Reefer Madness (1936): watch the full film free, legally

A warning framed as a PTA lecture

Reefer Madness is an American public service announcement and exploitation film about drug use and abuse, produced in 1936 by independent filmmaker George Hirliman. Louis J. Gasnier, a silent-era pioneer, directed a cast made up largely of little-known actors. Before its best-known title, the film circulated under other names, including The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth and Love Madness.

A church group financed the picture with the intention that it be shown to parents as a morality tale about the supposed dangers of cannabis use. Its story is enclosed by a lecture to a PTA meeting, delivered by high-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll, played by Josef Forte. Carroll presents the ensuing events as a warning to parents.

Dorothy Short plays Mary Lane, while Kenneth Craig plays Bill Harper, her boyfriend. The supporting cast includes Lillian Miles as Blanche, Dave O'Brien as dealer Ralph Wiley, Thelma White as Mae Coleman, Carleton Young as Jack Perry and Warren McCollum as Jimmy Lane. Harry Harvey Jr. appears as Junior Harper, and Pat Royale plays Agnes.

Mary, Bill and the dealers

Mae Coleman and Jack Perry are an unmarried couple living together and selling marijuana. Mae objects when Jack sells to teenagers, preferring an adult clientele. Jack and Ralph Wiley, a college dropout who has become a dealer, use Blanche to help draw in customers. They lure high-school student Bill Harper and college student Jimmy Lane to Mae and Jack's apartment.

At a party, Jimmy drives Jack to obtain more marijuana after Jack runs out. While Jack is away, Jimmy unknowingly smokes a joint. He drives recklessly and hits a pedestrian. Days later, Jack tells Jimmy that the injured man has died, then offers to keep Jimmy's name out of the case if Jimmy agrees to forget his visit to Mae's apartment. The police lack enough details to identify the driver.

Bill's formerly pristine school record declines rapidly. While high, he has a fling with Blanche. Mary goes to Mae's apartment looking for her brother Jimmy and accepts a joint from Ralph, believing it is an ordinary cigarette. When Mary rejects Ralph's advances, he tries to rape her. Bill emerges from another room while still high, hallucinates that Mary is willingly offering herself to Ralph, and attacks him. During their fight, Jack knocks Bill unconscious with the butt of his gun. The gun fires, killing Mary, and Jack places it in Bill's hand. Bill is tried as the dealers hide out in Blanche's apartment. Despite one juror's skepticism, he is found guilty.

Retitling, revival and camp reputation

In 1938, exploitation producer Dwain Esper bought and recut the film for distribution to exploitation houses, adding salacious shots and retitling it Reefer Madness. The picture was distributed under different names in several territories during the 1940s. West of Denver it was generally known as Doped Youth, while New England used Reefer Madness and the Pennsylvania and West Virginia territory used The Burning Question. Albert Dezel of Detroit bought all rights in 1951 for roadshow screenings in the 1950s.

The film emerged again in the early 1970s and became an underground hit on college campuses. Keith Stroup, founder of NORML, found a copy in the Library of Congress in spring 1972 and bought a print for $297. NORML showed it on California college campuses during a fundraising campaign, requesting a $1 admission donation and raising $16,000 for the California Marijuana Initiative. The film was later frequently shown as a midnight movie and developed a cult following within cannabis culture. Its melodramatic style and exaggerated performances contributed to its reputation as camp cinema.

The Los Angeles Times said it was the first film a generation embraced as “the worst.” Leonard Maltin called it “the granddaddy of all 'Worst' movies.” Las Vegas CityLife named it the “worst ever” runner-up to Plan 9 from Outer Space. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 39% approval rating and a 4.4 out of 10 average from 28 reviews, while Metacritic assigned 70 out of 100 from four critics.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Reefer Madness”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.