Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

39% Tomatometer 28 Reviews 37% Audience Score 10,000+ Ratings High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll (Josef Forte) relates to an audience of parents that marijuana can have devastating effects on teens. In his story, a drug supplier entices several restless teens, including sister and brother Mary (Dorothy Short) and Jimmy Lane (Warren McCollum) and Mary's boyfriend, Bill (Kenneth Craig), into frequenting a "reefer" house. Gradually, Bill and Jimmy are drawn into smoking dope, which affects their family lives and leads to a terrible crime. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Reefer Madness

Fandango at Home Prime Video Paramount+

Watch Reefer Madness with a subscription on Paramount+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Reviews

View All (28) Critics Reviews
Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Keith Phipps AV Club Espers' 1936 film deserves its reputation as one of the most entertainingly bad movies ever made. Mar 30, 2019 Full Review Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Dave Kehr Chicago Reader The original antimarijuana film (1936), offering the true inside story of the devil weed that drives men to savage lusts and women to unspeakable depravities, along with a little bit of dumb fun. Mar 28, 2007 Full Review Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (3) John Du Cane Time Out One of the most absurdly earnest exercises in paranoia you'll ever have the good fortune to see. Jun 24, 2006 Full Review Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (4) Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Before it became an ironic cult hit in the 1970s, Reefer Madness was a well-intentioned and unintentionally hilarious cautionary tale entitled Tell Your Children... Rated: 4/10 Mar 17, 2020 Full Review Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Mattie Lucas From the Front Row Strictly an amateur-hour production, filled with laughably over-the-top acting and a silly sense of self-righteousness that make it the perfect exploitation camp classic. Rated: 1/4 Feb 22, 2020 Full Review Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Sky Staff Sky Cinema This gloriously awful film is highly recommended to lovers of stunningly bad movies. Rated: 1/5 Mar 30, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (687) audience reviews

nick s Presumably well intentioned, this almost comical movie - meant to be some kind of lesson about drugs - has few redeeming qualities. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 11/15/23 Full Review Corocote L Very entertaining as a historical drama of anti-cannabis paranoid propaganda. The acting and writing are so over the top hilarious that the film undercuts it's intended cautionary message by portraying the prohibitionists as befuddled clueless dopes.Even better if you smoke one before watching. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/03/23 Full Review Laura L I think this movie is a piece of art that had a purpose that it clearly stated in the prologue: to invite people to think about marijuana consumption and to raise awareness about the consequences drug consumption has on one's brain, on the one side, and the consequences drug addiction has on society, on the other side. I understand that this movie is played over and over in different US establishments ever since for information and education. Consequently, it is watched, spoken about, analyzed, etc. and, from this point of view, the movie team reached its educational purpose through the cinema art more than they probably expected. Furthermore, the cast played well the symptoms of marijuana addiction as described in the prologue: sudden bursts into hysterical laughter, dysfunctional logic, etc. - but that's because despite cinema's technological progress, one thing has always stayed constant and fascinating: actors' talent. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/17/23 Full Review CodyZamboni Movie is boring, tedious, and no where near bad funny, just lousy. Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 07/26/23 Full Review Audience Member the movie is so much better in color and it's funnier.. but it's funny to see the hypocrisy about marijuana. Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Diane B And here I thought marijuana made people stare at their hands and giggle while binging on peanut butter. Turns out it makes you hallucinate, get aggressive and kill. Wow. What did they put in pot back then? Rated 3/5 Stars • Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/13/22 Full Review Read all reviews

Reefer Madness

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Louis Gasnier Director Dave O'Brien Ralph Wiley Dorothy Short Mary Lane Lillian Miles Blanche Warren McCollum Jimmy Lane Carleton Young Jack Perry
Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew

More Like This

View All Best Movies to Stream at Home

99% 90% Citizen Kane TRAILER for Citizen Kane 99% 95% Casablanca TRAILER for Casablanca 94% 90% A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 86% 90% East of Eden 97% 89% A Streetcar Named Desire Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Related Movie News

View All Related Movie News
Marvel’s The Defenders, Reefer Madness, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime

Photos

View All Reefer Madness photos

Reefer Madness

Reefer Madness (1936) Reefer Madness (1936) Reefer Madness (1936) Reefer Madness (1936) Reefer Madness (1936) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll (Josef Forte) relates to an audience of parents that marijuana can have devastating effects on teens. In his story, a drug supplier entices several restless teens, including sister and brother Mary (Dorothy Short) and Jimmy Lane (Warren McCollum) and Mary's boyfriend, Bill (Kenneth Craig), into frequenting a "reefer" house. Gradually, Bill and Jimmy are drawn into smoking dope, which affects their family lives and leads to a terrible crime.

Director
Louis Gasnier

Producer
George A. Hirliman

Screenwriter
Paul Franklin, Arthur ho*rl, Lawrence Meade

Distributor
Madacy Entertainment Group Inc. [us], Reel Media International [us], LS Video, Hollywood Classics, Sinister Cinema, Kino Video, Something Weird Video, Network Enterprises [us], GoodTimes Home Video [us], Media Home Entertainment

Production Co
George A. Hirliman Productions

Rating
PG

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 12, 1936, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2009

Runtime
1h 7m
Most Popular at Home Now
Reefer Madness | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Barbera Armstrong

Last Updated:

Views: 6543

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (59 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Barbera Armstrong

Birthday: 1992-09-12

Address: Suite 993 99852 Daugherty Causeway, Ritchiehaven, VT 49630

Phone: +5026838435397

Job: National Engineer

Hobby: Listening to music, Board games, Photography, Ice skating, LARPing, Kite flying, Rugby

Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.