Marihuana

One of several anti-marijuana/drug propaganda films of the 1930's with over- reactive screen narratives, over-dramatized screen-writing and acting...that is completely inaccurate in the depiction of marijuana usage.

Over-excessive to the point, in light of what is known about marijuana today and effects upon the average marijuana user, it's almost comedic by today's standards and realistic knowledge of this drug.

Burma, an 'innocent' but unhappy youth clashes at home and hangs out with a 'wild' crowd..to the point the laughing makes my head ache with high- pitched, giggling, silly girls. Solely because of using marijuana, according to the film, she indulges in a series of immoral acts, becomes pregnant out of wedlock, and two friends are killed (as if one was not enough in a one- hour film). Her response is to become a hotshot dealer herself....leading to deeper crime (with an ironic twist to boot) & yes, another tragedy.

Way over-the-top, inaccurate, but entertaining to watch and thus what is known as a 'cult classic' in today's world. One of a series of anti-drug, specifically anti-marijuana films aimed to exaggerate & allegedly decry the horrors of marijuana usage.

Dwain Esper, the man who makes Ed Wood look like Orson Wells, came out with this movie around 1935 or so. (Judging by the clothing, I'd say it was filmed about a year earlier.) Films like this were made perporting to show the evils of the world but instead showcased rough acting, stilted writing, sparce sets, bad lighting, static camerawork and starlets lifting their skirts and disrobing in doctors offices. More money was spent and more creative energy invested into hyping the films when they played in rural towns with a public eager to see any film that would show them skin and insanity to take the edge off their boring lives.

Harlene Wood gives an uneaven proformance as Burma Roberts, the central character. The other actors, all complete unknowns both then and now, lend even worse acting to their roles as cops, drug addicts, gangsters and teenage girls who look like thirty-five-year-old stag film actresses. The script is also badly written, clearly having been scratched out in a few days time. There are some interesting sets, like the interior of the villains cabin with the stone fireplace and balcony, and some nice camera set-ups, but the filmmakers' megre budget and lack of technical ability is pretty easily discernable throughout.

Personally, I like this film. It's amusing, fairly inventive at times (that scene with the drunk spilling his beer at the beginning), and the scene with the girls stripping down and running around on the beach is still hard to beleave (it's certainly not arousing in the least bit, though). Overall, it's a better film than Tell Your Children (1938), more enjoyable and way more misguided.

This is a bad movie that purports to be an educational film designed to warn America about the menace of marijuana use. However, like almost all the so-called "educational" films of the 30s and 40s, it was really a shabby little film designed to be snuck past the censors of the Hays Office. In 1934, the major studios all agreed to abide by the dictates of a stronger Production Code--eliminating sex, nudity, cursing and "inappropriate" plots in films (these had actually been relatively common in films in the early 30s). However, in an effort to sneak in smut, small studios created films to shock adults when they learn about terrible social ills, though they were REALLY intended to titillate and slip adult themes past the censors! Such films as CHILD BRIDE, MAD YOUTH, REEFER MADNESS and SEX MADNESS were all schlocky trash that skirted past the boards because they were supposedly educational. Even though they were laughably bad, they also made money due to low production costs and because they offered nudity, violence and sordid story lines--all in the name of education!

Many will no doubt watch this film because they are hoping for a similar film to REEFER MADNESS (one of the most laughably bad anti-drug films of all time). While it isn't quite as dopey and unintentionally funny, MARIJUANA is probably a worse film when it comes to being exploitational all in the name of educating our parents. While on drugs, the characters don't madly play the piano or run amok quite as much as they do in REEFER MADNESS--but they DO run amok in the most ridiculous manner. Once they begin puffing this "wacky tobacky", all the characters begin laughing non-stop and acting like total idiots. In addition, the ladies respond by taking off all their clothes and running nude along the beach at night!! And, because of this, the film is very, very explicit--showing lots of "naughty bits" (A Monty Python term for nudity). This film would probably receive an R-rating today if shown in the theaters because of the nudity--and this must have been VERY shocking to audiences of the day. However, audiences today would also be a bit shocked at how extremely unattractive and unappealing these ladies were--I kept wanting to yell at the characters to "put it back on--PLEASE!!". If you are looking for a cheap thrill, this film won't provide it!

Now when they aren't showing people running amok, the film actually is much more watchable. Those who sell the drugs are indeed users, but they manage not to behave like morons, so they are more convincing. The story of one of them, Blondie, is somewhat compelling and mildly interesting--though not nearly enough to make up for the rottenness of the rest of the movie.

This film is so bad that I would recommend it for a bad movie festival you can stage with your friends. You know, the ones where you laugh at just how bad and stupid films can be. They didn't even bother trying to get decent music for much of the film--using classical tunes that were completely inappropriate just because they were in the public domain.

Beating the more famous "Reefer Madness" into the theaters by all of about 15 minutes, "Marihuana" is yet another morality play whose producer tries to pass off a warning about the evils of marijuana use as an excuse for the picture's real reason for being: a nude swim scene (shot so darkly that the participants can barely even be seen). A group of the oldest-looking teenagers you've ever seen (and don't you just love movies with teenagers being played by actors old enough to be the PARENTS of teenagers) fall in with the wrong crowd, and soon there's a drowning, a shooting, an unwanted pregnancy, a kidnapping (of a child you just know was supposed to be the next Shirley Temple, at least in the minds of her parents), and an ending that has to be seen to be disbelieved. All in all, a truly mind-bending experience that would rival any that could come from the actual use of marijuana.

Camp classic by exploitation master Dwain Esper. A clean cut bunch of obviously over-age "kids" become addicted to marijuana after one puff! They giggle uncontrollably, engage in nude skinny-dipping (mild female nudity), sex and it all leads to a drowning, alcoholism, heroin addiction, kidnapping, pregnancy and death.

This is a very silly movie--another one of those ones where the people making it had no idea what they were doing. Most of the acting is terrible and the story is downright ridiculous at times (and hard to follow--the surviving prints are in terrible shape). Still it's not worthless. It moves quickly (only 57 minutes), there were actually some pretty clever directorial touches and Harley Wood was pretty good in her lead role. So it's worth a look if you're curious. On par with "Reefer Madness".