DRUG, EXPLOITATION; 1936
06:01:00:00,Opening credits, Prologue text (dire warning against the scourge of marijuana), Double exposure montage includes printing press, various newspaper headlines ("Dope Peddlers Caught In High School," "Police Raid Marijuana Flat," "Federals Aid Police In Drug War," etc.), CU of notice of public meeting, Int. high school classroom, parents seated in students' chairs listen to lecture about marijuana, The speaker, Parents listen, nod, whisper to each other, Men in suits examine marijuana crop, CU of marijuana plant, CU of hands rolling joints, Hands open little boxes, watch cases and other small objects to show hiding places for marijuana, Man shows barrel that had been sawed in half, Men shovel marijuana into incinerator (pot bust), Speaker continues his lecture, Man enters apartment, walks to bedroom, nudges woman lying on bed, Woman gets up, sits at vanity, puts on stockings, Man enters kitchen, removes box from cupboard, hears doorbell, Puts box away, answers door, Two man and woman enter, wait in living room, Man returns to kitchen, takes something out of cupboard, leaves through back door, Policeman faces camera, holds up palm in "Halt" gesture (NICE), Sign: Stop School Crossing, Pedestrians cross street, Three men talk on street. Shake hands, Pretty girl is escorted to her car by two young men, Pretty girl gets in driver's seat, greets the men, drives off, CU of feet dancing. Teens dancing in soda shoppe. Jitterbug, Man plays piano, smiles wildly, Jimmy enters the party, is greeted warmly by girl, The two dance with other couples on dance floor, Piano player gets up from piano, Jimmy takes his place, Piano player enters empty room, lights up joint, smokes it, smiles wildly, giggles, The party group leaves, Pretty girl and date sit on front porch of house, Mother brings them drinks, they commence studying (perfect couple to be despoiled by marijuana), Boy recites from Romeo and Juliet to her, She responds with Juliet's lines, Mother interrupts them, Boy becomes nervous, excuses himself and leaves, Brother comes home, kisses Mother, Little brother teases big brother, Big brother chases little brother around the room, Next day. Ext. street, Jimmy in car stops to picks up friend on curb, they drive off, Int. soda shop, Jimmy and friends sit at table sipping sodas, talk, The piano player sits at piano playing, laughing, CU crazed look on piano player, The group shows up at Mae's place where young people are already dancing and laughing (semi wild party), Mae enters kitchen, talks to her partner preparing drugs, Boy grabs girlfriend's legs and pulls her onto his lap, they make out on couch, Mae brings "cigarette" to girl, she thanks her, Girl encourages boy to smoke the joint, Girl lights up joint and after a few puffs begins smiling broadly, Boy reluctantly smokes the joint, Man watches him, laughs out loud, Boy in car drops off man on street corner, Man enters office, talks to man behind desk ("I'm just dope enough to stop selling hop to kids"), The man returns to the car, they drive off, The boy speeds down city street, CU of speedometer needle passing 50 mph, Car speeds through traffic, shops and buildings visible (possibly Los Angeles), Traffic signal changes from "Go" to "Stop.", Man prepares to cross street, Car speeds through intersection, hits the man, speeds off, Man falls, crowd gathers, Int. house, girl sits at dining room table, talks to Mother, Brother sits down, acts nervously, snaps at sister, Ext. tall city building, Sign on door: Federal Offices - Bureau of Investigation, Int. office, man behind desk talks to man in chair before him, about trying to put an end to pot parties, Int. high school principal's office, principal talks to student, asks if he uses drugs, At tennis courts, Mary in tennis outfit holding racket talks to boy, Int. Mae's place, girl dances seductively in middle of living room while other party guests laugh, Mae pours drink in kitchen, Partner enters kitchen, opens refrigerator, takes out dish, Girl and boy laugh as they enter bedroom, Man watches as they stumble to the bedroom door, he laughs out loud, Boy and girl kiss passionately, girl removes her top, Girl lies across bed pleading "come on", Boy joins her on bed, they kiss, Party guests dance around piano player, girl kisses piano player while he tries to continue playing, Man watches, laughs, Plainclothes detectives knock on Mary's door, she answers, talks to the detectives in front of house. He shows identification (ID), Mary asks bartender at the roadhouse about her brother, Mary pays a visit to Mae's place, she is greeted warmly by one of the guests, Mary enters the apartment, sits on couch, Man offers her what she thinks is a cigarette, she smokes it, In the bedroom, Jimmy and the girl start to wake up, In the living room, Mary sits next to the man, begins giggling, The man grabs her in an embrace, she resists him, Mary struggles against the man's advances on the couch, Mary screams for help, the man continues to force kisses on her, Jimmy sees the struggle, pulls the man off Mary, Mae and partner hear the fracas, leave the kitchen, Partner enters the living room, pulls out a gun and approaches Jimmy, Jimmy and partner fight, The gun goes off as they fight, Startled looks by Mae and the other girl, Camera pans to Mary lying on the couch with a bullet hole visible in her back, The partner pistol whips Jimmy, knocking him out ("she's dead"), The group discovers Mary dead on the couch, Partner wipes the gun clean and places it in unconscious Jimmy's hand, Partner sprinkles water on Jimmy's face, he starts to come to, Jimmy is helped to his feet, he sees Mary, he looks down at the gun in his hand, drops the gun, Jimmy kneels beside the sofa and cries over Mary's body while Mae and partner look on, Int. roadhouse, bartender fixes drinks, partner walks in, Partner sits down with boy at a table, Newspaper headline: Marijuana Trial Opens Today, Int. courtroom, attorney cross examines witness. Describes students on drugs, Int. Mae's place, Mae tries to console man about Mary, Int. courtroom, attorney addresses the jury (lots of histronics), Pan of jury (NICE), great generic murder trial, lawyer points and raises voice to jury about importance of nailing defendant, jury exits, Sign: Jury Room, members of the jury discuss their verdict, vote, A swinging shade string becomes a swinging noose, then back again, The jury returns to the courtroom, The head juror announces the guilty verdict, The defendant breaks down crying, The room clears out, Int. Mae's place. Man who witnessed the murder paces around restlessly, acts nervously, Man calls out to Mae to "bring me some reefer", Man sits and smokes joint, wrings his hands, Girl plays piano, crosses over to him, tries to console him, The two sit at the piano, smoke, He gets excited, demands she play faster, faster, Classic O'Brien going nuts as he smokes reefer, grabs head, laughs, tears at self (great over the top nuttiness), The partner enters, the man glares at him wildly, Wild eyed man, The man beats the partner over the head with a cane, The girl screams/laughs (she's lost her mind), Woman calls cops ("there's a terrible fight going on"), The police enter, arrest the women and the man. Man is zoned out, Montage as Mae is cross examined by detectives in a small dark room, police sirens wail, police cars speed through streets at night, police break into rooms with a pick axe, men are arrested, CU of hands being handcuffed, headline: Gang Leaders Captured, Sign: Judge's Chambers, Judge listens to girl's testimony of true murderer, The girl is led away by prison matron, as she walks down corridor images of past events leading up to Mary's murder appear, Mary sees an open window ahead, Mary breaks away from the matron and runs toward the window, jumps out, Body falls through space, lays on ground, Wrongfully accused William stands before the judge and is freed, but receives stern lecture nonetheless, William embraces his parents, Intoxicated man is brought before the judge, Great montage-type shots of wild eyed insane man, Back in the classroom, the principal concludes his lecture to the parents, Lecturer points to camera and says you or you or you (GREAT), The End