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{{Short description|1936 anti-cannabis film by Louis J. Gasnier}}
{{About|the 1938 film}}
{{About|the 1936 film}}
{{Infobox Film
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2015}}
| name = Reefer Madness
{{Infobox film
| image = ReeferMadnessPoster.jpg
| name = Reefer Madness
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| image = Reefer Madness (1936).jpg
| director = ]
| alt =
| producer = ]
| caption = 1972 theatrical release poster
| writer = ]
| director = ]
| starring = ]<br>Kenneth Craig<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>Warren McCollum<br>]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
| distributor = Motion Picture Ventures<br>] (rerelease)
* ] (1936 film)
| released = January 15, 1938
* ] (1938–39 release)}}
| runtime = 68 min. <!-- US duration: 1:08:17 -->
| screenplay = ]
| country = {{filmUS}}
| story = Lawrence Meade
| language = English
| starring = {{Plainlist|
| budget = $100,000
* ]
* Kenneth Craig
* ]
* ]
* ]
* Warren McCollum
* ]}}
| cinematography = Jack Greenhalgh
| editing = ]
| music = ]
| studio = G&H Productions
| distributor = Motion Picture Ventures
| released = {{Film date|1936}}
| runtime = 68 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $100,000<br>(about $2,175,000 in 2024)
| gross = $1,443,000 (1970 reissue)<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/americanfilmdist0000dona/page/296/mode/1up|title= American film distribution : the changing marketplace|last=Donahue|first= Suzanne Mary|year=1987 |publisher=UMI Research Press |page=296|isbn= 9780835717762}} Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada</ref>
}} }}
'''''Reefer Madness''''' (aka '''''Tell Your Children''''') is a well known 1938 ] ] revolving around the tragic events that ensue when ] students are lured by pushers to try "]": a ], ], ], attempted ], and descent into madness all ensue. The film was directed by ] and starred a cast composed of mostly unknown bit actors. It was originally financed by a church group and made under the title ''Tell Your Children''.<ref name="History">{{cite web |url=http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html |title=The history of ''Reefer Madness'' |accessdate=2006-11-07 |author=Murphy, Kevin and Studney, Dan |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20060328163318/http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html |archivedate=2005-10-28 |quote= }}</ref><ref name="Commentary">Sandrew, Barry and Horvath, Rosemary. ''Reefer Madness'' DVD, ], 2004, DVD commentary. ISBN 024543102465</ref>


'''''Reefer Madness''''' (originally made as '''''Tell Your Children''''' and sometimes titled '''''The Burning Question''''', '''''Dope Addict''''', '''''Doped Youth''''', and '''''Love Madness''''') is a 1936 American ] about ], revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when ] students are lured by pushers to try ]{{snd}}upon trying it, they become addicted, eventually leading them to become involved in various crimes such as a ], ], ], ] to murder and attempted ]. While all this is happening, they suffer ]s, descend into ], associate with organized crime and (in one character's case) commit ]. The film was directed by ] and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors.
The film was intended to be shown to parents as a ] attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.<ref name="History"/> However, soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer ], who re-cut the film for distribution on the ] circuit.<ref name="History"/> The film did not gain an audience until it was rediscovered in the 1970s and gained new life as a piece of unintentional comedy among cannabis smokers.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Peary">{{cite book |last=Peary |first=Danny |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=] |year=1981 |publisher=Delacorte Press |location=New York |isbn=0-440-01626-6 |pages=203–205}}</ref> Today, it is in the ] in the ] and is considered a ].<ref name="Peary">]. '']'', Delta Books, 1981. ISBN 0-517-20185-2</ref> It inspired ], which premiered ] in 2001, and a Showtime film, '']'', based on the musical.

Originally financed by a church group under the title ''Tell Your Children,'' the film was intended to be shown to parents as a ] attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.<ref name="Murphy"/> Soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer ], who re-cut the film for distribution on the ] circuit, exploiting vulgar interest while escaping censorship under the guise of moral guidance, beginning in 1938–1939 through the 1940s and 1950s.<ref name="Murphy"/>

The film was "rediscovered" in the early 1970s and gained new life as an unintentional satire among advocates of ].<ref name="Murphy"/><ref name="Peary">{{cite book |last=Peary |first=Danny |title=Cult Movies |year=1981 |publisher=Delacorte Press |location=New York |isbn=0440016266 |chapter=Refer Madness |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cultmoviesclassi0000pear/page/291 |pages=291–293|title-link=Cult Movies (book) }}</ref> Critics have called it ], and it has gained a ] within ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1936/Reefer+Madness |work=] |access-date=November 17, 2013 |title=Reefer Madness (1936) |archive-date=December 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204083724/http://movies.amctv.com/movie/1936/Reefer+Madness |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Stemme">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-04-tm-letters36.1-story.html |date=September 4, 2005 |last=Stemme |first=Joe |work=] |access-date=November 17, 2013 |title=What's the Worst Movie Ever?}}</ref> It is in the ] in the United States, due to the film carrying an improper copyright notice.<ref name="Shaye" />


==Plot== ==Plot==
Mae Coleman (]) and Jack Perry (]), her lover,<ref>Supposedly, the couple is "living in sin," yet they sleep in separate beds as do all married couples depicted in films of the era.</ref> sell weed. Mae prefers to sell weed to customers her own age, whereas Jack sells the plant to young teenagers. Ralph Wiley (]), a psychotic ex-college student turned fellow dealer (and addict, according to the film), and Blanche (]) help Jack sell cannabis to young students. Young students Bill Harper (Kenneth Craig) and Jimmy Lane (Warren McCollum) are invited to Mae and Jack's apartment by Blanche and Ralph. Jimmy takes Bill to the party. There, Jack runs out of reefer. Jimmy, who has a car, drives him to pick up some more. Arriving at Jack's boss' "headquarters," he gets out and Jimmy asks him for a cigarette. Jack gives him a joint. Later, when Jack comes back down and gets into the car, Jimmy drives off dangerously, along the way running over a pedestrian with his car. A few days later, Jack tells Jimmy that the pedestrian died of his injuries. Jack agrees to keep Jimmy's name out of the case, providing he agrees to "forget he was ever in Mae's apartment". Jimmy does indeed escape the consequences of his crime - a rare occurrence in the film. Mae Coleman and Jack Perry are an unmarried couple who live together (in the jargon of the times, they live in sin) who sell marijuana. The unscrupulous Jack sells the drug to teenagers over Mae's objections; she would rather stick to an adult clientele. Ralph Wiley, a sociopathic college dropout turned dealer, and siren Blanche help Jack recruit new customers. Ralph and Jack lure high school student Bill Harper and college student Jimmy Lane to Mae and Jack's apartment. Jimmy takes Bill to a party where Jack runs out of reefer, and Jimmy, who has a car, drives him to pick up more. When they get to Jack's boss' "headquarters", Jimmy asks for a cigarette as Jack gets out and he gives him a joint. By the time Jack returns, Jimmy is unknowingly high; he ] and hits a pedestrian. A few days later, Jack tells Jimmy that the man died of his injuries and agrees to keep Jimmy's name out of the case{{snd}}if Jimmy will agree to "forget he was ever in Mae's apartment." As the police did not have enough specific details to track Jimmy down, he indeed escapes punishment.


]
Bill begins an affair with Blanche. Mary (]), Jimmy's sister and Bill's girlfriend, goes to Mae's apartment looking for Jimmy, and accepts a joint from Ralph, thinking it to be a normal cigarette. When she refuses Ralph's advances, he tries to rape her. Bill comes out of the bedroom after having sex with Blanche, and hallucinates that Mary strips for Ralph. He attacks Ralph, and as the two are fighting, Jack tries to break it up by hitting Bill with the butt of his gun. The gun goes off and Mary is killed.<ref>In one of the camera shots taking place before, it is revealed that Mary has been "shot in the back," the gun is aimed at the floor, one of the film's most revealing mistakes.</ref> Jack puts the gun in the hand of an unconscious Bill, and wakes him up. Bill sees the gun in his hand, and is led to believe that he has killed Mary. The group of dealers lies low for a while in Blanche's apartment while Bill's trial takes place. Ralph, losing his sanity, wants to tell the police who is actually responsible for the death of Mary. The film attributes Ralph's insanity to marijuana use.
Bill, whose once-pristine record at school has rapidly declined, has a fling with Blanche while high. Mary, Jimmy's sister and Bill's girlfriend, goes to Mae's apartment looking for Jimmy and accepts a joint from Ralph, thinking it's a regular cigarette. When she refuses Ralph's advances, he tries to rape her. Bill comes out of the bedroom and, still high, hallucinates that Mary is willingly offering herself to Ralph and attacks the latter. As the two are fighting, Jack knocks Bill unconscious with the butt of his gun, which inadvertently fires, killing Mary. Jack puts the gun in Bill's hand, framing him for Mary's death by claiming he ]. The dealers lie low for a while in Blanche's apartment while Bill's trial takes place. Over the objections of a skeptical juror, Bill is found guilty.


By now Ralph is paranoid from both marijuana and his guilty conscience. Blanche is also high; she plays the piano at an increasingly rapid tempo as Ralph eggs her on. 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 ]. The police arrest Ralph, Mae, and Blanche. Mae's confession leads to the boss and other gang members also being arrested. Blanche explains that Bill was innocent and agrees to serve as a material witness for the case against Ralph, but instead, she jumps out of a window and falls to her death, traumatized by her own adultery and its role in Mary's death. Bill's conviction is overturned, and Ralph, now nearly ], is sent to an asylum for the criminally insane for the rest of his natural life.
]
Seeking advice from his boss, Jack is told to shoot Ralph so he keeps his mouth shut. Meanwhile, at the apartment, Blanche offers to play some piano music for Ralph to keep his mind off things. They are both very high, and Ralph tells her to play faster. She increases her playing speed to a downright cartoon-like speed in one of the film's most famous and over-the-top sequences. Jack shows up and Ralph immediately senses that Jack wants to kill him, so he kills Jack by beating him to death. The police arrest Ralph, Mae, and Blanche. Mae talks, and the criminal gang is rounded up. Blanche explains that Bill was innocent, and he is released. Blanche is then held as a material witness for the case against Ralph, but rather than testify against him, Blanche jumps out a window and falls to her death,<ref>The window is clearly a painting in one shot, and when you see the body on the steps of the building, it is clearly a mannequin, as noted in Sandrew and Horvath's audio commentary for the colorized DVD edition.</ref> Ralph is put in an asylum for the criminally insane "for the rest of his natural life." Mae's ultimate fate is unspecified.


The film's story is told in ] sequences at a lecture given at a ] meeting by ] ], Dr. Alfred Carroll. At the end of the film, he tells the parents he has been talking to that events similar to those he has described are likely to happen again, and then points to random parents in the audience and warns that "the next tragedy may be that of your daughter's... or your son's... or yours, or yours..." before pointing straight at the camera and saying emphatically "...or YOURS!" as the words "TELL YOUR CHILDREN" appear on the screen. The film's story is told in ] sequences, at a lecture given at a ] meeting by high school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll. At the film's end, he tells the parents he has been told that events similar to those he has described are likely to happen again, then points to random parents in the audience and warns that "the next tragedy may be that of your daughter... or your son... or yours or yours..." before ] and saying emphatically, "... or ''yours''!" as the words "TELL YOUR CHILDREN" appear on the screen.


==Cast== ==Cast==
]
]
* ] as Mary Lane * ] as Mary Lane
* Kenneth Craig as Bill Harper * Kenneth Craig as Bill Harper
Line 40: Line 63:
* Josef Forte as Dr. Alfred Carroll * Josef Forte as Dr. Alfred Carroll
* Harry Harvey Jr. as Junior Harper * Harry Harvey Jr. as Junior Harper
* ] as Pete Daly, Pusher (uncredited)
* ] as Joe – Bartender (uncredited)
* ] as The Judge (uncredited)
* ] as Blanche's Lawyer (uncredited)


==Production and history==
==History==
] ]
In 1936 or 1938,<ref name="Howell">{{cite web |url=http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking2/Madness.html |title=Nip Reefer In The Bud |work=The Toronto Star |author=Peter Howell |date=April 15, 2004 |access-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref> ''Tell Your Children'' was financed and made by a church group and intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.<ref name="Murphy">{{cite web |url=http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html |title=The history of ''Reefer Madness'' |access-date=2006-11-07 |last1 =Murphy |first1=Kevin |last2=Studney |first2=Dan |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060328163318/http://www.reefer-madness-movie.com/history.html |archive-date=2006-03-28 }}</ref><ref name="Peary"/> It was originally produced by ];<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87909/Tell-Your-Children/full-credits.html |title=Tell Your Children (full credits) |publisher=] (via ] catalog) |access-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref> however, some time after the film was made, it was purchased by ]maker ], who inserted salacious shots.<ref name="Murphy"/> In 1938<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publicdomainreview.org/2011/08/08/reefer-madness-1938/ |title=Reefer Madness (1938) |work=] |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221205641/http://publicdomainreview.org/2011/08/08/reefer-madness-1938/ |archive-date=December 21, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/87909/Tell-Your-Children/original-print-info.html |title=Tell Your Children (Original Print Information) |publisher=] (via ] catalog) |access-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref> or 1939,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWX4AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA127 |title=The Cult Film Reader |publisher=McGraw-Hill International |author=Ernest Mathijs |year=2007 |page=127 |access-date=December 19, 2013|isbn=9780335219230 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmBZAAAAMAAJ&q=Reefer+Madness+1939 |title=Golden horrors: an illustrated critical filmography of terror cinema, 1931–1939 |publisher=McFarland |author=Bryan Senn |year=1996 |page=408 |access-date=December 19, 2013|isbn=9780786401758 }}</ref> Esper began distributing it on the exploitation circuit<ref name="Murphy"/> where it was originally released in at least four territories, each with its own title for the film:<ref name="Peter's Movie Posters"/> the first territory to screen it was the South, where it went by ''Tell Your Children'' (1938 or 1939).<ref name="Poverty Row Horrors"/> West of Denver, Colorado, the film was generally known as ''Doped Youth'' (1940).<ref name="Poverty Row Horrors"/> In New England, it was known as ''Reefer Madness'' (1940<ref name="Poverty Row Horrors">{{cite web |url=http://monsterkidclassichorrorforum.yuku.com/topic/37115/REEFER-MADNESS-questions |title=Reefer Madness Questions |work=Poverty Row Horrors |date=April 3, 2011 |access-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref> or 1947),<ref name="Howell"/> while in the Pennsylvania/West Virginia territory it was called ''The Burning Question'' (1940).<ref name="Peter's Movie Posters">{{cite web |url=http://petersmovieposters.com/index-trade-30s-3.html |title=1930-1945 |work=Peter's Movie Posters |access-date=December 19, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219212134/http://petersmovieposters.com/index-trade-30s-3.html |archive-date=December 19, 2013}}</ref><ref name="Poverty Row Horrors"/> The film was then screened all over the country during the 1940s under these various titles and Albert Dezel of Detroit eventually bought all rights in 1951 for use in ] throughout the 1950s.<ref name="Poverty Row Horrors"/>
''Tell Your Children'' was financed by a church group and intended to be shown to parents as a ] attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.<ref name="History"/><ref name="Commentary"/> Soon after the film was shot, however, it was purchased by notorious ] filmmaker ], who took the liberty of cutting in salacious insert shots and applying the more scandalous title of ''Reefer Madness'', before distributing it on the exploitation circuit.<ref name="History"/> Such education-exploitation films were common in the years following adoption of the stricter version of the ] in 1934. Other films included Esper's own '']'' (1936) and Elmer Clifton's '']'' (1937), and the subject of cannabis was particularly popular in the hysteria surrounding ]'s ].


Such education-exploitation films were common in the years following adoption of the stricter version of the ] in 1934. Other films included Esper's own earlier '']'' (1936) and Elmer Clifton's '']'' (1937)<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.15258?af=R | doi=10.1111/add.15258 | title=Reefer Madness: An undeserved classic movie | date=2021 | last1=Hall | first1=Wayne | last2=Yeates | first2=Sarah | journal=Addiction | volume=116 | issue=4 | pages=963–969 }}</ref> and the subject of cannabis was particularly popular in the hysteria surrounding ]'s ], a year after ''Reefer Madness''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/reefer-madness-high-times-and-420-there-was-marijuana-revenue-stamp-180958823/|title=Before Reefer Madness, High Times and 4/20, There Was the Marijuana Revenue Stamp|first1=Smithsonian|last1=Magazine|first2=Roger|last2=Catlin|website=Smithsonian Magazine}}</ref>
The film was reissued under a number of alternate titles, including ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'' and ''Love Madness''.<ref name="Peary"/> The concept of ] films in ] had not yet been developed, especially for films that existed outside the confines of the ] system, and were therefore considered "forbidden fruit." For this reason, neither Esper nor the original filmmakers bothered to protect the film's ], and it eventually fell into the ].<ref name=History/>


==Preservation and copyright status==
In 1971, ''Reefer Madness'' was discovered in the ] archives by ] founder ], who bought a print for $297, and made it the darling of pot smokers and college campuses. For this modern audience, the poor production values and overacting create an uproarious comedy. Distributing ''Reefer Madness'' to college campuses of the 1970s helped bankroll the burgeoning film company ].<ref name=History/><ref name="Peary"/>


The concept of ] films in ] had not yet been developed, especially for films that existed outside the confines of the ], and were therefore considered "forbidden fruit." For this reason, neither Esper nor original producer George Hirliman bothered to protect the film's ]; it thus had an improper copyright notice invalidating the copyright.<ref name="Shaye"/> Over 30 years later, in the spring of 1972, the founder of ], ], found a copy of the film in the ] archives and bought a print for $297.<ref>{{cite book|title="Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919–1959 |year=1999 |publisher=Duke University Press |first=Eric |last=Schaefer |pages=1–2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CSBZqe0zPaMC&pg=PA1|isbn=0822323745}}</ref><ref name="Anderson"/> 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 ({{inflation|US|16000|1972|fmt=eq|r=-3}}) toward support for the California Marijuana Initiative, a political group that sought to legalize marijuana in the 1972 fall elections.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite book |title=High in America: The True Story Behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana |chapter=Chapter 5 |chapter-url=http://www.psychedelic-library.org/highinamerica5.htm |author=Patrick Anderson |year=1981 |publisher=Viking Press}}</ref> ] of ] eventually heard about the underground hit and went to see it at the ].<ref name="Shaye"/> He noticed the film carried an improper copyright notice and realized it was in the public domain.<ref name="Shaye">{{cite web |title=Some Tools I've Taken Away: Columbia Law School Commencement Address |date=May 22, 2003|first=Robert|last=Shaye|author-link=Robert Shaye |url=http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2005_older/2003/May_2003/graduation_03 |access-date=August 21, 2013 |archive-date=August 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807151451/http://www.law.columbia.edu/media_inquiries/news_events/2005_older/2003/May_2003/graduation_03 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Seeking material for New Line's ], he was able to obtain an original copy from a collector and began distributing the film nationally, "making a small fortune for New Line."<ref name="Shaye"/>
Today, ''Reefer Madness'' is considered to be a ], and one of the best examples of a ]. Its fans enjoy the film for the same unintentionally ] production values that made it a hit in the 1970s.<ref name="Peary"/> Sean Abley's stage adaptation, ''Reefer Madness'', ran for a year in Chicago in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.playscripts.com/play.php3?playid=1322 |title=Playscripts.com information page for ''Reefer Madness'' by Sean Abley |accessdate= |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>
The film was spoofed in ], which was later made into a ] in 2005, which featured major actors such as ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404364/ |title=Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical |accessdate=2006-12-23 |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=] |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>


In 2004, ] restored and ] a print of the film,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/9871/reefer-madness-restored-and-in-color/|title=DVD Talk|website=www.dvdtalk.com}}</ref> featuring intentionally unrealistic color schemes that add to the film's ] humor. The smoke from the "marihuana" was made to appear green, blue, orange and purple, each person's colored smoke representing their mood and the different "levels of 'addiction{{'"}}. Film Freak Central criticized the colorization, writing that the color choices would better suit a film about ] than a film about cannabis.<ref>{{citation |url = http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/reefermadness.htm |title= Reefer Madness |type=DVD review |access-date=2006-12-23 |last=Hoover |first=Travis Mackenzie |publisher=Film Freak Central}}.</ref>
==Release history==
]


==Reception and legacy==
In 2004, ], in collaboration with ], released a ] version of the film on DVD.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00018D3XM |title=ASIN: B00018D3XM |accessdate=2006-12-23 |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> The original release date was April 20, 2004 (4/20/2004), a reference to the drug slang term "]." 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. The color version features intentionally unrealistic color schemes that add to the film's unintentionally ] humor. The smoke from the "marihuana" was made to appear green, blue, orange, and purple, each person's colored smoke representing their mood and the different "levels of 'addiction'".<ref name="Commentary"/>
''Reefer Madness'' is considered to be a ] and one of the most popular examples of a ]. Its fans enjoy the film for the same unintentionally ] production values that made it a hit in the 1970s.<ref name="Peary"/>


The review aggregation website ] reported a 39% approval rating with an average rating of 4.4/10 based on 26 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reefer_madness|title=Reefer Madness (Tell Your Children) (Doped Youth)|website=]|access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref> ], on the other hand, assigned a score of 70 out of 100, based on 4 critics, which suggests "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/reefer-madness|title=Reefer Madness|website=]|access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref>
The DVD also included a short film called ''Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook'', a new trailer for ''Reefer Madness,'' produced by Legend Films, and two ], one discussing the color design and the other being a comedic commentary by ], formerly of '']'' fame. Legend Films owns the copyright to the colorized version of ''Reefer Madness''. While most have praised the new color version for its campy treatment of the cult film, some viewers claimed that the color choices would better suit a film about ] than a film about cannabis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmfreakcentral.net/dvdreviews/reefermadness.htm |title=''Reefer Madness'' DVD review |accessdate=2006-12-23 |author=Hoover, Travis Mackenzie |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Film Freak Central |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> A ] file of the colorized version with the commentary embedded is available as part of Nelson's ] service.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shop.rifftrax.com/ondemand/reefer-madness-vod |title=''Reefer Madness'' VOD |accessdate=2007-12-21 |last= |first= |coauthors= |date= |publisher=]}}</ref> In 2009, a newly-recorded commentary by Nelson, ] and ] was released by RiffTrax,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rifftrax.com/rifftrax/reefer-madness-three-riffer-edition |title=''Reefer Madness'' - Three Riffer Edition! |accessdate=2009-01-24 |publisher=]}}</ref> and was the feature of a Rifftrax "live" event on August 19, 2010 (8/19/2010).


The '']'' has claimed that ''Reefer Madness'' was the first film that a generation embraced as "the worst."<ref name="Stemme"/> ] has called it "the granddaddy of all 'Worst' movies."<ref>{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Maltin |title=Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 2004 |publisher=Signet |year=2003 |isbn=0451209400 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/leonardmaltinsmo00leon }}</ref> '']'' named it the "worst ever" runner-up to '']''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2009/09/24/ae/stage/iq_31362594.txt |date=September 24, 2009 |last=Stemme |first=Joe |work=] |access-date=November 17, 2013 |title=What's the Worst Movie Ever? |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130903051856/http://archives.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2009/09/24/ae/stage/iq_31362594.txt |archive-date=September 3, 2013 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
The DVD release of the ] has the original film as a bonus feature.

===Adaptations and parodies===
{{Main|Reefer Madness (musical)|Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical}}

The song "Reefer Madness" by ] band ] is featured on their 1976 album '']''.

A 1992 stage adaptation by Sean Abley first opened in Chicago.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.playscripts.com/play/1322|title=Reefer Madness by Sean Abley &#124; Playscripts Inc.|website=www.playscripts.com}}</ref>

Clips from the film appear in the video for "Smoke the Sky", a song by ] rock band ] from their ], with lyrics concerning marijuana use.

The film was satirized in ], later adapted as ] featuring ], ], ], and ].

The colorized DVD release featured a comedic ] by writer, comedian and actor ] of '']'' and ] (later Mike would be joined by ] and ] in live and studio versions).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rifftrax.com/|title=Reefer Madness - Three Riffer Edition!|date=September 19, 2014|via=www.rifftrax.com}}</ref>

The video game '']'' includes a case, available as DLC, titled "''Reefer Madness''", centered around ] Detective Lieutenant ] investigating a conspiracy by Mexican pushers and a crooked factory owner to sell marijuana by hiding it in soup cans, before raiding the headquarters of the pushers' "boss" and busting the operation.

The interlude of the song "It Could Be Better" by singer ] features a sample of the movie.


==See also== ==See also==
{{Portal|Cannabis|Film|United States}}
* '']''
* ] * '']''
* ] * '']''
* ]
* ]
* ]
* '']''
* '']''
* '']''
* ]


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist|30em}}


==External links== ==External links==
{{wikiquote|Reefer Madness}} {{Wikiquote|Reefer Madness}}
{{Commons|Reefer Madness}} {{Commons}}
* on ]
* on ]
* on ]
* {{Internet Archive film|id=reefer_madness1938}} * {{Internet Archive film|id=reefer_madness1938}}
* {{imdb title|0028346|Reefer Madness}} * {{YouTube|i_PI5zTJBxM|title=Reefer Madness}}
* {{IMDb title}}
* {{amg movie|40777|Reefer Madness}}
* {{TCMDb title|87909|Reefer Madness}}
*
* {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
* {{Metacritic film}}


{{Cannabis exploitation films}}
{{Louis J. Gasnier}}
{{Authority control}}

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Latest revision as of 13:03, 29 December 2024

1936 anti-cannabis film by Louis J. Gasnier This article is about the 1936 film. For other uses, see Reefer Madness (disambiguation).

Reefer Madness
1972 theatrical release poster
Directed byLouis J. Gasnier
Screenplay byArthur Hoerl
Story byLawrence Meade
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJack Greenhalgh
Edited byCarl Pierson
Music byAbe Meyer
Production
company		G&H Productions
Distributed byMotion Picture Ventures
Release date
  • 1936 (1936)
Running time68 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100,000
(about $2,175,000 in 2024)
Box office$1,443,000 (1970 reissue)

Reefer Madness (originally made as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness) is a 1936 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana – upon trying it, they become addicted, eventually leading them to become involved in various crimes such as a hit and run accident, manslaughter, murder, conspiracy to murder and attempted rape. While all this is happening, they suffer hallucinations, descend into insanity, associate with organized crime and (in one character's case) commit suicide. The film was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors.

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. 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.

The film was "rediscovered" in the early 1970s and gained new life as an unintentional satire among advocates of cannabis policy reform. Critics have called it one of the worst films ever made, and it has gained a cult following within cannabis culture. It is in the public domain in the United States, due to the film carrying an improper copyright notice.

Plot

Mae Coleman and Jack Perry are an unmarried couple who live together (in the jargon of the times, they live in sin) who sell marijuana. The unscrupulous Jack sells the drug to teenagers over Mae's objections; she would rather stick to an adult clientele. Ralph Wiley, a sociopathic college dropout turned dealer, and siren Blanche help Jack recruit new customers. Ralph and Jack lure high school student Bill Harper and college student Jimmy Lane to Mae and Jack's apartment. Jimmy takes Bill to a party where Jack runs out of reefer, and Jimmy, who has a car, drives him to pick up more. When they get to Jack's boss' "headquarters", Jimmy asks for a cigarette as Jack gets out and he gives him a joint. By the time Jack returns, Jimmy is unknowingly high; he drives away recklessly and hits a pedestrian. A few days later, Jack tells Jimmy that the man died of his injuries and agrees to keep Jimmy's name out of the case – if Jimmy will agree to "forget he was ever in Mae's apartment." As the police did not have enough specific details to track Jimmy down, he indeed escapes punishment.

Ralph is arrested for Jack's murder.

Bill, whose once-pristine record at school has rapidly declined, has a fling with Blanche while high. Mary, Jimmy's sister and Bill's girlfriend, goes to Mae's apartment looking for Jimmy and accepts a joint from Ralph, thinking it's a regular cigarette. When she refuses Ralph's advances, he tries to rape her. Bill comes out of the bedroom and, still high, hallucinates that Mary is willingly offering herself to Ralph and attacks the latter. As the two are fighting, Jack knocks Bill unconscious with the butt of his gun, which inadvertently fires, killing Mary. Jack puts the gun in Bill's hand, framing him for Mary's death by claiming he blacked out. The dealers lie low for a while in Blanche's apartment while Bill's trial takes place. Over the objections of a skeptical juror, Bill is found guilty.

By now Ralph is paranoid from both marijuana and his guilty conscience. Blanche is also high; she plays the piano at an increasingly rapid tempo as Ralph eggs her on. 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 police arrest Ralph, Mae, and Blanche. Mae's confession leads to the boss and other gang members also being arrested. Blanche explains that Bill was innocent and agrees to serve as a material witness for the case against Ralph, but instead, she jumps out of a window and falls to her death, traumatized by her own adultery and its role in Mary's death. Bill's conviction is overturned, and Ralph, now nearly catatonic, is sent to an asylum for the criminally insane for the rest of his natural life.

The film's story is told in bracketing sequences, at a lecture given at a PTA meeting by high school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll. At the film's end, he tells the parents he has been told that events similar to those he has described are likely to happen again, then points to random parents in the audience and warns that "the next tragedy may be that of your daughter... or your son... or yours or yours..." before pointing straight at the camera and saying emphatically, "... or yours!" as the words "TELL YOUR CHILDREN" appear on the screen.

Cast

Reefer Madness
Reefer Madness, 1938 release

Production and history

"If you want a good smoke, try one of these."

In 1936 or 1938, Tell Your Children was financed and made by a church group and intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use. It was originally produced by George Hirliman; however, some time after the film was made, it was purchased by exploitation filmmaker Dwain Esper, who inserted salacious shots. In 1938 or 1939, Esper began distributing it on the exploitation circuit where it was originally released in at least four territories, each with its own title for the film: the first territory to screen it was the South, where it went by Tell Your Children (1938 or 1939). West of Denver, Colorado, the film was generally known as Doped Youth (1940). In New England, it was known as Reefer Madness (1940 or 1947), while in the Pennsylvania/West Virginia territory it was called The Burning Question (1940). The film was then screened all over the country during the 1940s under these various titles and Albert Dezel of Detroit eventually bought all rights in 1951 for use in roadshow screenings throughout the 1950s.

Such education-exploitation films were common in the years following adoption of the stricter version of the Production Code in 1934. 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, a year after Reefer Madness.

Preservation and copyright status

The concept of aftermarket films in film distribution had not yet been developed, especially for films that existed outside the confines of the studio system, and were therefore considered "forbidden fruit." 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. Over 30 years later, in the spring of 1972, the founder of NORML, Keith Stroup, found a copy of the film in the Library of Congress archives and bought a print for $297. 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 (equivalent to $117,000 in 2023) toward support for the California Marijuana Initiative, a political group that sought to legalize marijuana in the 1972 fall elections. Robert Shaye of New Line Cinema eventually heard about the underground hit and went to see it at the Bleecker Street Cinema. He noticed the film carried an improper copyright notice and realized it was in the public domain. 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."

In 2004, Legend Films restored and colorized a print of the film, featuring intentionally unrealistic color schemes that add to the film's campy humor. The smoke from the "marihuana" was made to appear green, blue, orange and purple, each person's colored smoke representing their mood and the different "levels of 'addiction'". Film Freak Central criticized the colorization, writing that the color choices would better suit a film about LSD than a film about cannabis.

Reception and legacy

Reefer Madness is considered to be a cult classic and one of the most popular examples of a midnight movie. Its fans enjoy the film for the same unintentionally campy production values that made it a hit in the 1970s.

The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 39% approval rating with an average rating of 4.4/10 based on 26 reviews. Metacritic, on the other hand, assigned a score of 70 out of 100, based on 4 critics, which suggests "generally favorable reviews".

The Los Angeles Times has claimed that Reefer Madness was the first film that a generation embraced as "the worst." Leonard Maltin has called it "the granddaddy of all 'Worst' movies." Las Vegas CityLife named it the "worst ever" runner-up to Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Adaptations and parodies

Main articles: Reefer Madness (musical) and Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical

The song "Reefer Madness" by space rock band Hawkwind is featured on their 1976 album Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music.

A 1992 stage adaptation by Sean Abley first opened in Chicago.

Clips from the film appear in the video for "Smoke the Sky", a song by American rock band Mötley Crüe from their self-titled 1994 album, with lyrics concerning marijuana use.

The film was satirized in an eponymous 1998 stage musical, later adapted as a 2005 television movie musical featuring Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell, Christian Campbell, and Ana Gasteyer.

The colorized DVD release featured a comedic audio commentary by writer, comedian and actor Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and RiffTrax (later Mike would be joined by Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett in live and studio versions).

The video game L.A. Noire includes a case, available as DLC, titled "Reefer Madness", centered around LAPD Detective Lieutenant Cole Phelps investigating a conspiracy by Mexican pushers and a crooked factory owner to sell marijuana by hiding it in soup cans, before raiding the headquarters of the pushers' "boss" and busting the operation.

The interlude of the song "It Could Be Better" by singer Left at London features a sample of the movie.

See also

References

  1. Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 296. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada
  2. ^ Murphy, Kevin; Studney, Dan. "The history of Reefer Madness". Archived from the original on March 28, 2006. Retrieved November 7, 2006.
  3. ^ Peary, Danny (1981). "Refer Madness". Cult Movies. New York: Delacorte Press. pp. 291–293. ISBN 0440016266.
  4. "Reefer Madness (1936)". AMC (TV channel). Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  5. ^ Stemme, Joe (September 4, 2005). "What's the Worst Movie Ever?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  6. ^ Shaye, Robert (May 22, 2003). "Some Tools I've Taken Away: Columbia Law School Commencement Address". Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  7. ^ Peter Howell (April 15, 2004). "Nip Reefer In The Bud". The Toronto Star. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  8. "Tell Your Children (full credits)". Turner Classic Movies (via American Film Institute catalog). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. "Reefer Madness (1938)". Public Domain Review. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  10. "Tell Your Children (Original Print Information)". Turner Classic Movies (via American Film Institute catalog). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  11. Ernest Mathijs (2007). The Cult Film Reader. McGraw-Hill International. p. 127. ISBN 9780335219230. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  12. Bryan Senn (1996). Golden horrors: an illustrated critical filmography of terror cinema, 1931–1939. McFarland. p. 408. ISBN 9780786401758. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "1930-1945". Peter's Movie Posters. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  14. ^ "Reefer Madness Questions". Poverty Row Horrors. April 3, 2011. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  15. Hall, Wayne; Yeates, Sarah (2021). "Reefer Madness: An undeserved classic movie". Addiction. 116 (4): 963–969. doi:10.1111/add.15258.
  16. Magazine, Smithsonian; Catlin, Roger. "Before Reefer Madness, High Times and 4/20, There Was the Marijuana Revenue Stamp". Smithsonian Magazine.
  17. Schaefer, Eric (1999). "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!": A History of Exploitation Films, 1919–1959. Duke University Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0822323745.
  18. ^ Patrick Anderson (1981). "Chapter 5". High in America: The True Story Behind NORML and the Politics of Marijuana. Viking Press.
  19. "DVD Talk". www.dvdtalk.com.
  20. Hoover, Travis Mackenzie, Reefer Madness (DVD review), Film Freak Central, retrieved December 23, 2006.
  21. "Reefer Madness (Tell Your Children) (Doped Youth)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  22. "Reefer Madness". Metacritic. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
  23. Maltin, Leonard (2003). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 2004. Signet. ISBN 0451209400.
  24. Stemme, Joe (September 24, 2009). "What's the Worst Movie Ever?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  25. "Reefer Madness by Sean Abley | Playscripts Inc". www.playscripts.com.
  26. "Reefer Madness - Three Riffer Edition!". September 19, 2014 – via www.rifftrax.com.

External links

Cannabis exploitation films
Related: List of films containing frequent marijuana use
Films directed by Louis J. Gasnier
Categories: