Assassin of Youth

Assassin of Youth (1937… or 1938)

Runtime: 73 minutes

Directed by: Elmer Clifton

Starring: Luana Walters, Arthur Gardner, Dorothy Short, Earl Dwire, Fern Emmett

From: BCM Roadshow Pictures

Yes, I watched this anti-marijuana propaganda film on the night of 420 lol. Years ago I reviewed both Reefer Madness (known on Letterboxd as its original title, Tell Your Children) and Marihuana, each from 1936. They were exploitation movies marketed as “educational”-which was how they did not fall under the standards of the Hays Code-and were played in roadshows across the country. I had never seen the other 30’s weed movie Assassin of Youth until last night. While the reasons concerning the criminalization of marijuana in the 1930’s are rather unsavory (no accident that all three movies have the “troubled youth” listening to-gasp-jazz music), the films are still OOT nonsense and thus, quite amusing.

Assassin of Youth is the sloppiest and most confused of the trio (no small feat) yet still had some golden moments. Good girl Joan is set to inherit a chunk of change from her deceased grandmother… as long as she follows the moral turpitude clause in the will. Her awful cousin tries to ruin her reputation so SHE would get the dough instead. She has her own girl gang of troublemakers-you probably don’t want to worship them as “girl bosses,” though-including Dorothy Short, who played good girl Mary in Reefer Madness. Meanwhile, a reporter goes undercover to investigate Joan.

As poor as the entire production is and overshadowed in campy charm compared to Reefer Madness or Marihuana-not to mention overlong with the apparently full 73 minute cut I saw on YouTube-there are still moments to mention. The effects of pot are more realistic—no maniacally pounding away on a piano by someone who looked as if they ingested bath salts, as immortalized in Reefer Madness. I’m not sure about the “group of people at a party act like kangaroos and other animals”, but the blankly staring off into space then the homeowner hosting the shindig almost leaving the party along w/ everyone else… that is believable stoner behavior. That said, there are still claims that someone “addicted to pot” has “become psychotic,” it’s led to murders/suicides and Joan’s sister attempts to stab the 1938 version of Mia Goth w/ a knife…

However, the highlight character was a catty old gossiping hen of a woman w/ the surname FRISBEE. She was delightfully an awful person as she rode around on her scooter & literally cackled at Joan’s downfall. I was overjoyed whenever she appeared. Overall, the other marijuana propaganda films are better but was still happy to cross this off the list. Next time, a movie from this era which isn’t smutty trash.