"Wild Weed" is a polished but predictable potboiler about the consequences of marihuana abuse in America during the late 1940s. Prolific director Sam Newfield does a good job of making this pedestrian crime thriller palatable. The action concern a chorus girl who is putting her younger brother through college by working as a dancer. Actually, Richard H. Landau is based in part on the sensational event that occurred when actor Robert Mitchum was busted with starlet Lila Leeds in her apartment. Mitchum is neither shown nor depicted. This movie shows how our unfortunate heroine becomes addicted to pot. The filmmakers refer to marihuana as 'tea' and the pushers hide it in tomato cans. The first half of the action concerns Anne Lester's descent into the hell of pot. A thoroughly despicable pusher, Markey (Alan Baxter), gets Anne hooked. After she loses her job as a dancer, Anne winds up fronting for Markey. Sadly, when Anne's brother, Bob (David Holt), shows up at his older sister's house, he is surprised to find the house in ruins after a party. Later, he discovers that she is helping Markey sell cannabis and he commits suicide by hanging himself in the garage. The second part follows Anne on her downward spiral until she survives jail and leads the authorities to Markey.
Lila Leeds does a credible job, but her arrest doomed her career. She wasn't a bad actress. She is surrounded by a number of solid Hollywood actors. Indeed, Jack Elam made his film debut. Meantime, "Wild Weed" was her last film before she disappeared from the big-screen. Of course, the filmmakers were trading on Lila's celebrity status to give the film a modicum of credibility. The filmmakers' depiction of pot as a so-called 'gateway drug' makes this film funny. The scenes of people having a good time as they party with their pot are goofy. "Wild Weed" isn't as hilarious as "Reefer Madness" or "Marihuana." The fate of the lead actress gives "Wild Weed" a measure of poignancy. She suffered a worse fate than her screen character and the effect of the arrest on her cinematic aspirations is the flip side of what actually happened to Robert Mitchum. The marihuana arrest for Mitchum bolstered his career and he suffered no fall-out from it.
Lila Leeds does a credible job, but her arrest doomed her career. She wasn't a bad actress. She is surrounded by a number of solid Hollywood actors. Indeed, Jack Elam made his film debut. Meantime, "Wild Weed" was her last film before she disappeared from the big-screen. Of course, the filmmakers were trading on Lila's celebrity status to give the film a modicum of credibility. The filmmakers' depiction of pot as a so-called 'gateway drug' makes this film funny. The scenes of people having a good time as they party with their pot are goofy. "Wild Weed" isn't as hilarious as "Reefer Madness" or "Marihuana." The fate of the lead actress gives "Wild Weed" a measure of poignancy. She suffered a worse fate than her screen character and the effect of the arrest on her cinematic aspirations is the flip side of what actually happened to Robert Mitchum. The marihuana arrest for Mitchum bolstered his career and he suffered no fall-out from it.