Wild Weed

Naïve show girl gets involved with hard cases in a marijuana drug ring.

Seeing this pot-warning epic, you might confuse the devil weed with a shot of laughing gas. That's because after taking a puff, the smokers stand around and giggle for hours on end. I kept hoping for an orgy, but no luck, just a lot of pointless laughing. Looks like the director auditioned supporting players on how long and maniacally they could giggle.

Sure, the movie's a grade Z production that probably showed in a few all-night grind houses. Still, a couple less-than- terrible aspects manage to emerge. The montages are generally well done, especially the white piano dream at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, the principal acting is not that bad. Whatever else, bad girl Leeds manages a pretty good performance, along with veteran stone face Alan Baxter.

Oddly, the narrative breaks into two parts—the first is the goofy drug part, while the second amounts to standard crime drama. Add 'em up and you've got a generally bad movie that doesn't rise to campy level, but still manages a few redeeming aspects.

(In passing-- The guy playing the orchestral piano is a legitimate long-hair, Rudolf Friml Jr., whose dad composed such well-known operettas as Rose-Marie and The Vagabond King. I guess this was meant to add a touch of class to an otherwise seedy production.)

She Shoulda Said No (1949)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Government "warning" film in the same vein as Reefer Madness works on the same camp level and has a somewhat historic Hollywood twist. Anne Lester (Lila Leeds) is a hard working good girl until she takes a hit of marijuana and soon she turns into a mental slut. Can she be saved before ending up in a mental hospital? Like all of these "warning" exploitation films, this one here is very poorly made and the facts the film presents are so incredibly stupid you can't help but laugh at them. Weed is referred to here as tomatoes and tea, which are two terms I haven't heard the stuff called. The film also claims that, in 1949, there were over 200 million pot users, which seems a tad bit high (no pun intended). I guess the most interesting thing is the true Hollywood story of lead actress Lila Leeds who was busted with Robert Mitchum during his infamous marijuana bust. As part of her probation she had to appear in this film. I think she should have just done jail time like Mitchum. Lyle Talbot co-stars.

This film was originally called "Wild Weed." The star of the film is Lila Leeds, a promising starlet who had very minor roles in earlier films, but achieved worldwide notoriety when she was arrested along with Robert Mitchum and other for smoking pot in 1948. She spent several months in jail, and when she was released this was one of the few film roles she was able to get. On the contrary, Robert Mitchum, who was also arrested, came back to resume a hotter then ever film career.

Leeds is beautiful, a sort of young Marilyn Monroe lookalike. The film is not one of the better "exploitation" films, but is notable for its cast of authentic Hollywood actors, though they were at this point well past their prime. Perennial B-movie actor Lyle Talbot, Alan Baxter and Michael Whalen, among other round out the cast.

The IMDb ratings for WILD WEED (which I saw in a version entitled SHE SHOULDA SAID 'NO!') might be low, but this is actually a pretty fun movie that's a lot better than the other sensationalist dramas I've been watching recently (like GAMBLING WITH SOULS and THE WILD AND WICKED for example). The handling of the material is just so over the top that it makes for a highly entertaining viewing experience.

The central character (played with relish by Lila Leeds, who in real life was busted for possession of marijuana alongside Robert Mitchum) is the usual innocent type who falls in with the wrong crowd and ends up finding herself in prison as a result. However, there's a twist, and in the second half of the production things really pick up as this turns into a low budget crime thriller with police, bad guys, and the like.

Compared to leading Hollywood productions of the era, like the ever-popular film noir genre, SHE SHOULDA SAID 'NO!' is pretty tame and silly, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The heavy-handed preachiness of the anti-drug message is always fun to watch, and the cast are certainly game; we get the ever-dependable Lyle Talbot in support, alongside Jack Elam in his film debut.

This film's structure, at least for the first half is very similar to the classic bad film, REEFER MADNESS. Both had preachy prologues and both showed wild pot parties where the guests behaved as if they were on LSD, not marijuana. While I think pot use is very stupid, I can't see how this film in any way could discourage it, as the way people act on this drug is so silly that any child would laugh at the ineptitude of the film and the central message would be lost.

Oddly, at about the middle of the film, the movie became much less silly in its portrayal of drug use and became a somewhat standard (though very poorly made) cop film. While this improved the film a bit, it was a case of just too little too late. The bottom line is that the film suffers from a horrible script and production values. About the only interesting things about it were how silly it all became and to see both a down-and-out Lyle Talbot as well as Jack Elam in his first film. It's all just a very silly mess.