Description
Book SynopsisMarihuana, Motherhood & Madness features the complete shooting scripts of three Depression-era films directed by independent filmmaker Dwain Esper. A topic of growing interest among cinema aficionados and scholars, the lowbrow exploitation genre was the means by which small-scale entrepreneurs could compete with the major studios. Exploitation films addressed such controversial topics as drug use, prostitution, abortion, child marriage, and even bestialitytopics the major studios were forbidden to address by the Production Code Administrationsalaciously exploiting the profitability of such taboo issues, while justifying their prurience by posing as educational tracts. Dwain Esper (1894-1982) was the exploitation industry''s most audacious figure. Without any formal training in filmmaking, he operated his own film lab and studio (which he acquired when a debtor defaulted on a loan) and in 1932 began tapping into Depression America''s appetites for iniquity. As technically crude as his films are, they possess a savage beauty and are highlighted by moments of sublime tenderness and startling horror, proving that Esper had a natural gift for the medium, even if he was only involved for the money. The screenplays included are: Modern Motherhood (1934), a social commentary on liberal marriages, abortion, and face-lifts; Maniac (1934), a treatise on mental illness delivered in the low-budget horror-movie format; and Marihuana: Weed with Roots in Hell (1936), a drug scare film in which a few puffs set an innocent high-school girl on a downward spiral to become a heroin-addicted, drug-pushing kidnapper.
Trade Review...a useful addition to the very sparse, accurate documentation of the exploitation film racket. * Classic Images *
Each script is appended with Wood's extensive annotations, which are an education in themselves...there's also an extensive introduction, which...lends candid insight into Esper's character. * Video Watchdog *
...a fascinating social commentary on liberal marriages, teenage drinking and facelifts. Bret Wood understands his subject better than anyone outside the Esper family. -- Paul Holbrook * The Big Reel *
...a wild youth tale. * Movie Collector's World, Feb. 99, #570 *
...valuable to students of the genre. We wish there were more...an interesting appendix includes correspondence between Mrs. Esper and the New York Censor Board. * Past Times *
