reefer madness movie summary

A best-seller, Reefer Madness was widely praised for its in-depth look at the American underground economy and is considered one of the defining texts of the marijuana legalization movement. The police arrest Ralph, Mae, and Blanche. Marijuana destroyed the human spirit. Plot Keywords [5] Soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, who re-cut the film for distribution on the exploitation film circuit, exploiting vulgar interest while escaping censorship under the guise of moral guidance, beginning in 1938–1939 through the 1940s and 1950s. Other films included Esper's own earlier Marihuana (1936) and Elmer Clifton's Assassin of Youth (1937) and the subject of cannabis was particularly popular in the hysteria surrounding Anslinger's 1937 Marihuana Tax Act. Also during the film, the number "4" and then "20" is flashed very quickly (as a joke on subliminal messages), which is an effect added by Legend Films. This film tells the tale of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. This film tells the tale of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. [5] In 1938[1][2] or 1939,[3][4] Esper began distributing it on the exploitation circuit[5] where it was originally released in at least four territories, each with their own title for the film:[12] the first territory to screen it was the South, where it went by Tell Your Children (1938 or 1939). Somehow, all the parts fit together, and Reefer Madness, the musical, has turned out to be a lot more fun than its original source. An updated audio version of the play was uploaded to the company's YouTube channel in May 2020. [15][16] As part of a fundraising campaign, NORML showed Reefer Madness on college campuses up and down California, asking a $1 donation for admission and raising $16,000 toward support for the California Marijuana Initiative, a political group that sought to legalize marijuana in the 1972 fall elections. Mae prefers to push to adults whereas Jack has no problem getting teenagers hooked. [14] Seeking material for New Line's college circuit, he was able to obtain an original copy from a collector and began distributing the film nationally, "making a small fortune for New Line. Dr. Carroll closes by advising us to not incur the same tragedy. While most have praised it for its campy treatment of the cult film, some viewers claimed that the color choices would better suit a film about LSD than a film about cannabis.[24]. One man becomes so addicted to the killer weed that the guilt over framing a teen for murder causes a judge to order him to be committed for life to a mental hospital. Reefer Madness (1936)0.1Overall ScoreReader Rating 1 VoteDirector: Louis J. Gasnier Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O’Brien, Thelma White, Warren McCollum, Carleton Young. In this quintessential classic, innocent teens partake of the "demon weed" only to find that one puff plunges them into a hilarious web of murder, sex, lunacy and jazz music. Movie & TV guides. Newspaper reels and first pages telling of how the police is tackling the issue of the marijuana war. For other uses, see, List of films in the public domain in the United States, "Tell Your Children (Original Print Information)", "REEFER MADNESS (TELL YOUR CHILDREN) (DOPED YOUTH)", List of films containing frequent marijuana use, Poisoned Paradise: The Forbidden Story of Monte Carlo, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reefer_Madness&oldid=1021635520, American social guidance and drug education films, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017, Articles to be expanded from October 2017, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-LCCN identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 5 May 2021, at 20:20. The tale revolves around Mae and Jack, accomplices in the distribution of marijuana, who manage to entice the local high school kids to stop by Mae's apartment to smoke reefer. Reefer Madness begins with a brief introduction, titled “The Underground”, that looks at the history of black market activities in the United States. Parents Guide. Bill, whose once-pristine record at school has rapidly declined, has a fling with Blanche while high. Synopsis High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll (Josef Forte) relates to an audience of parents that marijuana can have devastating effects on teens. It features intentionally unrealistic color schemes that add to the film's campy humor. This film tells the tale of the Harper Affair, in which young Jimmy Harper finds his life of promise turn into a life of debauchery and murder thanks to the new drug menace marijuana. [5][6] Critics have called it one of the worst films ever made. | | Originally titled as Tell Your Children, the American drama film features a group of so called marijuana pushers, dealers and addicts who lure innocent and naive high school students into partaking in what is portrayed as hard drug use. "[19] Las Vegas CityLife named it the "worst ever" runner-up to Plan 9 from Outer Space,[20] and AMC described it as "one of the worst movies ever made. The film was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors. Written by Anonymous. Reefer Madness is a campy cult favorite first released in 1938 as a propaganda film meant to scare America's youth off of drug. They are especially worried about marijuana, both because it grows wild and thus is difficult to control, but also because of its effect, which includes possible insanity leading to dangerous behavior. As the police did not have enough specific details to track Jimmy down, he indeed escapes punishment. Cautionary tale features a fictionalized take on the use of marijuana. Director: Louis J. Gasnier Genre (s): Drama, Thriller [16] Robert Shaye of New Line Cinema eventually heard about the underground hit and went to see it at the Bleecker Street Cinema. Ralph and Jack lure high school student Bill Harper and college student Jimmy Lane to Mae and Jack's apartment. Reefer Madness is a musical satire of the 1936 cult classic Reefer Madness that opened in Los Angeles in 1998. Over the objections of a skeptical juror, Bill is found guilty. George A. Hirliman Productions released Reefer Madness in 1936 and 1938.Louis J. Gasnier directed the film starring Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, and Lillian Miles. Originally financed by a church group under the title Tell Your Children, the film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use. "[14], Reefer Madness is considered to be a cult classic and one of the most popular examples of a midnight movie. 1930s: Reefer Madness A poster from a later release of the 1936 film. [5][6][10] It was originally produced by George Hirliman;[11] however, some time after the film was made, it was purchased by exploitation filmmaker Dwain Esper, who inserted salacious shots. The lives of those involved, both the guilty and the innocent, are forever altered, because of the scourge called marijuana. As the two are fighting, Jack knocks Bill unconscious with the butt of his gun, which inadvertently fires, killing Mary. There are no approved quotes yet for this movie. Reefer_Madness.webm ‎ (WebM audio/video file, VP8/Vorbis, length 1 h 8 min 16 s, 472 × 360 pixels, 729 kbps overall) This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons . Movie & TV guides. "[8] Leonard Maltin has called it "the granddaddy of all 'Worst' movies. Film that relates the story, as told by high school principal Dr. Carroll to parents at a PTA meeting, of the scourge of marijuana. Reefer Madness (Tell Your Children) (Doped Youth) Quotes. Reefer Madness! The boss tells Jack to shoot Ralph to prevent him from confessing, but when Jack arrives, Ralph immediately recognizes the threat and beats him to death with a stick as Blanche laughs uncontrollably in terror. The 1936 Government movie that will totally scare the crap out of you! Episode 69 – Reefer Madness (2005) Happy 4/20, y’all! [18], The Los Angeles Times has claimed that Reefer Madness was the first film that a generation embraced as "the worst. We’re celebrating with a pack of giggle sticks, a chocolate brownie-scented DVD box and a movie musical! The song’s lyrics deal with marijuana use. Originally a 1930s propaganda piece on the dangers of marijuana use, Reefer Madness is essentially one of the first 'so bad, it's good' films. The dealers lie low for a while in Blanche's apartment while Bill's trial takes place. For this reason, neither Esper nor original producer George Hirliman bothered to protect the film's copyright; it thus had an improper copyright notice invalidating the copyright. [13] In New England, it was known as Reefer Madness (1940[13] or 1947),[9] while in the Pennsylvania/West Virginia territory it was called The Burning Question (1940). 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