Wild Weed (1949)

Best movie ever!

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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 story of 'tea' and 'tomatoes' purports to boast an 'All Star Hollywood Cast', but even if you're a follower of films from the 1930's and '40's, I don't think you'll recognize a single name in the credits. Maybe Lyle Talbot, who's screen credits total nearly three hundred roles, but after that I think you'd be hard pressed to recognize another actor in the picture. Except for Jack Elam in one of his very first screen roles; he actually was a rather good looking guy back then. That might have been the single treat in the film for me.It's curious how all of these exploitation films wind up with a handful of different titles. I saw this picture under the name "She Shoulda' Said No", and just like the classic cult film "Reefer Madness", it tells the story of youth run wild after falling victim to the evil terrors of marihuna (sometimes spelled marijuana as a closing segment informs us). It's hard to take seriously today of course, and I really wish there were some folks around from the era who could tell us first hand how these flicks were received back in the day.I have to say, I was really distracted by Alan Baxter's portrayal of the local pusher Markey. He's a dead ringer for a young Jack Nicholson, and if I didn't know better, I would have been checking the credits to see if it was him or not. Another weird thing was the use of that eerie sci-fi/Twilight Zone type music whenever folks on screen were shown puffing on the dreaded weed. You know, I had to laugh when I saw the "I'm gonna die' guy under the influence. It reminded me of the very first and just about only time I tried pot myself. It was in an apartment that lost it's heat in the winter, and my best friend was convinced he was going to freeze to death. I wasn't as hysterical as Rita and her friends, but I thought it was all pretty funny at the time.I had a curious thought about mid-way through the picture. Wouldn't it be great if the Coen Brothers took the idea of these exploitation flicks and made one of their own? You could really get some mileage out of characters portrayed by John Tuturro, Jon Polito, and Steve Buscemi. Jack Nicholson might be a little too old for this sort of stuff, but I think a cameo would be just the right touch. I think he would be up for it.

She Shoulda Said No (1949) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Government "warning" film in the same vein as Reefer Madness works on the same camp level and has a somewhat historic Hollywood twist. Anne Lester (Lila Leeds) is a hard working good girl until she takes a hit of marijuana and soon she turns into a mental slut. Can she be saved before ending up in a mental hospital? Like all of these "warning" exploitation films, this one here is very poorly made and the facts the film presents are so incredibly stupid you can't help but laugh at them. Weed is referred to here as tomatoes and tea, which are two terms I haven't heard the stuff called. The film also claims that, in 1949, there were over 200 million pot users, which seems a tad bit high (no pun intended). I guess the most interesting thing is the true Hollywood story of lead actress Lila Leeds who was busted with Robert Mitchum during his infamous marijuana bust. As part of her probation she had to appear in this film. I think she should have just done jail time like Mitchum. Lyle Talbot co-stars.

"How Bad Can a Good Girl Get Without Losing her Virtue and Self Respect? The Film That's Scorchin' The Nation's Screens! The Screen's Newest Blonde Bomb!" When Ann Lester (Lila Leeds), a pretty young nightclub dancer, catches the eye of slick L.A. pusher Markey (Alan Baxter), he seduces her at a "tea" party he'd arranged for that very purpose. Ann's stoner ways soon get her fired and she goes to work full-time as a hostess for Markey. When Bob, the younger brother she's been putting through college, comes home and finds out what she's become, he hangs himself. Ann's former boss turns her in and she's given a harrowing tour of prisons, psychopathic wards and the morgue before being sentenced to 60 days in jail. Remorse-ridden, Ann goes undercover for Police Captain Hayes (Lyle Talbot) to nail Markey's supplier, drug czar Jonathan Treanor (Michael Whalen)... Sexy starlet Lila Leeds made headlines around the world when she was busted for smoking pot with married movie star Robert Mitchum on September 1, 1948 and the publicity surrounding the high-profile case (long thought to be a set-up) off-set mounting charges of police corruption within the L.A.P.D. Lila became a victim of Hollywood (and the nation's) double-standard at the time: Mitchum skyrocketed to stardom as a "Hollywood bad boy" while Leeds became a pariah after they both served time in the county jail. Bob's first film post-scandal was THE BIG STEAL (1948), filmed in the heart of Mexico's marijuana country, but the only work Lila could get was this roadshow exploitation quickie capitalizing on her notoriety. Kroger Babb, "America's Fearless Showman," promoted WILD WEED as "The Story of Lila Leeds and Her Expose of the Marijuana Racket!" and in one scene Leeds even wears the same suit she wore to court. Purporting to be made in the name of education, moviegoers got to vicariously view Lila smoke dope, misbehave, and eventually pay for her sins behind bars. There's ridiculous moments galore, including a reckless teenage car crash, "tea" party hysterics, Ann's "police tour/prevention cure" (right out of the previous year's THE SNAKE PIT) with ravaged inmates in advanced stages of drug-induced insanity and Lila transforming into an emaciated hag in a prison mirror as she drives herself mad with the taunt "Baby-Killer!" The movie loves its many montages and concert pianist Rudolf Friml, Jr. tickles the ivories in the pot-induced hallucinations of a musical doper. Getting high is called "cutting up a touch" and "tea" (or "tomatoes") are $2 a stick -or you can have the "special": three for $5. The lissome Miss Leeds is out of her league histrionically as she goes from good kid to hardened moll and although WILD WEED boasts an "All-Star Hollywood Cast!", only Alan Baxter, Lyle Talbot and Michael Whalen show up. Look for a young Jack Elam as a crime kingpin's killer "butler".A bona fide B-Movie curio. Way to go, Lila! WILD WEED would make the ideal second feature for Robert Mitchum's THE BIG STEAL.