Review of Tell Your Children (1938) by James C — 06 Jul 2008

Actors: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White, Carleton Young, Warren McCollum, Pat Royale & Joseph Forte.

I saw this film on tv last week for the first time and had to watch after hearing of the propaganda label assigned to it. High school principal Dr. Carroll is speaking to a gathering of parents at his school about the addictive effects of marijuana. The shocked group learns it is even more addictive than opium, morphine or heroin, and will cause hallucinations, violence and sexual promiscuity. Newspaper headlines are shown to support this fact and he recaps a recent occurence which they have no doubt heard of, and the movie continues as he tells them the REAL story!

Before going any further, I'd like to mention the film was financed by a church group to deter the younger generation from falling prey to the evil marijuana, called 'Tell Your Children'. An ambitious exploitive filmmaker named Dwain Esper purchased the rights to the film and added a number of provocative scenes and changed the title to 'Reefer Madness'. It was rediscovered in the early '70's and became a camp classic. The doctor's narration tells of dope dealers (Jack and Mae) who lure teenagers to an apartment and casually offer joints, which immediately leave them hooked and acting as goofy and irresponsible as the other weirdos who partake. Jimmy and Bill are soon hooked and spending a lot of their time partying and becoming irresponsible. We are shown scenes of a small cafe where an addicted piano player puffs away while playing the piano at a blistering pace. The other regulars laugh uncontrolably, dance at a dizzying pace and can't wait to have sex! When Jack runs out of reefer, Jimmy drives him to get more and he insists he's okay to drive whenever Jack asks. In a fairly realistic scene, a wild- eyed, speeding Jimmy runs over and kills a pedestrian. Jack says he'll help to protect Jimmy from the police. Meanwhile, Bill's really into the reefer, so much so that he giggles his way into the bedroom with the giggling seductress, Blanche. They show some necking and the scene shifts to Bill coming around and realizing what he's done, as Blanche lays in the bed asleep. Now Mary arrives at the apartment looking for her Bill and one of the regulars, Ralph, who has been acting more and more out of control with his incessant laughing and deep toking, offers her a joint, which I believe she assumes to be a cigarette. Yeah, Mary's no different, she's instantly giggling away and tolerating Ralph's liberal touching up to the point when he attempts to rape her. But now, a dazed and remorseful Bill wanders out of the bedroom to see them 'making out'. He jumps Ralph and as the two are fighting, Jack tries to break up the fight and he hits Bill with the butt of his gun. And then, tragedy, the gun fires and Mary is dead! Then Bill's knocked out and Jack places the gun in Bill's hand, then revives him. Of course, Bill's so strung out that he believes he shot his beloved Mary. Blanche calls the police and poor Bill is in jail, awaiting trial. Now we get to see some over the top acting as Ralph becomes increasingly irritable and panicky, wanting to confess that Bill is innocent. Jack doesn't want the police to find out about his marijuana haven and tells all to his boss, who directs him to kill Ralph. When the scene shifts back to the appartment , we are treated to an increasingly insane Ralph fighting a losing battle to keep calm. Blanche obliges Ralph by playing the piano to calm him down and what follows is the most hilarious thing I've seen in a while, as he asks Blanche to play faster, and faster, and... (you get the picture?). He keeps bellowing at her to play faster and I'm surprised smoke wasn't rising from the keys, with Blanche's frantic playing. Then Jack comes in and I suspect marijuana also makes you highly intuitive because even though I thought Jack acted cool as a cucumber, Ralph knew he was there to kill him! The two fight and Ralph gets the upper hand, bludgeoning Jack to death, to the horror of Blanche And Mae. The police arrive and Ralph is arrested for Jack's murder. Blanche eventually confesses that Bill is innocent and she is to testify at Ralph's trial. As she walks down a hallway with her female guard, her mind races with the events of the last several days and she breaks free of the guard's light grip to dive out the window to her death, her heroic way of atoning for getting involved with marijuana. Bill is lectured and set free by the kindly judge, who insists Bill remain to attend Ralph's trial. An insane Ralph is led into the courtroom and the judge agrees to forego the trial at the request of both prosecution and defense. Instead, he is sentenced to remain in an asylum for the criminally insane 'for the rest of his natural life'. I'm sure Bill has learned his lesson. The film ends with the principal warning the gathered parents that the tragic events are likely to happen again, the next tragedy may be that of your daughter's, or your son's, or yours, or yours..., then he points directly at the camera and sternly warns, 'OR YOURS'!

I thoroughly enjoyed the film, mainly because of the time period in which it was made and the over the top acting; it ran for about one hour and ten minutes. I've heard of a colourized version of this film on DVD, with the marijuana smoke changing colour to reflect the various moods. It's obvious to anyone watching this film that marijuana is far more dangerous than heroin, morphine or opium and will make you want to have sex before you are married.