''The Terrible Truth'' is a 1951 American anti-drug documentary film created by

Sid Davis Productions Sidney Davis (April 1, 1916 – October 16, 2006) was an American director and producer who specialized in social guidance films. Early life Davis was born on April 1, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois.Nelson, Valerie J.Sid Davis – educational filmma ...

Summary

The film contained messages such as "marijuana has similar properties to

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

s" and "the Soviet Union was pushing drugs in America". 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 The gateway drug effect (alternatively, stepping-stone theory, escalation hypothesis, or progression hypothesis) is a comprehensive catchphrase for the often observed effect that the use of a psychoactive substance is coupled to an increased probab ...

to intravenous use of heroin. McKesson states at the end of the film "Some say that the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

are promoting drug traffic in the United States to undermine national morale."

Reception and legacy

The film has been called " faux documentary ... ironic, naïve, campy", and according to Edward Brunner in ''

Postmodern Culture ''Postmodern Culture'' is an electronic academic journal established in 1990. It is the result of an early experiment in electronic content delivery via the Internet. The journal publishes commentary and criticism on a wide range of concerns includ ...

'', one of the "scandalous examples of how thoroughly the media environment has been penetrated by schemes for social engineering". It can be found alongside famously bad movies like ''

Reefer Madness ''Reefer Madness'' (originally made as ''Tell Your Children'' and sometimes titled ''The Burning Question'', ''Dope Addict'', ''Doped Youth'', and ''Love Madness'') is a 1936 American propaganda film about drugs, revolving around the melodramat ...

'' 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 ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' where it is described as "hysterical" and "cartoonish". The film is included in the

Prelinger Archives The Prelinger Archives is a collection of films relating to U.S. cultural history, the evolution of the American landscape, everyday life, and social history. It was in New York City from 1982 to 2002 and is now in San Francisco. History The ...

, a scholarly collection of film related to U.S. history.

References

Book sources

External links

*
The Terrible Truth
' at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

(public domain) *
''The Terrible Truth'' on Dailymotion
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrible Truth 1951 films American films about cannabis American social guidance and drug education films 1950s American films 1950s independent films American short films