Assassin Of Youth

2408. ASSASSIN OF YOUTH (1937-USA). Directed by ELMER CLIFTON. Given the title and subject matter of this exploitation feature, one might expect it to be crammed with cornball sermonizing and heavy-duty littering. However, it is anything but your average funny-sleazy film depicting the evils of smoking marijuana or some other such “depraved” activity. You would, in fact, be hard-pressed to find a more dramatically potent and professionally made film of its type. Perhaps this is because it was directed by Elmer Clifton, a protege of the legendary D.W. Griffith! He tells the story of a sweet and pretty teenager named Joan Barrie, who, unlike her drug-dealing cousin Linda, has not “strayed from the straight and narrow path.” For this reason, she will, upon reaching her maturity, inherit a formidable sum of money from her just-deceased grandmother, who had placed a “morals clause” in her will. The ever-scheming Linda plots to defame Joan so that she might be awarded the money instead. She and her kid sister Marjorie soon find themselves smoking one-too-many marijuana cigarettes and getting into jams they will be hard pressed to get out of. Into their midst comes Arthur Brighton, fearless young investigative reporter from a big city daily. His gruff editor has ordered him to go undercover, settle in the Barrie sisters’ town and get the scoop! 63 minutes. Exploitation