Sensational 1951 Anti-Drug Film: "The Terrible Truth"

Early (and sensational) film on marijuana use as a route to heroin addiction.

An old juvenile court judge named McKesson, who keeps referring to himself as "we" and "us," decides he wants to find out about drugs. The judge says this to the camera, but the words he mouths bear absolutely no relation to the words on the soundtrack. He drives to a house where he meets "Phyllis," a teenager who tells us (also out-of-sync) that when you smoke pot (that's jive talk for marijuana, folks) "everything speeds up to 100 miles an hour!" She meets "Chuck" (who is a "hype" and a "peddler") and starts wearing lipstick, becomes a junkie, loses her looks, goes through withdrawal (some good histrionics here) and reforms. Judge McKesson then tells us that the Russians are promoting drug traffic in the United States to "undermine national morale," and that the only way we can stop the spread of drug use is by using "good sense." The film concludes with a newspaper headline -- "America's Teen Age Dope 'Fad' Ending!" Another unique view into the eternally pessimistic Sid Davis universe.

Producer: Davis (Sid) Productions

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• 1951
• reefer
• madness
• marijuana
• pot
• teenagers
• junkies
• juvenile
• delinquency
• heroin
• narcotics
• courts
• judges

[nerdelicious5]

LOL, she actually looks better AFTER than before!

[toschie]

Pot, that's jive talk for marijuana.

Awesome line!

[h4tchetman]

@h4tchetman meaning, we need a clear distinction between Soft and Hard drugs

[h4tchetman]

don't go pass the green.

[miamivicepastels83]

@nerdelicious5 yeah more natural

[friedie1jeff]

Actually, for the times, this was a very well-made film. It would have made me think if I was a teenager in those years.

[thesomebody3]

its the russians lool tehy would've do anything to put the blame on them

[Marrikable]

lol the REDS are behind the dope-trade!

[Marrikable]

she looks better without the Wolverine hair

[compactdisk2]

@MAKER6450 Not "jazz talk", "jive talk". While this video is filled with plenty of nonsense, I don't see how that line makes them clueless. In fact, the nonsense in this video is pretty close to the nonsense we hear today. "Pot" was still a fairly new piece of slang at that point, so there's nothing bizarre about having to point that out.

[Eurotrash4367]

I always new that the Reds were responsible for America's drug problem.