Wild Weed

I must confess that although I do enjoy movies that are so bad they are funny, when it comes to anti-drug movies from the golden age of Hollywood, I haven't found them to be all that funny. Sure, it may be amusing at first to see marijuana smokers to be addicts and doing things like giggling like crazy with the first puff of a joint, that stuff gets old real fast. That's one reason why I didn't find "Wild Weed" (a.k.a. "She Shoulda Said No") all that amusing. Another reason was that this particular anti-drug movie was somewhat more competently made than other films on the subject. The production values, though cheap, are somewhat better than usual. So is the acting and the writing. Don't get me wrong, the movie is generally dumb and low budget, but it doesn't get to be so incompetent to be really bad or unintentionally hilarious. The only audience I see for this movie are film scholars who are writing about forbidden Hollywood movies and/or the history of movies concerning drugs.

This film's structure, at least for the first half is very similar to the classic bad film, REEFER MADNESS. Both had preachy prologues and both showed wild pot parties where the guests behaved as if they were on LSD, not marijuana. While I think pot use is very stupid, I can't see how this film in any way could discourage it, as the way people act on this drug is so silly that any child would laugh at the ineptitude of the film and the central message would be lost.

Oddly, at about the middle of the film, the movie became much less silly in its portrayal of drug use and became a somewhat standard (though very poorly made) cop film. While this improved the film a bit, it was a case of just too little too late. The bottom line is that the film suffers from a horrible script and production values. About the only interesting things about it were how silly it all became and to see both a down-and-out Lyle Talbot as well as Jack Elam in his first film. It's all just a very silly mess.

Naïve show girl gets involved with hard cases in a marijuana drug ring.

Seeing this pot-warning epic, you might confuse the devil weed with a shot of laughing gas. That's because after taking a puff, the smokers stand around and giggle for hours on end. I kept hoping for an orgy, but no luck, just a lot of pointless laughing. Looks like the director auditioned supporting players on how long and maniacally they could giggle.

Sure, the movie's a grade Z production that probably showed in a few all-night grind houses. Still, a couple less-than- terrible aspects manage to emerge. The montages are generally well done, especially the white piano dream at the Hollywood Bowl. Plus, the principal acting is not that bad. Whatever else, bad girl Leeds manages a pretty good performance, along with veteran stone face Alan Baxter.

Oddly, the narrative breaks into two parts—the first is the goofy drug part, while the second amounts to standard crime drama. Add 'em up and you've got a generally bad movie that doesn't rise to campy level, but still manages a few redeeming aspects.

(In passing-- The guy playing the orchestral piano is a legitimate long-hair, Rudolf Friml Jr., whose dad composed such well-known operettas as Rose-Marie and The Vagabond King. I guess this was meant to add a touch of class to an otherwise seedy production.)

This film was originally called "Wild Weed." The star of the film is Lila Leeds, a promising starlet who had very minor roles in earlier films, but achieved worldwide notoriety when she was arrested along with Robert Mitchum and other for smoking pot in 1948. She spent several months in jail, and when she was released this was one of the few film roles she was able to get. On the contrary, Robert Mitchum, who was also arrested, came back to resume a hotter then ever film career.

Leeds is beautiful, a sort of young Marilyn Monroe lookalike. The film is not one of the better "exploitation" films, but is notable for its cast of authentic Hollywood actors, though they were at this point well past their prime. Perennial B-movie actor Lyle Talbot, Alan Baxter and Michael Whalen, among other round out the cast.

1st watched 2/19/2007 - 2 out of 10(Dir-Sherman Scott): Over-the-top marijuana educational film goes way beyond it's earlier predecessor's with an obvious bigger budget but having the same results. Please -- get a life people!! Stop making these silly movies and bust the offenders instead!! I absolutely hate these government funded opportunities to make bad movies. In this one, a dancer is turned onto the drug at a party as she's trying to get her brother thru college. She's promised lots more money from the seller and is enticed into his world where only heartbreak occurs instead. Her brother kills himself and she blames herself, and her reason for staying in the business is now more self-induced. She is eventually picked up by the cops with the rest of her friends, spends some time in jail where she freaks out but doesn't reveal the seller and his whereabouts. The rest of the movie I won't reveal in case you want to see it. There are some special effects thrown in on this movie but otherwise it's very similar to it's earlier exploitation movies about the horrors of the drug. Too bad the money to make this movie wasn't spent on something more useful, like rehab for users etc