Reefer Madness (1936) | Directed by Louis J. Gasnier - Full Movie

Cautionary tale features a fictionalized 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.Show more

Reefer Madness (originally made as Tell Your Children and sometimes titled The Burning Question, Dope Addict, Doped Youth, and Love Madness) is a 1936 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the melodramatic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try marijuana—from a hit and run accident, to manslaughter, suicide, conspiracy to murder, attempted rape, hallucinations, and descent into madness from marijuana addiction. The film was directed by Louis J. Gasnier and featured a cast of mainly little-known actors.

Originally financed by a church group under the title Tell Your Children, the film was intended to be shown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use. It is notable for being one of the few times in Hollywood where the generation gap between the Lost Generation and the Greatest Generation is portrayed. Soon after the film was shot, it was purchased by producer Dwain Esper, who re-cut the film for distribution on the exploitation film circuit, exploiting vulgar interest while escaping censorship under the guise of moral guidance, beginning in 1938–1939 through the 1940s and 1950s.

Directed by: Louis J. Gasnier
Screenplay by: Arthur Hoerl
Story by: Lawrence Meade
Produced by: George Hirliman (1936 film), Dwain Esper (1938–39 release)
Starring: Dorothy Short, Kenneth Craig, Lillian Miles, Dave O'Brien
Thelma White, Warren McCollum, Carleton Young
Cinematography: Jack Greenhalgh
Edited by: Carl Pierson
Production company: G&H Productions
Distributed by: Motion Picture Ventures
Release date: 1936, 1938 or 1939
Running time: 68 minutes
Country: United States
Language: English
Budget: $100,000, ($1,843,000) 2019 $US