The Madness Trilogy

Welcome to the glorious world of crude cinematography, jarring editing, bizarre dialogue, acting that ranges from stilted to overwrought, and a weird mixture of over-the-top sentimentality, lurid lip smacking, and stern warnings about immorality--this is the world of 1930s social-hygiene films, out to rid the U.S. of dope fiends and sex maniacs. Reefer Madness is the most famous--justly so for its ridiculous depictions of hyperactive, sex-crazed pot smokers. Watch as Billy, straight-arrow high school student, is instantly addicted from smoking a marihuana cigarette! With a good dose of voyeurism and violence, Reefer Madness provides lots of unintentional entertainment. Sex Madness tells a similar tale of innocence gone astray, only this time it's syphilis that ultimately destroys a happy family. Must there always be a social side to this business? sighs a former beauty queen as an agent tries to pimp her out. This movie's most notable feature is its erratic narrative--whatever became of the lesbian secretaries that were introduced in the first few scenes? And note that the filmmakers' high moral purpose doesn't prevent them from showing a long scene in the dressing room of a burlesque club. But Cocaine Fiends may be the best of the trio; again, a small-town girl and her brother have their lives ruined by wicked drugs, and there's plenty of campy dialogue and acting--but there's a strange power to the movie's later scenes, where the low budget has led to an almost expressionistic use of light and shadow. All in all, a strange and fascinating look at America's love-hate relationship with sex and drugs. --Bret Fetzer ...

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