IMDb > Tell Your Children (1936)
Tell Your Children
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Tell Your Children (1936) More at IMDbPro »

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Tell Your Children (1936) -- Young people go from marijuana to wild piano playing, hysteria and death.
Tell Your Children (1936) -- 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.
Tell Your Children (1936) -- Internet Archive - Entire film (various formats)
Tell Your Children (1936) -- archive.org - entire film (various formats)

Overview

User Rating:
3.4/10   3,292 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 20% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Louis J. Gasnier
Writers:
Lawrence Meade (original story)
Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Tell Your Children on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1938 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
SEE youthful marijuana victims - what actually happens! more
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. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Directors of the Decade: Darren Aronofsky
 (From FilmExperience. 5 November 2009, 7:19 PM, PST)

Examiner.Com: Exclusive Interview With Daniel Cudmore
 (From TwilightersAnonymous. 27 October 2009, 10:45 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
The Gone with the Wind of 30's Exploitation Films more (93 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited 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
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Additional Details

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)
more
Runtime:
66 min | France:63 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Quebec) | USA:PG (1973) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:15 (video rating)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The origins of this film have been the subject of controversy for years. Some say it was produced by a church group, while others insist that it was made for the army. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the high-speed drive immediately preceding the pedestrian accident, the car passes the same tire shop three times and the same billboard and gas station twice. more
Quotes:
Dr. Carroll: I'm going to ask you a straightforward question: isn't it true that you have, perhaps unwillingly, acquired a certain habit through association with certain undesirable people? more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Stoned: Hemp Nation on Trial (1998) (TV) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
33 out of 38 people found the following comment useful.
The Gone with the Wind of 30's Exploitation Films, 28 August 1999
10/10
Author: Cindy Collins Smith from Falls Church, VA

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.

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Legalization XLCH1000
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