Bad Movie Month #12: Reefer Madness (1936)

#420blazeit

Reefer Madness (1936)

Directed by: Louis J. Gasnier
Produced by: George Hirliman
Written by: Arthur Hoerl (screenplay), Lawrence Mead (story)
Budget: $100,000 (roughly $1,700,000 in 2015, according to US Department of Labor)

Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White, Warren McCollum, Carleton Young

Young Billy Harper (Craig) and Jimmy Lane (McCollum) fall in with the wrong crowd and get involved with marijuana, their lives take a dark turn. Watch, young viewer, as these young people's health, happiness, and innocence are destroyed forever...by Reefer Madness!

"Reefer Madness" is a morality tale originally produced by a church group in the 1930s as a way to warn kids of the dangers of marijuana use. After achieving little of note for a number of years, the film was bought by well known exploitation film director Dwain Esper, re-cut, and redistributed on the exploitation film circuit for a long while. The film was rediscovered after spending a decade or two in a red-eyed haze, and has been hailed as one of the worst movies ever enjoyed.

It's also in the public domain. You can watch it on Wikipedia if you want.

I'm not going to do a Good, Bad, the Rest section for this one. There really isn't much of a need, partially because this movie is certifiably awful, and partially because it was made in such a different time. Nearly 80 years have passed since Reefer Madness showed how marijuana can turn people into cackling sex demons, and people don't say "swell" anymore or flail to piano music.

And yet, if it hadn't been so goofy, it wouldn't be nearly so enjoyable. From the hilarious vehicular homicide to the infamous "play faster" scene the movie trades one over-the-top scenario for another, all carried out 100% seriously. It even ends with the frame-lecturer pointing at the camera, warning the audience that their children could jump out windows or be the victim of a framed murder.

Finally, there's a good bit of cultural history you can glean from this movie. It's an unironic point of view we don't normally see in film from the time, and it can be fascinating to watch the chain of events play out.

Should You Watch it?
I had a good time, and I was sober when I watched it (not that I've ever used marijuana, obviously). I feel like it would be even better with some friends who can appreciate a little drug-crazed abandon. While I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, it most certainly entertained me.