Culture

Directed by Louis Gasnier. Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O’Brien, Thelma White.

A green menace is silently attacking the youth of 1930’s America. It’s name…marihuana! Yes, it was a different world back then. You could spell marihuana with an h and even the smallest of tokes could send you over the edge, man! You’d do all sorts of freaky shit like run people over and shoot people and not even remember!!!

 
At least that’s what the makers of this wee film would have you believe. Financed by a church group under the original title of Tell Your Children, Reefer Madness was made for parents to warn them that weed was bad, and that their kids should not have it! No way, no how. What actually happened is that no one really watched it in the Thirties and nothing really happened until this gem was rediscovered in the Seventies and everyone realised how hilarious the whole thing was.

 
The film opens at a school meeting with the principal educating all the parents about the dangers of marihuana and proceeds to tell the story of how the drug destroyed the lives of some young-uns. The plot isn’t necessarily important but basically involves the corruption of some young high school students who are seduced into the drug world by dope peddlers. Their downfall is remarkably quick and over the top. What helps with this is the terrible acting and “special effects”. My personal favourite is the gunshot wound.

 
The film is very funny, but does drag a bit despite running just over an hour. It’s got all you could want in a film though: sex, drugs and some pretty frantic piano playing.