I recently picked up a batch of Kino/Something Weird blurays and this was part of a double feature with ‘Sex Madness’…I’d seen the colourised version about 15 years ago in spotty ‘240p vision’ so I was curious to see if a HD screening would make for a better time.

Given its infamy, im pretty sure there isnt really a whole lot I could say about this that hasnt already been totally ground into the dirt multiple times by other critics. But this is basically one of the most infamous ‘Scare films’ of the 1930s and actually influenced State legislature around Weed and it’s criminalisation in the states. Which is all the more hilarious given just how factually innacurate this movie actually is when it comes to the effects of weed and it’s impact on people (though; to give them SOME credit…I dont even think the film makers could have foreseen just how much crime would come from criminalising it than regulating it…)

In either case, the films a total bust for me. What we have here is a 65 minute ‘play for today’ about the dangers of drugs. It has *SOME* good moments dotted here and there that are more entertainingly awful or funny for just HOW innacurate what they’re showing the audience is…but for the most part this is actually just a kind of dry and at times overly cheesy movie disguised as a health film, and not much else.

The characters are all bland ‘one size fits all’ types…which they had to be in order to better establish that ‘THIS SCENARIO COULD EVEN HAPPEN IN YOUR TOWN!!!’

The storylines vaguely interesting, but could have been twice as engaging at half the runtime. The pacings slow and plodding and the production work (broadly speaking) is poor, with a few choreographed scenes that did entertain being married up to sloppy cine, bad editing, poor quality sound recording at times meandering and confusing dialogue and inconsistent direction for both the cast and the team behind the camera in exactly what they wanted to show.

To put it bluntley…(heh…’blunt-ly’) To me at least? this is a movie thats coasted mainly on it’s infamy in terms of its exaggerations, and barring two or three sequences across the whole runtime where things DO get a little crazy or ‘out there’ its actually kind of boring for the most part. it’s largely actors dancing, rehersing shakespere or acting a bit shifty for 50 minutes of the runtime and not much else.

I’d say purely for it’s infamy in bad movie circles that it’s worth catching this film at least once. It’s mercifully short at 65 minutes and, for me personally; I’d say if you can find a high quality copy of the colourised version (which looks putrid and hideous and frankly delightful for a film like this) I’d go for that over the Black and White version. It just gives the film a bit more character and edges it ahead of the original release in my opinion.

If your interested in old PSA’s or scare films from the time, or you move in bad/cult movie circles and want to brush up on your history, check this one out. If your non of the above, steer well clear. it’s a slog. And all the bits worth seeing have (conveniently) been supercut into a 5 minute video on youtube. Which would more than save you time.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/tell-your-children-1938/