Maryjane (film)
{{Short description|1968 film by Maury Dexter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Maryjane
| image = File:Maryjane (film).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| director = Maury Dexter
| producer = Maury Dexter
| writer = Dick Gautier
Peter Marshall
| based_on = story by Maury Dexter
| narrator =
| starring = Fabian
Diane McBain
| music = Mike Curb
Lawrence Brown
| cinematography = Richard Moore
| editing = Sidney Levin
| studio = American International Pictures
| distributor = American International Pictures
| released = {{Film date|1968|01|24}}
| runtime =
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $1,000,000 (US/ Canada)"Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, January 8, 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
}}
Maryjane is a 1968 feature film starring Fabian as a high school art teacher who is framed for drug possession.[http://www.fabianforte.net/maryjane.htm Maryjane] at Fabianforte.net
Plot
A car driven by a driver intoxicated by marijuana plunges off a cliff, killing the driver and injuring a female passenger.
It turns out marijuana use is rife at a small town high school, led by the clique of Jordan Bates. Art teacher Phil Blake tries to persuade student Jerry Blackburn not to smoke. Jerry borrows Phil's car and Jordan leaves some marijuana in it. Phil gets arrested for possession of marijuana.
Cast
- Fabian as Phil Blake
- Diane McBain as Ellie Holden
- Michael Margotta as Jerry Blackburn
- Kevin Coughlin as Jordan Bates
- Patty McCormack as Susan Hoffman
Production
According to Maury Dexter "there was nothing salacious or offensive about" the film "but it did have some provocative scenes that showed the results of overindulging and the risks taken when someone needs 'a fix.'"
The movie was shot almost entirely in the Hollywood area. The Doheny Mansion in Beverly Hills was used for some scenes. "The stark beauty of the estate set against the ramblings of a young 'user' was, I thought, quite effective," wrote Dexter later.
Some scenes, including the shoplifting event, were shot in the Conejo Valley and the Decker Canyon Road area between Thousand Oaks and Malibu.
Fabian later described the film as being about "a Good Humor Man who sold marijuana to high school kids."{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/cashbox33unse_24#page/25/mode/1up/search/%22love+in+a+goldfish+bowl%22|website=Cash Box|date=18 December 1971|page=14|title=Hollywood Hold That Tiger}}
Reception
Dexter says "the film did very well at the box office, although, it was far from a big hit."[https://fiftieswesterns.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/highway-to-hollywood1.pdf Maury Dexter, Highway to Hollywood p 131] accessed July 5, 2014
Variety complained "all the adult characters are stereotypes."{{cite book|title=Variety Reviews 1968-1970|chapter=Maryjane|url=https://archive.org/details/varietyfilmrevie0000unse/page/n31/mode/1up|date=21 February 1968|page=31}}
Diabolique magazine later wrote that:
It’s bewildering to think that AIP made this the year after The Trip (1967)… but then Sam Arkoff and Jim Nicholson were concerned about the former movie being too pro-drug so maybe they churned this out to cover their bases. Maury Dexter’s handling is generally quite lively and there is some decent enough acting, but this is just silly, with gangs of kids puffing weed and driving off cliffs, like in Reefer Madness (1936). It’s a little odd seeing Fabian play a teacher... it’s a shame this wasn’t made a few years earlier when he could have played the charismatic bad student.{{cite magazine|magazine=Diabolique|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=The Cinema of Fabian|date=26 August 2019|url=https://diaboliquemagazine.com/the-cinema-of-fabian/}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0063281|Maryjane}}
- [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/83027/maryjane Maryjane] at TCMDB
{{Maury Dexter}}
Category:1960s English-language films
Category:American films about cannabis
Category:American high school films
Category:American International Pictures films
Category:Films directed by Maury Dexter
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