Marihuana
"The Smoke of Hell! See the Truth About the Weed with Roots in Hell!"
Plot
Burma Roberts is a naive high school student who attends an illicit beach party where she is pressured into smoking marijuana, leading to a night of debauchery that results in her pregnancy and the accidental drowning of a friend. Desperate to marry her boyfriend Dick and provide for their unborn child, the couple begins working for Tony, the drug kingpin who hosted the party. Tragedy strikes when Dick is killed by police during a botched drug smuggling operation at the docks, leaving a devastated Burma to fend for herself. Forced to give her baby up for adoption to her own sister, Burma descends into a life of crime, eventually becoming a ruthless narcotics queenpin herself. The film reaches a harrowing climax when Burma unwittingly plots to kidnap her own biological daughter for ransom, only to realize the truth too late as she collapses in a drug-induced stupor.
About the Production
The film was produced by the 'King of Exploitation,' Dwain Esper, and written by his wife, Hildegarde Stadie. It was made on a shoestring budget and designed to bypass the strict Motion Picture Production Code (Hays Code) by masquerading as an 'educational' film. Stadie herself appears in an uncredited cameo at the beginning of the movie. The production utilized many non-professional actors and relied on sensationalist marketing to draw crowds in rural areas.
Historical Background
Released during the height of the Great Depression, 'Marihuana' capitalized on the growing 'anti-dope' hysteria of the 1930s. This was the era of Harry J. Anslinger and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who were actively campaigning for the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The film served as propaganda that reinforced the 'stepping stone' theory—the idea that one puff of marijuana would inevitably lead to heroin addiction, prostitution, and a life of violent crime. It also reflected the era's anxieties regarding youth morality and the breakdown of the traditional family unit.
Why This Film Matters
While dismissed as 'trash' by critics of its time, 'Marihuana' is now a significant artifact of exploitation cinema. It helped define the 'scare film' genre, which used moralistic framing to justify showing 'forbidden' content like nudity and drug use. Along with 'Reefer Madness,' it contributed to the long-standing social stigma surrounding cannabis in America. In the 1970s, the film was rediscovered by counter-culture audiences who found its extreme exaggerations and low production values to be a source of 'camp' entertainment.
Making Of
Dwain Esper was a master of the 'roadshow' circuit, a distribution method where he would travel from town to town with his own prints, renting out independent theaters. This allowed him to avoid the major studio-controlled distribution networks and the Hays Office. During production, Esper was known for 'shuffling' footage—adding or removing more salacious scenes (like the skinny-dipping sequence) depending on how strict the local authorities were in the next town. The film was shot quickly, often using single takes and minimal sets, which contributed to its disjointed and surreal visual quality.
Visual Style
The cinematography by Roland Price is characterized by its 'Poverty Row' aesthetic—flat lighting, static camera placements, and grainy film stock. However, the film occasionally utilizes expressionistic shadows during the drug-den scenes to create a sense of dread. The infamous 'skinny-dipping' scene is shot from a great distance to avoid legal trouble while still providing the 'thrill' of nudity to 1930s viewers.
Innovations
The film's primary 'achievement' was its successful navigation of the legal loopholes of the 1930s. By framing the story as a 'medical warning,' Esper was able to show content that was strictly forbidden in mainstream Hollywood films. Technically, it is a standard example of early independent low-budget filmmaking.
Music
The film features a minimal, public-domain orchestral score that is often used haphazardly. The music is typically melodramatic and swells during the film's many 'moral lessons' or tragic realizations. There is no original composed score of note.
Famous Quotes
Burma: 'What are they?' Tony: 'I don't know... let's try his giggle water, then let's try his giggle.'
Narrator: 'Marihuana... the weed with roots in Hell!'
Tony: 'You don't care about yourself, do you? But while I'm rotting in jail, what are you going to do about your baby?'
Burma: 'I'm enjoying the holes of high learning!'
Memorable Scenes
- The Beach Party: The girls smoke 'giggle weed' for the first time, leading to hysterical laughter and a poorly-staged nude swimming sequence.
- The Drowning: A girl drowns in the ocean while the others are too intoxicated to help, serving as the film's first major 'moral' catastrophe.
- The Heroin Injection: A stark scene where Burma, now a hardened criminal, injects herself with 'harder' drugs, showing her final descent.
- The Final Realization: Burma discovers the girl she was planning to kidnap is her own daughter, leading to a dramatic collapse as marijuana joints literally rain down on her.
Did You Know?
- The screenwriter, Hildegarde Stadie, was the daughter of a patent medicine salesman and claimed her knowledge of the 'drug underworld' came from her childhood experiences.
- To promote the film, Dwain Esper would often exhibit the mummified body of an outlaw named Elmer McCurdy in the theater lobby, claiming he was a victim of drug addiction.
- The film was frequently packaged with a short film titled 'How to Undress in Front of Your Husband' to increase its 'adult' appeal.
- The original trailer featured a scene of a girl being brutally attacked that does not actually appear in the final film.
- The 'high school' characters were famously played by actors who were clearly in their 30s and 40s.
- The film was often screened in tents or rented halls to stay one step ahead of local censorship boards.
- It is considered a 'Mondo' style precursor, focusing on shock value and 'forbidden' subjects.
- The film's title is spelled with an 'h' (Marihuana), which was a common variant spelling in the 1930s.
- The drowning scene was intended to be a shocking warning but is often cited by modern audiences as unintentionally comedic due to the poor editing.
- The film was released the same year as the more famous 'Reefer Madness' (1936).
What Critics Said
At the time of its release, mainstream critics ignored the film as it wasn't shown in 'respectable' theaters. Modern critics, such as those on Rotten Tomatoes, describe it as 'unintentionally hilarious' and 'morbidly fascinating.' It currently holds a low audience score but is praised by cult film historians for its sheer audacity and surrealist qualities. Dennis Schwartz noted it as a 'morbid 1930s drug scare propaganda film' that is 'pretty ridiculous but quite fun to watch.'
What Audiences Thought
1930s audiences were often lured in by sensationalist posters promising 'The Truth' about secret vices, though many left feeling cheated by the film's low quality. Today, it is a staple of midnight movie screenings and 'bad movie' nights, where audiences enjoy the over-the-top acting and the absurdly rapid 'downward spiral' of the protagonist.
Film Connections
Influenced By
- Narcotic (1933)
- The Seventh Commandment (1932)
- The sensationalist journalism of the Hearst newspapers
This Film Influenced
- Reefer Madness (1936)
- Assassin of Youth (1937)
- The Pace That Kills (1935)
- Requiem for a Dream (2000) (thematic parallels)
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Film Restoration
The film is in the public domain. Several restored versions exist on DVD and Blu-ray, often as part of 'Exploitation' or 'Cult Classic' collections. The original negatives are lost, but high-quality 35mm prints have been used for modern digital transfers.