Tell Your Children (1936)

User Rating:

3.3/10   

Director:

Louis J. Gasnier

Writers:

Lawrence Meade (original story)
Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)

Release Date:

1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

SEE youthful marijuana victims - what actually happens!

Plot:

Cautionary tale features a fictionalized and highly exaggerated take on the use of marijuana. A trio of drug dealers lead innocent teenagers to become addicted to "reefer" cigarettes by holding wild parties with jazz music.

Plot Keywords:

Marijuana | School | Reefer | Teen | Judge

Cast

Dorothy Short	...	Mary
Kenneth Craig	...	Bill
Lillian Miles	...	Blanche
Dave O'Brien	...	Ralph
Thelma White	...	Mae
Carleton Young	...	Jack
Warren McCollum	...	Jimmy (as Warren McCullom)
Patricia Royale	...	Agnes (as Pat Royale)
Joseph Forte	...	Dr. Carroll (as Josef Forte)
Harry Harvey Jr.	...	Junior

Also Known As:

Dope Addict (USA) (reissue title)
Doped Youth (USA) (reissue title)
Love Madness (USA) (reissue title)
Reefer Madness (USA) (reissue title)
The Burning Question (USA) (reissue title)

Runtime:

66 min | France:63 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:PG (1973) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Grand National Studios - 7250 Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

George A. Hirliman Productions

Trivia:

Although produced as a serious anti-drug exploitation film, it became a cult comedy hit during the late 1960s and 1970s. It was one of the earliest hits during the golden age of the "midnight movie" in which theaters, especially those near colleges, would run the film at special screenings late at night during weekends.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Jimmy falls into the Lane's fountain and Mrs. Lane helps him out of it, he says "It's all right, I'm fine," etc., without moving his mouth.

Quotes:

Jimmy: How about driving over to the... Joe's place with me? I'll buy you a soda!
Bill: I never drink the stuff!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in How High (2001)

The Gone with the Wind of 30's Exploitation Films

Because of 70's NORML propaganda falsely claiming that the FBI sponsored Reefer Madness, most viewers believe that this Exploitation classic was meant to be taken seriously. Not so! Thelma White (Mae) has noted in interviews that the producers and director Louis Gasnier asked the cast to "hoke it up." The famous "Faster, Faster" scene is, in fact, a direct parody of a similar scene in the classic musical 42nd Street (a scene in which Dave O'Brien--Ralph in Reefer Madness--played a chorus boy).

So why make a cautionary tale, but do so tongue-in-cheek? Simple. To get around the Hays Code and show more skin than the Code allowed...but also to capitalize on the public's fear of drugs. Either way, the producers made a ton of money on the Exploitation circuit--more than covering their costs for this relatively expensive sub-Poverty Row production.

Made over the course of 3 weeks (most Exploitation films were shot in a few days), using an experienced director and a couple of talented actors who went on to have respectable careers in Hollywood, Reefer Madness is quite simply the finest Exploitation film to come out of the 30's.

The film's funny, is it? Well, the folks who made it thought so too. And they laughed all the way to the bank.