Fantastic Movie
I saw this movie when I was a little girl. I now have it on tape. It is fantastic!!!!!!!
I actually signed on to IMDB as soon as the credits were rolling to see what might be said. I am sorry, but I thought it stank.
They call the POLICE to get him treatment?! Please. If this actor's portrayal of an addict were even minutely credible, it would have shocked me more; but this movie's treatment of addiction got to be laughable by the time they decided to "help" him by calling the police.
And NO. That is NOT what was "done" in the fifties.
Hey, but if you enjoyed it, who cares what I think?!
Actually that is how it was done. Being a drug addict was a crime and you could get arrested for it. That's the point of the ending, that by reporting him his wife could get him some help. That's why the entire movie was so tense, because on top of being an addict there was little help available but through the police. You couldn't just go check yourself into a treatment center back then.
Billie Holiday was actually placed under arrest while on her deathbed because she was addicted to heroin.
Whadda ya hear, whadda ya say!
You are 100% right. We can't stop with Billie Holiday unfortunatly, even decades later Lenny Bruce's carrer was ruined because of his heroin addiction, sure they get him for obsene language, but we all know what it was really about. Bebe, I don't know how old you are, but I am in my mid 50's, and I have been a heroin addict since I was 24 in 1979. I have been on methadone maintenance for many years now, so thank God that part of my life is over. I tried everything to get clean. rehabs, detoxes, 12 stepp programs, but I couldn't stay clean, so I got on methadone, and I dont even think about using anything today,Sorry I got off track here, but heroin addicts were treated like animals until the last few decades. We were considered weak, evil,to the public we had no morals, and I am sad to say that the majority of people still see us in that way. My uncle did heroin in the old days, although he just put it down, and never went back. So Bebe, unless you have been there, done that or know someone who has, your false expectations of how the movie should have ended. In the early part of the 20th century addicts were considered criminals, they were chained to beds and pissed, threw up, and defacated on themselves.Billie Holiday was one of the best singers of her time, and just because she had the diease of addiction they put her in a cage. Even today, I have been bashed on every forum I have ever been to because I tell the truth about myself, and I do it because if it stops just one kid from putting that needle in his/her arm, then I don't care what people think of me. One the topic of the movie, I thought it was so real because I felt everything that Don felt, the runny nose, the sweeting, then the chills, the desperation and the fear. OMHO it is one of the best movies about opiate addiction ever made. and there are other excellent ones. Panic In Needle Park, Al Pachinos first movie, The man with the golden arm wirh Frank Sinatra as the heroin addict. Sorry for going on and on, but I am very passionate aboit my beliefs. Non violent drug offenders don't belong in prison, they need the treatment of their choice, 12 step, faith based, methadone maintenace, or suboxone treatment. Harm reduction is near and dear ro my heart. My best friends are dying from AIDS, HEP C, and a lot of other things. I myself have Hep C, but Thank God I don't feel sick..
Thanks for listening
Patrice
Thank you for sharing your inspirational story. May God Bless you, Patrice!
shareDitto. The mentally retarded were treated horrendously too back 'in the day'.
This country experienced an all time high (no pun intended) in narcotic addiction directly after the Civil War due to the use of Morphine to treat the wounded.Heroin was legal until the 1st part of the last century and Laudanum was a popular 'cure all' (opium/morphine and alcohol) prescribed and sold everywhere. Its hard to believe, after all the experience this country has had with opiate addiction, that in the 50's, 60's and even the 70's, it was considered the province of deviants and 'low lifes'. But then again 'blacks' had to use separate water fountains, the mentally retarded where warehoused in human zoos...I'm always blown away to think things were so during my lifetime !! Now that opiate use has become the 'valium' (mothers little helper) of the '00s the odds are you know someone this is addicted. Opium and its derevitives are the personification of evil. For 14 days they promise heaven on earth, by day 21 one finds them self in hell on earth ! Although Suboxone has been approved by the Feds. for opiate addiction, there still is a long way to go in understanding what opiate addiction is. Suboxone, IMHO, should be considered the same as insulin for diabetics - receptor replacement therapy would be more accurate. Kicking Heroin, Oxy or the other strong variants is possible for the newer addict. For those that have been addicted for years, the brain can be damaged and requires a substitute to fill the 'receptors' much like insulin or the meds required for those that have had their thyroid removed. Suboxone doesn't get the patient 'high' like opiates, the patient doesn't build a 'tolerance' like with other opiates and it actually makes it impossible for the 'addict' to get high on any of the opiates ! Many find they can reduce their dose greatly as time goes by and benefit by a lower dose ! The exact opposite of Methadone or any other 'replacement' opioids. Amazing and quite possibly a miracle for those suffering from this addiction. No, I don't own stock in any pharmaceutical company, nor am I a salesman. But I have seen first hand the almost miracle like effect of this medication on many 'addicts'.Sorry for my 'inarticulation' here - tryig to watch 'Baby Doll' at the same time (TMC - no commercials). And like the poster above that inspired me to write all of this - IF IT HELPS ONE PERSON, SAVES ONE PERSONS LIFE, IT's WORTH IT !! I hope you all agree...
As for the movie, I was 1/2 expecting a typical 'stereotyped' addict/addiction story ala 50's out of touch with reality story telling/script writing. The ONLY reason I did bother to watch was due to Robert Osborn's recommendation and the subject matter. I was fully prepared to switch channels within the 1st 5 minutes. However, Robert didn't disappoint - this was a great movie and one which should have been more accessible to young folk of that era forward. Acting was 1st rate, the dialogue IMHO 'rang true' - at least as good as it gets 'in the movies'. Having grown up in the NYC area I felt this movie captured the essence of what it must have been like to be an addict in 1950s NYC. I remember hearing terms like 'deuce bag' and 'tray bag' during the early 60's ($2.00 and $3.00 bags) and wondered if I would hear them again here - no.
However, slang in the pop/drug culture can change 'on a dime' (how long has that one been around ?) so I don't think the movie was any less 'on the money' for missing these terms for amount/denomination but, had I heard any of them i would have known the script was written by one that has walked the walk and not someone who had guessed at what it must be like (and rightfully assumes that most of the film going audience wouldn't know the difference). Most of these movies blow it with a character(s) who is supposed to be 'hip' and spaced out on drugs. Their lines are usually way off based, the direction and/or interpretation of the character(s) is based on having only seen 'the type' on the street, if that and then drawn from memory at best. They are always 'crazy man, you dig ?' whatever, as if all drug users are schizophrenic ! Hard to explain here and I'm doing a lousy job - I hope you get what I'm trying to say LOL ! It helps greatly if the actor has had some first hand experience in 'the scene'. Otherwise it comes off as forced and inaccurate to most, more glaringly
'off' in today then back in the 50's I'm sure. Who in 1957 would no any of the
drug underground terminology ? Very few people so it usually 'worked' no matter how bad the actors/directors 'got it'. As another mentioned - no film for the depressed ! You could almost feel the freezing drizzle - made all the worse by the watching the addict walk the desolate streets in withdrawal. IMHO, one of the best films on the subject - it transcends the era it was made in, the dialogue sounds authentic enough and the acting is 1st rate.
** To anyone that has found themselves addicted to a narcotic - see a doctor that will prescribe Suboxone. You will never spend a minute suffering as this character did. No standing in line each morning for your methadone - once a month in your doctors office, treated like someone with common illness rather than a leper. Its not the 'perfect' answer but the best one by far... you don't need to suffer anymore. You don't need to battle daily cravings anymore. Its the best chance to put your life back on track !
One of the more striking moments came when Celia found out that Johnny was an addict. She was actually relieved that this was his problem, as she had thought his pulling away from her was because he was cheating on her! Infidelity seems to be a worse offense than drug addiction.
This was a grim movie, and by 1950's standards, about as starkly realsitic as a film could get. Recall that the previous year's "Man with the Golden Arm", with Sinatra as the addict, was released without the Production code seal.
I was fearful as the last scene faded out, that there would be a new scene, set about a year later, showing Johnny totally cured, with Celia and the baby happy and domestic, Polo settled down and married and even Pop with a sunnier disposition. THIS is something they used to do in the old days. Perhaps a lesser direction than Kazan might have knuckled under to studio pressure for a happier ending (I don't know for sure, but I'm certain there must have been some of that). The stark, harsh ending was better and more fitting.
I, too, saw this when I was a young girl and the gritty realism stuck with me and probably frightned me in a way that made me NEVER, EVER want to try drugs.
Today I watched it and though most of it was familiar, a lot of it was "new" to me---the tension between Celia and Polo. I cried...it was so heartbreaking.
I appreciate your going to the trouble to communicate so much on the subject. I agree that the simpler, more innocent times were NOT.
I do want to say, though, that there were people with mental retardation who were raised in the community and had no contact with snake pits. I know of three ladies, two of them distant cousins, who were taught domestic skills and spent their whole lives in their parents' home. One of them outlived her mother and despite all fears to the contrary, surprised everyone by loving her new group home and her job.
The unfortunate ones who were dumped by their unloving families were in terrible trouble, including in some cases involuntary sterilization. (Indiana's work on removing imperfect genes from the pool was noted by Hitler. They even went after extremely poor and uneducated rural families who couldn't possibly do well on their urban tests, to stop as many of them from reproducing as they could. Horrible. Just horrible.)
"The unfortunate ones who were dumped by their unloving families".
In some cases no doubt but, back in the day, the family doctor often was the middle man who advised the family to give up their child. Often the parents were told to leave the child with them, there is nothing you can do for him/her, we'll take it from here - go on home, she/he will be in good hands. Sounds heartless but the reality is, in cases of severe MR, there is no hope of the child living at home with the family - especially if there are other children in the home. These parents became estranged from the child as their only option was to visit them at the institution on weekends, often far from the parents home. Imagine having to face that 'choice' ? Part with one of your children for the sake of the others and the family as a whole. Guilt and shame followed for something they never had a choice in - there was no choice.
May God Be With You, Patrice
share
Dear Patrice, thank you for sharing your story.
God bless and keep you.
.
http://theobamafile.com/index.htm
I see Patrice last posted back in 08/13. Hope you are doing ok Patrice ...
shareMy best friend's step daughter is a drug addicted nurse. They have tried interventions, everything. The only way she is getting help is her father called the police and told them she was stealing drugs from work. If he had not called the police, the nursing home would have just fired her. They do not want people to know that their staff is stealing drugs from patients. She got arrested and is in treatment. Without calling the police, she would not be getting help/
"A daffy woman constantly strives to become a star..."
"They call the POLICE to get him treatment?!"
Hell, they still do that today! Jails are filled with addicts who are placed there when someone reports them to the police.
It's also still illegal in the United States to be high on illegal substances, as well as prescription drugs, if the user can't provide a valid script and police bring these people to jail (rather than a more appropriate rehab facility) because cities and municipalities don't have adequate rehab.
It's aso still extremely common for the *beep* Dept of VA Health Services to provide narcotics to Veterans and when they show signs of dependency, requiring higher doses to control pain (which is inevitable) they are literally kick them to the curb - labeled an attic - unable to get treatment and physically dependent on opiates. Many, many turn to the streets, but prescription drugs are very expensive. So they invariably turn to heroine and the major problem begins.
Many more, commit suicide, because they can't stand the pain from their injuries and the constant need.
MAKE NO MISTAKE, THE VA HAS BEEN CREATING AND ABANDONING ADDICKS FOR MORE THAN 60 YEARS, and from what I see on a daily basis, NOBODY GIVES A SH*!.
But we in it shall be remembered;
We few, we happy few, we Band of Brothers.
(member since 2005)
for more drugs.
you know, you shouldn't post about things that you know nothing about. In fact, that is precisely how drug addiction was handled in the 1950's. Do you think they could have called a rehab clinic, or maybe called the tv show "Intervention?" None of that stuff existed back then! Hardly anybody had any understanding of morphine addiction. It wasn't spoken about, it was something to be deeply ashamed of. People called the police when they needed help. It was illegal to be a drug addict, and having the addict arrested was the most obvious way to get him away from the drug. Also, the way the actor portrayed the addict was quite accurate, and very daring for a film from the 1950's..
"IMdB; where 14 year olds can act like jaded 40 year old critics...'