Assassin of Youth (1937)

Formerly from the collection of Martin Bridgewater, gifted to his son. Purchased in London, 2015

Exploitation Poster Art, Aurum Press Limited, 2005, p. 80

This rare exploitation poster does not surface very often.

In 1932, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was established under the direction of Harry J. Anslinger. He proceeded to stir the public into an anti-marijuana frenzy, perpetuating the myth that users of the drug had embarked upon an irreversible descent into an underworld of crime and loose living. In the mid 1930s, the American Journal of Medicine pronounced that marijuana users “will kill or maim without reason.” The only significant challenge to such wild statements was made by the Mayor of New York, who ordered an independent and impartial investigation into the effects of the “weed with roots in hell.”

When it became clear that the investigation had concluded that marijuana had none of the crime-causing effects, Anslinger quickly destroyed all the remaining copies of their report. Exploitation has always been quick to seize upon contemporary scandals and scare stories, and the 1930s saw a massive upsurge of films dealing with the tragedy of marijuana. This film poster is a perfect example of the sensationalist and absurd propaganda ostensibly intended to stop people using the drug. The film's title was cribbed from an article written by Anslinger.