Hemp for Victory (1943) User Reviews

instead of only showing this to farmers, the government should have shown it to everyone

[lee_eisenberg · 5/10 · 3 October 2015]

"Hemp for Victory" would usually be a typical hokey propaganda film from WWII, but its focus on Cannabis sativa makes it a surprise. Yes, that plant that the government spent years telling us was a dangerous drug gets full praise here. The short looks at hemp's numerous usages, emphasizing its potential to help us win the war. If only all those drug warriors had watched this short. As it stands, mass arrests for non-violent drug offenses have given the US the highest prison population on Earth, devastating entire communities in the process, while turning Mexico into a near failed state. This is especially ironic since George Washington grew hemp and called for mass cultivation thereof. Even Bill Clinton and Barack Obama admit to having smoked marijuana.

So, although this is a rather hokey short, it stands in stark contrast to the laughable "Reefer Madness" (which only succeeded in making marijuana look fun). The ban on marijuana was Dupont's handiwork, since they didn't want anyone to have an alternate way to make paper. Moreover, it was mostly African-Americans and Mexican-Americans smoking marijuana, so there was a racial element to the ban. Billie Holliday became one of the feds' main targets. Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" philosophy culminated in the 1990 PSA "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue" (in which Garfield, the Smurfs, Bugs Bunny, etc band together to save a boy from a life of addiction; the PSA got everything wrong). Well, Colorado, Oregon and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana and it's served their economies well. Bob Marley said that "herb" is meant to get smoked. Susan Sarandon recalled reading scripts while high. Willie Nelson once said something to the effect of "Sure, I'll go to jail for smoking it. And when I get out I'll smoke some more of it."

Anyway, it's nothing great, but an interesting look at the changing attitudes towards hemp.

Hemp for Victory was an interesting propaganda short from World War II

[tavm · 6/10 · 20 August 2008]

This American government propaganda short, Hemp for Victory, was made during World War II in order to show the positive uses for the plant hemp like to make ropes for use on military ships. This is a far cry to the most recent past when Woody Harrison praises hemp as a drug for recreational use! We're also told and shown places where hemp is grown like in Kentucky and Missouri and how they get cut by harvester machines. Not once does the narrator mention its smoking use! I'm not sure I understood everything that was said and done in the short but I did get how important to the war effort the plant was. Having watched this on Internet Archive, the only disappointing thing here was when the film ended 3 minutes before the actual soundtrack was over. Someone wasn't very careful with the dubbing there!

Probably Woody Harrelson's favorite film...but otherwise there isn't a lot to excite most folks about this one.

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 22 August 2010]

While I am sure pot-lovers adore this film and tout is as ample evidence why the plant should be legalized here in the US, I assume some of these people are missing the context for this dull little film. First, since pot was virtually made illegal in the 1930s (you had to get a government stamp to produce it--and NO ONE got these stamps), when WWII came and supplies dried up there was a huge shortage of hemp for ropes for rigging, fire hoses, thread, etc.--the film is NOT advocating people becoming doobie fiends! Second, the film was never really intended for a wide audience but as a short film to convince farmers to switch, at least temporarily, to this much-needed crop.

Because of this context, I can't see this film as being either pro or anti-legalization. And, because of this, the film turns out to be amazingly dull and tough to watch--fortunately it's only 15 minutes long. In addition, the over-use of the song "My Old Kentucky Home" is annoying--even if Kentucky is the pot capital of America!

a great movie for the whole family

[raveseen · 10/10 · 3 April 2006]

the movie is well-made for its time for a government publication, and has lots of interesting facts about the history of industrial hemp during the birth of this country. most viewable versions are copies of copies, so tend to be rather grainy, but the movie itself is well worth watching.

i will not speculate on why the US Government promoted industrial hemp at one time, but now campaigns against it, but there are many people who will. there are several countries in Europe that allow farmers to produce industrial hemp. Henry Ford made a car fueled by industrial hemp seed oil. one can only imagine the number of American jobs that would be created, and family farms that would be supported, by allowing vehicles to run on industrial hemp oil.

also, the Constitution was written on industrial hemp paper.

Boring War Short

[Michael_Elliott · 26 August 2010]

Hemp for Victory (1943)

** (out of 4)

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT HEMP *BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK would have been a much better title for this WW2 propaganda short that was produced to show farmers that they should grow hemp and help the war effort. After making sure farmers know they need a license to grow it, we then get to how it's grown. We learn about what type of soil is best, what kind of conditions it takes and then we go from there was the plant grows and then we learn how to pick it and get it ready for use. We learn the importance it had in earlier wars and how it could be effectively used during the current one. If you have any questions on hemp then they're going to be answered here as quite a bit of information is thrown into the 13-minutes here. The biggest problem is that there's not a single thing here that is overly interesting. The direction is really lacking and the narration will come close to putting you to sleep. I'm sure an interesting story could be made of hemp and its uses but sadly this isn't the film. Perhaps smoking something before watching would make it more entertaining.