America on the Rocks

TV Movie
1973
30m

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Robert Mitchum, an admitted alcoholic, narrates this U.S. government short documentary on the dangers of alcoholism, delving into the reasons people drink to excess, the psychology of alcoho... Read allRobert Mitchum, an admitted alcoholic, narrates this U.S. government short documentary on the dangers of alcoholism, delving into the reasons people drink to excess, the psychology of alcoholics, and recommendations for diminishing the scourge of alcoholism. He discounts so-calle... Read allRobert Mitchum, an admitted alcoholic, narrates this U.S. government short documentary on the dangers of alcoholism, delving into the reasons people drink to excess, the psychology of alcoholics, and recommendations for diminishing the scourge of alcoholism. He discounts so-called "temperance lectures" which focus only on the morality of drinking and recommends educat... Read all

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IMDb RATING

6.2/10

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See production info at IMDbPro

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Robert Mitchum

Narrator

Director
- Frank Kavanaugh
Writer
- Don Peterson
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6.220

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Michael_Elliott

Don't Use Pot Says Robert Mitchum

America on the Rocks (1973)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Mildly entertaining documentary narrated by Robert Mitchum. The entire goal of this short is to teach America that drugs are bad. We learn a variety of things including the facts that if you see someone with long hair you shouldn't automatically think he's doing LSD. Other items of info includes how pot could lead to harder drugs and that people should fully understand that this little plant can do major damage to you. Okay, there's a lot of over dramatic stuff going on here but it's no worse than countless other documentaries out there meant to make you afraid to take drugs. Unlike those education films from the 50s, this one here isn't nearly as campy as everything is handled pretty seriously as it's clear the director (whoever it is) wanted to be real and not just try to be something for stoners to get high while watching. It's kind of funny seeing Mitchum here as he was known to be a pot user. Having someone like him doing the narration makes the film easier to sit through, although I'm still curious why he did this film unless it was some type of favor. At just over 20-minutes there's nothing overly ground breaking here but it's a fun watch if you're into this type of thing.

7planktonrules

Having Robert Mitchum narrate this is a bit odd, to say the least!

Robert Mitchum was reportedly an alcoholic...and considering he checked himself into the famous Betty Ford Clinic because of his drinking, calling him an alcoholic seems reasonable. He admitted to being drunk both on and off camera many times. Why do I mention all this? Well, because of the weirdness of casting Mitchum as the narrator of this anti-alcoholism documentary, "America on the Rocks"!

Despite the strangeness in casting Mitchum as the narrator, the film is a decent documentary about alcoholism and the abuse of alcohol. It's a bit preachy but it also talks about treatments for the addict and is reasonably progressive and well made. It also does NOT condemn alcohol in and of itself...just those who abuse it.

By the way, another review talks at length about Mitchum and marijuana...which is strange as the film NEVER talks about any drug other than alcohol! I wonder if they actually saw the film as their comments really sound as if they saw some other documentary.