- Assassin of Youth
Infobox_Film
name = Assassin of Youth
caption = Poster to "Assassin of Youth" (1937)
director =Elmer Clifton
producer = Charles A. Browne
Leo J. McCarthy
writer = Charles A. Browne
Elmer Clifton
starring = Luana Walters
Arthur Gardener
Fay McKenzie
Michael Owen
Dorothy Short
released = 1937
distributor = BCM Roadshow Productions
runtime = 80 minutes
language = English
budget = -
imdb_id = 0028589
|"Assassin of Youth" (1937) is an
exploitation film directed by Elmer Clifton, which is a pre-WWII movie about the ill effects of cannabis. The movie is often considered a clone of the much more famous "Reefer Madness" (sharing cast member Dorothy Short). The thriller reflects perfectly the anti-drugpropaganda of its time.ynopsis
The journalist Art Brighton goes
undercover to investigate the granddaughter of a recently deceased rich woman, killed in a drug-related car crash. The girl, Joan Barrie, will inherit the fortune of her grandmother if she is able to fulfill a morals clause in the will. Joan's cousin Linda Clayton and her husband Jack will try to frame Joan to acquire the fortune themselves.The journalist tries to save Joan and dismantle the criminal gang of marijuana-dealing youths to which Linda belongs. While the newspaper tries to show the horrible dangers of marijuana to the general public, violence scales in the town in the form of obscene all-night drug parties where anything can happen.
Reference to article by Harry J. Anslinger
The film's title refers to an article of the same year by U.S. "
drug czar "Harry J. Anslinger that appeared inAmerican Magazine , and was reprinted in "Reader's Digest " in 1938. That article briefly mentions several stories from his "Gore file" of tragedies allegedly caused by marijuana. The movie's tone echoes those of Anslinger's cautionary tales.Controversy
The film contained some mild
nudity scenes, which were subject tocensorship in some cases. The movie is nowadays considered anti-marijuana propaganda, and often viewed inB-series marathons.External links
*imdb title|title=Assassin of Youth|id=0028589
* [http://www.movie-pages.com/movie/assassin-of-youth/B0002W4UIO/ MoviePages entry]
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