that range from "The Burning Question" to "Doped Youth" (the title card will also say it was formely known as "Tell Your Children", so there's that). At any rate, the director for the film wasn't exactly a novice - Louis J. Gasnier (a collaborator on various poverty row films with Hirliman). The Frenchman started work in the film industry at the turn of the 20th century, directing various shorts until he moved to the States in 1910. He is best known for finding the comedian Max Linder along with directing The Perils of Pauline (1914), a popular film serial of its day (along with being one of his few silent films that survive). He was near the end of his directing career (nearing the age of 65, although he did dabble in acting to keep with the bills until his death). The film was written by Arthur Hoerl, who might have been inspired by an actual mass murder spree that was construed as being done by someone under the influence of marijuana (rather than the actual cause, which involved mental illness). 

Of course, the film did not find a second wind of cult popularity until 1972 (helps when there is no copyright notice), since activists like Keith Stroup and a movie distributor (Robert Shaye) found it something worth showing on college campuses...for a laugh. The problem with looking back to the past is that sometimes you get some really boring experiences when it comes to stuff of their time. I'm sure you've seen at least one "morality tale", and I would hope that they actually told you something meaningful, unlike with this film. Hell, if you pay attention to the film, one of the folks who actually "takes the stuff" gets away with a crime. Besides, you don't need me to tell you that taking substances doesn't work the way you see it on the screen, because you can learn that by asking a friend (of course in the absence of that, figure it out). The exploitation folks wanted to make, well, exploitation, so they did it under the guise of "education". The hyperbole isn't hard to see, even if one was drunk on their own supply. Seeing "swell" folks turn into madcap nutters in paranoia, albeit with a few little scenes of stock footage (i.e. newsreel). Honestly, the only interesting presence might be from O'Brien, in the whole "going nuts" thing, although Forte and his droning sequences about the dangers of drugs with "or yours...or yours!" could probably be funnier if one pretends he in fact was on drugs himself. But hey, you'll see "education" at hand with folks running over pedestrians while high, frantic piano playing, and various mild things. As a whole, an hour is a terrible thing to waste unless you are in the mood for it, particularly for a public domain feature that should be spent with actual curiosities, not movies with bland flavor that just happens to have an absurd idea or two trying to poke around the surface. Laugh at it, sure, but taking an actual substance might actually prove more rewarding than utilizing time on a turkey like this.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.

Turkey Week Two begins. Like I said, the old-fashioned turkeys are sometimes the best ones to start with before getting to the modern stuff...but the next one involves a familiar face. 

Next Time: Jail Bait (1954).