Now, I am probably dating myself by asking, but does anyone around here remember an anti-marijuana film starring Sonny Bono? The film was in circulation around 1968 and was typical of the high school hysteria stuff of that era.
I have always wondered what could have possibly compelled Sonny to participate in what was such obvious horseshit. This was a film that showed pale, ghost-faced, drugged-out hippies literally squirming for a fix of marijuana. Another scene showed a long haired auto mechanic puffing away on a joint, laughing uncontrollably, while he tried to put a tire back on a car. Sonny intoned, "do you want your life in his hands?
Could this have been part of a criminal sentence for drug possesion? Had Sonny been ordered to use his fame and influence to persuade us kids not to toke? Or, was he serious? Regardless, the film didn’t sway me. In fact, when I realized what BS it was, I quite deliberatley ignored other, more rationale, advice about avoiding other drugs. But that’s a different story.
Karl, I don’t specifically remember Sonny Bono doing an anti-drug film (most of our high school films seemed to be from the National Film Board of Canada) but there was a long tradition of anti-drug messages in the culture of the period. Think back to songs like The Raiders “Kicks” and Steppenwolf’s “The Pusher” and “Snow Blind friend.”
Granted, most of those songs were about drugs like heroin and acid, and granted, the overwhelming sentiment among musicians was not exactly anti-drug, but it’s perfectly reasonable to expect someone who grew up to be a Republican congressman to weigh in against the evils of marijuana, even without a community service sentence.
I understand all the words, they just don’t make sense together like that.
From the bits I saw on “Biography” or somewhere, Sonny and Cher never took drugs and were adamantly opposed to drug use.
I remember seeing that movie - kids on LSD seeing their faces melt in the mirror. Oooh, scary. We saw it in gym class and pretty much laughed ourselves sick.
I too am sure that I remember that film from junior high school health class. I distinctly remember someone on LSD thinking they could fly and diving off the balcony of a 2-3 story building. The long haired mechanic also sounds familiar but I DON’T remember Sonny Bono in it. I think you’re remembering that part wrong…
From MENTAL HYGIENE: CLASSROOM FILMS 1945-1970 by Ken Smith (Blast Books, 1999):
MARIJUANA, Avanti FIlms, 1968, 34 minutes. This film is narrated by cultural icon Sonny Bono, which provides some indication of its credibility. Sonny, who looks and sounds as if he were stoned, announces that this film will present the facts “and only the facts.” He then proceeds to explain that people who smoke marijuana “run the risk of an unpredictable and unpleasant bummer.” This is demonstrated by a pot smoker who stares at his reflection in a mirror – until his face is replaced by a rubber monster mask! He’s “tripped out,” Sonny explains, which is just the same as being an alcoholic “square and unhip adult.”
Why did Sonny do this? I assume that Sonny did this for money. Hell, even the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers made an anti-drug film for the express purpose of earning two grand. (See extrememly early Gilbert Shelton underground comic strip!) “There’s a LITTLE OLD CRIPPLED LADY down the block that we can KILL and TAKE HER MONEY and buy some more WEED!” said Freewheelin’ Franklin.
I am impressed, Uke! How did you ever come up with that source? Y’know, I do remember the guy staring at the mirror.
Yarster - It is possible that I’m combining my memories of several anti-dope films. Still, I’m pretty sure that I’ve got the details straight regarding Sonny. But hey, given what those flics warned about, I’m lucky I can remember anything.
I’m probably conflating a few different anti-drug movies, too - I wasn’t paying strict attention at the time.
Nice work finding it, Uke. But I’m not convinced Sonny’s motivation was strictly monetary. Unlike the Freak Bros, Sonny and Cher were hugely successful. I think it was more along the lines of the current nauseating PSAs like, “The More You Know.” Sonny was pretty square and probably thought he was hugely influential with my generation. (In Presidential Astrology, I was born under the sign of Ike, by the way).
Thank you for the kind words, everyone. It was just a matter of thinking “Huh. I just READ something about Sonny Bono in an anti-drug film…now WHERE did I see that?” I recommend Ken Smith’s books highly, by the way. All of us with a Cecil Adams-honed sense of humor and irony will enjoy the above-mentioned title, RAW DEAL (a collection of short histories of Americans who got famously shafted), and KEN’S GUIDE TO THE BIBLE.
re: money. Sonny and Cher had appeared in two movies by 1968, and had a couple of big singles, but I don’t think they were rolling in cash to the extent that Sonny would pass up a couple thou for an hour’s work. All accounts I’ve read of the little swine’s life say that he was completely venal.
Well, Ike, I am old enough to have actually seen that film in junior high, and it was a laff riot—the teacher was not at all amused by the fact that we were all holding our sides and rolling on the floor throughout.
Why did Sonny do it? He was very straight, remember—he was a REPUBLICAN. Despite his “groovy” image, he was an old-world Italian Catholic boy with old-world values. A businessman, not a hipster. He probably did it because he was, indeed, anti-drugs.
My English teacher showed this flick in class one day back in 1969 (High School). I started cracking up at the scene of the drugstore woman clerk that looked like a fat drag queen winking at the camera as she hands over a blister pack of hypodermic needles. The next was the guy all twitchy and jerky with purple and green makeup goop on his face while trying to shoot up. A girl across the aisle from me looked at me and started cracking up, too - the teacher kicked us both out of class. Too funny!!