Reefer Madness (1936)

Cautionary tale features a fictionalized take on the use of marijuana. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.

Director:

Louis J. Gasnier (as Louis Gasnier)

Writers:

Lawrence Meade (original story), Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)

Stars:

Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy Short	...	Mary
Kenneth Craig	...	Bill
Lillian Miles	...	Blanche
Dave O'Brien	...	Ralph
Thelma White	...	Mae
Carleton Young	...	Jack
Warren McCollum	...	Jimmy (as Warren McCullom)
Patricia Royale	...	Agnes (as Pat Royale)
Joseph Forte	...	Dr. Carroll (as Josef Forte)
Harry Harvey Jr.	...	Junior

Storyline

Film that relates the story, as told by high school principal Dr. Carroll to parents at a PTA meeting, of the scourge of marijuana. The tale revolves around Mae and Jack, accomplices in the distribution of marijuana, who manage to entice the local high school kids to stop by Mae's apartment to smoke reefer. The lives of all who are involved with this menace are inevitably shattered. One man becomes so addicted to the killer weed that the guilt over framing a teen for murder causes a judge to order him to be committed for life to a mental hospital. Dr. Carroll closes by advising us to not incur the same tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

juvenile delinquent | suicide | nonlinear timeline | drugs | montage | 

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Taglines:

It's Public Enemy, Number One!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dope Addict

Filming Locations:

Grand National Studios - 7250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

George A. Hirliman Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

66 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the 1960s the film was distributed to the college circuit by Robert Shaye, the first film distributed by his company New Line Cinema. The rest is history.

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Goofs

The same extras used in the opening PTA (or TPA) scene are used in the courtroom scenes.

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Quotes

[Jimmy finishes a reefer before driving back]
Jimmy: Let's go, Jack. I'm red-hot!
Jack: Better be careful how you drive, or the first thing you know you'll be ice cold.

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Crazy Credits

FOREWORD: The motion picture you are about to witness may startle you. It would not have been possible, otherwise, to sufficiently emphasize the frightful toll of the new drug menace which is destroying the youth of America in alarmingly-increasing numbers. Marihuana is that drug - a violent narcotic - an unspeakable scourge - The Real Public Enemy Number One! Its first effect is sudden, violent, uncontrollable laughter; then come dangerous hallucinations - space expands - time slows down, almost stands still ....fixed ideas come next, conjuring up monstrous extravagances - followed by emotional disturbances, the total inability to direct thoughts, the loss of all power to resist physical emotions... leading finally to acts of shocking violence... ending often in incurable insanity. In picturing its soul-destroying effects no attempt was made to equivocate. The scenes and incidents, while fictionized for the purposes of this story, are based upon actual research into the results of Marihuana addiction. If their stark reality will make you think, will make you aware that something must be done to wipe out this ghastly menace, then the picture will not have failed in its purpose.... Because the dread Marihuana may be reaching forth next for your son or daughter....or yours....or YOURS!

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Alternate Versions

20th Century Fox DVD release flashes "420" on the screen for a couple of frames when Billy first enters Mae and Jack's apartment. This is in both the black-and-white and colorized versions on the disc.

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Connections

Referenced in The Three Stooges in Color (2005)

User Reviews

unintentionally hilarious

Why no one changed their name after appearing in "Tell Your Children," aka "Reefer Madness," I'll never know. Perhaps some of them did - I only checked a few names.

This is possibly the worst acted, campiest, most absurd movie ever made, a laugh riot from beginning to end. A cautionary tale is told to parents of high-schoolers (who must have all married late - they looked really past it) about the dangers of marijuana use among the young. Marijuana here is spelled marihuana and is described as worse than heroin or cocaine - one puff and you're hooked. The description of the symptoms is that first you break into uncontrollable laughter, then you become frenetic, and then, your mind altered, you do insane things. In this story, there was a hit and run where this kid just mowed down somebody in the street as if he wasn't there, a near-rape, and an accidental shooting blamed on an innocent young man who is brought to trial.

Well, I'm from the '60s, so right away, you know I'm howling at this thing. This marihuana must have been laced with amphetamine, because one thing you never see in stoned people is frenetic behavior unless it's toward food. It's mind-altering, all right - you totally zone out. These kids were dancing like maniacs. Also, there were no deep intakes of the weed which is then held a bit before expelling the smoke - no, these people were smoking this stuff like cigarettes except they weren't inhaling. At all. You never saw so much smoke.

Now to the performances. Let's start with handsome Dave O'Brien as Ralph, one of the older procurers of the young, who then introduced kids to this powerful substance. O'Brien is one who DID change his name when he turned to comedy writing. I would have done it right after this film. He had the uncontrollable laughter down pat - he did it constantly. And the film was made so cheaply, every time he took a puff, the exact same clip of him laughing was shown again. It was a totally unbelievable laugh, too. By the end of the movie his eye makeup was smeared so he looked like a raccoon. I'm not sure what that look was supposed to represent. I was actually going to write more about the performances. I'll just leave it that they were horrible and amateurish.

I gave this a 4 for camp value ONLY. It is a ridiculous movie. I am not a believer in smoking marijuana, I am not a believer in substance abuse, and our kids have enough trouble living their lives without getting into problems with marijuana, drugs, or alcohol. However, did people really believe this to be the truth in 1936? Or was this movie deliberately done as a gross exaggeration? If so, it is unconscionable, not to mention misleading, particularly to tell people that marihuana is worse than cocaine and heroin. Give me a break. I can only hope that when this film was released, people laughed as hard as I did.