Reefer Madness

Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Dave O'Brien, Lilian Miles
Directed by: Louis C. Gasnier
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Drama
1936

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: The evils of marijuana are depicted in various interconnected stories.

Review:

Tim: What to say about the 1936 propaganda film, Reefer Madness? This cult film is infamous for its over-the-top, exaggerated depiction of what marijuana use will do to people. It was made in response to the growing use of marijuana in the United States, and it was sloppily made. This is just a terrible movie, no matter what lens you view it through. It's gained a following only because of the sheer amount of terribleness associated with every scene.

The production values of the movie are pretty poor, especially the quality of the sound. I really struggled with the poor sound, and that alone was enough to really hurt the movie. Unfortunately, there's also pretty awful acting almost from start to finish. I can't think of a single actor in the film who gave a legitimately good performance. There isn't a single one.

I do feel a little bad about how people rag on this movie, although it does deserve most of the scorn. This is a film that was financed by a church group, and it did have very good intentions- to warn and to educate parents about the dangers of smoking marijuana. I am certainly not an advocate of illegal drugs, and I acknowledge that films that play an educational role in addition to their primary entertainment role. This film, unfortunately, was used for nefarious purposes, as it soon became an entertainment/exploitation film, which was common in those days. This is simply a film with a troubled past that is held up today as an unintentional comedy.

I really did not care for this film at all. I see why people make fun of the film- the acting is really bad, the sound is terrible, and the depiction of marijuana use is so exaggerated and ridiculous that it is almost hard to believe. Marijuana users in this film hit people with their car, attempt rape, suicide, and manslaughter, and they also go completely insane. Each of these outcomes is attributed directly to their use of marijuana. The whole thing comes across as completely absurd. There's no logic or fact to this film, and that was really hard to watch.

As a pure piece of entertainment, this movie also fails miserably. The characters are stupid and underdeveloped, and I felt no reason to pay attention to anything that happened in this film. This movie is just over 1 hour long, and I had to force myself to pay attention almost throughout the entire run time. There was just nothing exciting or interesting on screen. My interest waned almost immediately. It felt like this film was 3 hours long.

I do understand why this film has survived as a cult film- there's something oddly mesmerizing about watching such an unrealistic depiction of something. The film had good intentions, but went way past the realm of believability. The entire story is so outrageous that the original message is lost in the fog of ridiculousness. No matter how you watch Reefer Madness- as a propaganda film gone wrong, as a piece of unintentional comedy, or simply as a film from the 1930s, you'll find a poorly made, awful film. I would have rated this film lower, but there was at least a little bit of satisfaction that comes from watching an absolutely train wreck.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 3



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: not admitting it to anyone