Maryjane (film)

Maryjane is a 1968 feature film starring Fabian as a high school art teacher who is framed for drug possession.[2]

Maryjane
Directed byMaury Dexter
Produced byMaury Dexter
Written byDick Gautier
Peter Marshall
Based onstory by Maury Dexter
StarringFabian
Diane McBain
Music byMike Curb
Lawrence Brown
CinematographyRichard Moore
Edited bySidney Levin
Production
company
Distributed byAmerican International Pictures
Release date
  • January 24, 1968 (1968-01-24)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,000,000 (US/ Canada)[1]

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

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.'"[3]

The movie was shot entirely in the Hollywood area. The Dohney 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.[3]

Fabian later described the film as being about "a Good Humour Man who sold marijuana to high school kids."[4]

Reception

Dexter says "the film did very well at the box office, although, it was far from a big hit."[3]

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.[5]

gollark: The nice way given is to just magically spawn the mob drops.
gollark: Yes, but then it became moronic and stupid.
gollark: I can kind of write the horror that is ZenScript!
gollark: CraftTweaker!
gollark: Yes, but stupid.

References
  1. "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, January 8, 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
  2. Maryjane at Fabianforte.net
  3. Maury Dexter, Highway to Hollywood p 131 accessed July 5, 2014
  4. "Hollywood Hold That Tiger". Cash Box. December 18, 1971. p. 14.
  5. Vagg, Stephen (August 26, 2019). "The Cinema of Fabian". Diabolique.


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