Reviews

Of course, when you think of drug-abuse depictions in films, the "standard" is Reefer Madness. And in some scenes, this educational film comes close to being another RM, first with its wild depictions in the early scenes of how some 1967 kids looked and dressed, and later in its over-the-top acting of people in the midst of "trips." What saves this film from RM territory is, first, the cutting, no-nonsense narration by Sal Mineo (he should have done more voice-over work like this), and second, the relentlessly flat, monotone "performances" of the physicians and "experts" who appear in the movie. (One poor guy keeps pausing in weird spots during his speech, as if he keeps losing his place! Hmmm....) Near the end of the closing credits, the screen shows this title: "Except for the physicians, all participants are actors. "NO KIDDING!" I shouted.

Spaghetti-westerns weren't just Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, friends; they weren't even just Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.

I saw this film years ago on the Caribbean SuperStation, a short-lived satellite channel from Aruba. I found it weird and fascinating, a spaghetti-western gone nuts; but I didn't catch the title. Afterward, all I could remember was that (a) the hero was named Onion, (b) Martin Balsam was a co-star, and (c) a child in the film spoke with an adult's voice. After some time, I began to wonder if I'd just ... imagined the film.

Now, thanks to the IMDb, I can rest assured that (a) I did indeed see this film, (b) it does exist outside my imagination, and (c) others have seen it, too.