''The Terrible Truth'' is a 1951 American anti-drug documentary film created by Sid Davis Productions.

Summary

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

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

s" and "the Soviet Union was pushing drugs in America". The film follows William B. McKesson (to become

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...

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'' (film), a 1981 American film starring and directed by Warren Beatty * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists duri ...

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

Reception and legacy

The film has been called "

faux documentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues in a ...

... ironic,

naïve Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may ...

, 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 inclu ...

'', 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 1938/1939 American exploitation film about drugs, revolving around the me ...

'' 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 based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' 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. Originally based in New York City from 1982 through 2002, it is now based in San Franci ...

, 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 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

(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 1951 independent films American short films