The film contained messages such as "marijuana has similar properties to amphetamines" and "the Soviet Union was pushing drugs in America".[1] The film follows William B. McKesson (to become Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1956) who interviews a young woman about her use of marijuana as a gateway drug to intravenous use of heroin.[2] McKesson states at the end of the film "Some say that the Reds are promoting drug traffic in the United States to undermine national morale."[2]
Reception and legacyedit
The film has been called "faux documentary ... ironic, naïve, campy",[3] and according to Edward Brunner in Postmodern Culture, one of the "scandalous examples of how thoroughly the media environment has been penetrated by schemes for social engineering".[4] It can be found alongside famously bad movies like Reefer Madness on popular film lists, for example those found at thefix.com as one of the five worst anti-drug works of the past century, and The Atlantic where it is described as "hysterical" and "cartoonish".[5][6]
The film is included in the Prelinger Archives, a scholarly collection of film related to U.S. history.[7]
^ abRoger M. Grace (June 9, 2008), "Supervisor's Lobbying of Colleagues Brings McKesson Unanimous Vote to Fill DA Vacancy", Metropolitan News-Enterprise, Los Angeles, PERSPECTIVES #63
^Brunner, Edward (January 1998), "Ersatz Truths: Variations on the Faux Documentary", Postmodern Culture, 8 (2), doi:10.1353/pmc.1998.0001, S2CID 144984222 quoted in Null (2009)
^Keri Blakinger (February 17, 2016), The 5 Worst Anti-Drug Ads in the Last 100 Years
^Brian Resnick (April 20, 2015), "Four Vintage, (Unintentionally) Hysterical Anti-Marijuana Films: Movies about the dangers of marijuana have often depicted the drug in cartoonish terms", The Atlantic
^Prelinger Archives. The Terrible Truth, OCLC 860691153
Book sourcesedit
Null, J.W. (2009). American Educational History Journal: Volume 36 #1 & 2. American Educational History Journal. Information Age Publishing. ISBN978-1-60752-277-5.
terrible, truth, 1951, american, anti, drug, documentary, film, created, davis, productions, starringwilliam, mckessonproductioncompanysid, davis, productionsrelease, date1951, 1951, running, time10, minutes, contents, summary, reception, legacy, references, b. The Terrible Truth is a 1951 American anti drug documentary film created by Sid Davis Productions The Terrible TruthStarringWilliam B McKessonProductioncompanySid Davis ProductionsRelease date1951 1951 Running time10 minutes Contents 1 Summary 2 Reception and legacy 3 References 3 1 Book sources 4 External linksSummary editThe film contained messages such as marijuana has similar properties to amphetamines and the Soviet Union was pushing drugs in America 1 The film follows William B McKesson to become Los Angeles County District Attorney in 1956 who interviews a young woman about her use of marijuana as a gateway drug to intravenous use of heroin 2 McKesson states at the end of the film Some say that the Reds are promoting drug traffic in the United States to undermine national morale 2 Reception and legacy editThe film has been called faux documentary ironic naive campy 3 and according to Edward Brunner in Postmodern Culture one of the scandalous examples of how thoroughly the media environment has been penetrated by schemes for social engineering 4 It can be found alongside famously bad movies like Reefer Madness on popular film lists for example those found at thefix com as one of the five worst anti drug works of the past century and The Atlantic where it is described as hysterical and cartoonish 5 6 The film is included in the Prelinger Archives a scholarly collection of film related to U S history 7 References edit The Terrible Truth via filmow com a b Roger M Grace June 9 2008 Supervisor s Lobbying of Colleagues Brings McKesson Unanimous Vote to Fill DA Vacancy Metropolitan News Enterprise Los Angeles PERSPECTIVES 63 Null 2009 p 9 Brunner Edward January 1998 Ersatz Truths Variations on the Faux Documentary Postmodern Culture 8 2 doi 10 1353 pmc 1998 0001 S2CID 144984222 quoted in Null 2009 Keri Blakinger February 17 2016 The 5 Worst Anti Drug Ads in the Last 100 Years Brian Resnick April 20 2015 Four Vintage Unintentionally Hysterical Anti Marijuana Films Movies about the dangers of marijuana have often depicted the drug in cartoonish terms The Atlantic Prelinger Archives The Terrible Truth OCLC 860691153 Book sources edit Null J W 2009 American Educational History Journal Volume 36 1 amp 2 American Educational History Journal Information Age Publishing ISBN 978 1 60752 277 5 External links editThe Terrible Truth at Internet Archive public domain The Terrible Truth at IMDb The Terrible Truth on Dailymotion Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Terrible Truth amp oldid 1142128723, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
