Marihuana (1936)

A young woman slowly becomes a dope pusher.Most people have heard of "Reefer Madness". But if you wanted to see another film that was anti-marijuana in 1936, look no further than "Marihuana", which (not surprisingly) was made by some of the same people.This film is not the cult classic of its step-brother, and with good reason. It is far less humorous, with the only really notable thing about it being a nude swimming scene that never would have passed the censorship code. In fact, the film is not even really about marijuana so much as a drinking party gone wrong and the bad choices made after the fact.

Marihuana is a far better movie than the more well known Reefer Madness. It has a better story and is actually funnier than the cult classic. It still has the narmish hilarity, but couples it with much more talented filmmaking. Dwain Esper was bringing his A-game this time around.The film follows a young woman gulled into attending marijuana party. After a drug-induced tryst with her boyfriend, her life is thrown into chaos by a pregnancy. What follows is a descent into crime and degeneracy.Marihuana succeeds on a number of levels, with a far more compelling story and better acting than its counterpart. Although both films were labeled "Adults only" in their time, Marihuana actually delivers with some nudity and graphic (for its time) violence. Just on the level of exploitation, it does better.Furthermore, the film is reasonably well acted. For example, the drug dealers, while falling into ethnic stereotypes, actually come across as more human than the hardened protagonist or her family. In a scene involving a kidnapping, they actually try to make the child happy, while the child's "upright" family refuse to pay her ransom because she's adopted. Who are we supposed to root for here? The film has more than its share of unintentional humor, with some truly hilarious dialogue during the pot party. The exaggerated Italian stereotypes are also fun. Marihuana is a much better choice for when you get the camp munchies.

An Innocent young woman is seduced into pot parties,a wedlock baby, and eventually, into pushing drugs for a professional ring.Naturally, no one expects artistry from these exploitation flicks. Instead, audiences expected more titillation than usually allowed under Hollywood's restrictive Production Code. Of course, the liberties were granted under the guise of educating the public on the menace of demon weed. However, I doubt anyone went to see this epic for its hyped-up pot warning. Instead, Dwain Esper's mid-1930's production has more peek-a-boo than usual, with a lot of nude scampering and uplifted skirts.Surprisingly, however, it's a better movie than at least I expected. Except for the exaggerated pot party, it plays pretty much like a standard Hollywood cheapie of the time. Actress Wood does a good job going from innocent fun-loving teen to hardened drug pusher. At the same time, director Esper adds some nice unexpected touches, such as Burma's descent reflected in her choice of shoes, a bad guy joining the innocence of the little girl, plus the final symbolic shot of the door closing. Also, the script integrates its central twist effectively into the narrative.Of course, these are minor virtues in an otherwise shoddy production. Still, they should not be overlooked. All in all, this cheapie plays more legitimately than most of its competitors from that campy category of sex, dope, and retribution.

I love these 30s exploitation flicks! This one definitely builds on the stereotypes of marihuana and its evil effects. Victims under the influence of this terrible narcotic wear menacing smiles and blank eyed stares. They gad about and jiggle in nightclubs while intoxicating themselves on copious amounts of alcohol as if mesmerized by the music. You will love how a couple of puffs/tokes/hits turn a group of young women into hysterical, sex crazed floozies! Man, that scene was funny.On the down note, Burma (nice to be named after an aftershave) spirals downward into destruction and despair. Hey, don't blame the pot, it didn't make her become a heroin dealer! Very poor gateway drug reference they were trying to get across.There seems to be a plot, but don't bother following. Dialogue is lame, muffled, and you'll be saying the phrase "who are you?" quite frequently throughout the film. I don't think that guy's spanish accent was authentic either. Doesn't top the all-time kampy 'Reefer Madness ', but it's a load of hoots.