Product Details

• Actors: Dorothy Short, Dave O'Brien, Thelma White, Carleton Young
• Directors: Louis Gasner
• Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Legend Films
• DVD Release Date: July 1, 2008
• Run Time: 65 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (88 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001BSBBDU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #46,597 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Reefer Madness - In COLOR! Also Includes the Original Black-and-White Version which has been Beautifully Restored and Enhanced!" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A campy CULT FAVORITE, first released in 1938 as a propaganda film meant to scare America's youth away from drugs. In the quintessential classic. Innocent teens partake of the 'demon weed' only to find that one puff plunges them into a hilarious web of murder, sex, lunacy and jazz music.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Restored edition, fantastic!!!!!!, May 3, 2004

By 

J. A. Stankunas "jonukwho" (Jupiter, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reefer Madness (Restored Edition) (DVD)

The movie Reefer Madness seen by itself is really nothing to brag about, but this special addition for this best-selling cult classic is fantastic. It's a must buy, because for how cheap it is, you really get your money's worth. For the first time ever, I can say that the colorized version (complete with multicolor smoke and over saturated psychedelic color schemes) is better and looks better than the original black and white, and both versions are available to watch which is considerate of the DVD producers to give us both, and it looks as good as we can ever expect. Extra features are fantastic highlighted by a hysterical commentary by Mike Nelson, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which is the sole reason why I bought this edition. The commentary by the people who colorized the film is also worth a look. I highly recommend this new edition.

74 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Exploitation Flick of the 30s!, August 28, 1999

By 

Cindy Collins Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reefer Madness (DVD)

In the 70s, NORML spread the myth that the government sponsored Reefer Madness. The truth, however, is that the film was made to play the Exploitation circuit... and was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Thelma White (Mae) has said that the cast was specifically asked to "hoke it up." And the scene in which Ralph demands that the piano be played "Faster... Faster!" comes straight out of 42nd Street--a film in which actor Dave O'Brien (yes, Ralph himself) had played a chorus boy.

So, if the makers of this film weren't serious about their message, why did they make the movie? Well, why did anybody make an Exploitation film in the 30s? To show more skin than the Hays Code allowed, of course, and to capitalize on public fears. Simply put: they wanted to make money. And make money they did.

Unlike most Exploitation fare, Reefer Madness was shot over a period of three weeks, on a relatively large budget (by sub-Poverty Row standards). Using an experienced director and a couple of actors who would go on to do respectable work in Hollywood, this production is the creme-de-la-creme of 30's Exploitation cinema.

Reefer Madness is every bit as hyperbolic as it was intended to be. Just watch it knowing that its makers are laughing at you, and you'll realize that this film is perhaps one of the greatest jokes ever played on an audience in the history of cinema. It's certainly one of the most entertaining.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Let This Happen To You..., April 18, 2004

By 

Bindy Sue Frønkünschtein "bigfootsalienbaby" (under the rubble) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Reefer Madness (DVD)

Bill and Mary were just two typical all-american 25 year old highschool students, playing tennis, drinking hot cocoa, and reciting Shakespeare. Then, Bill got mixed up with the "wrong crowd". He ended up at their house of evil, where He took a "hit" from a marijuana cigarette and "freaked out". Bill joined in with "satan's children" as they danced uncontrollably, played piano jazz, and had wanton abandon sessions! Meanwhile, Mary's brother borrowed her car, took a puff from a "hemp-joint" and drove uncontrollably, running over a pedestrian, laughing mercilessly. Ultimately, poor Mary ended up at the "drug den" herself, being introduced to the "killer weed" by Ralph, a crazed "pot fiend" given to uncontrollable fits of hysterical laughter. Ralph took advantage of Mary, causing Bill (who was having a wanton abandon session with a female "pot-head" in another room) to lose control and attack Ralph. Suddenly, the swinging "dope pad" was turned into a murder house, as the co-owner of the hangout drew a gun. Bill fought him and Mary was inadvertantly shot dead! Bill was framed for Mary's homicide and Ralph was committed to an insane asylum. And, remember the wicked girl Bill was having wanton abandon with? Well, she was called upon to testify in court, and wound up diving out a window! Let us learn the lessons here! Remember, smoke only good wholesome tobacco, or drink harmless, invigorating alcohol; and leave the "reefer" to the ne'er-do-wells and hepcats of the world...