Ep # 13 - LSD Movies in 1967

It’s a sunny day and you and your girlfriend Mimsy decide to take a drive to the park. You’re humming along the highway, not a care in the world, when suddenly the sun turns black. Screeching to a halt, you almost collide with the car in front of you. But wait–it’s not a car… it’s a gigantic mushroom made of glitter! You turn to Mimsy for answers, but Mimsy isn’t there–in her place, just a smiling skeleton that slowly dissolves in front of your eyes. Now you’re weeping on the grass, and you realize you’ve been in the park this whole time. The name of that park? Golden Gate Park. The year? 1967. The vehicle? Lysergic acid diethylamide.

1967 seems to have been the year the public was ready to talk about the effects of LSD. Of course, depending on who you were talking to, the decription of its effects might vary wildly. While the cops were slinging “facts” about how LSD can alter your chromosomes, the hippies were preaching about its marvelous consciousness expanding benefits. Where does the truth lie?

In this episode, Jenna and Bart peruse a wide range of LSD-centric films from 1967 in order to get to the truth of the infamous drug. The following films are discussed, in order from square to hip:

• LSD, Trip or Trap [short] (1967)
Directed by Sid Davis

• Riot on Sunset Strip (1967)
Directed by Arthur Dreifuss
Starring Aldo Ray, Mimsy Farmer, Laurie Mock

• The Love-Ins (1967)
Directed by Arthur Dreifuss
Starring Richard Todd, James MacArthur, Susan Oliver

• Human Be-In - 1/14/1967 - Polo Fields, Golden Gate Park [documentary footage] (1967)

• The Weird World of LSD (1967)
Directed by Robert Ground
Starring Terry Tessem, Yolanda Morino, Ann Lindsay

• Exploding Plastic Inevitable [short] (1967)
Directed by Ronald Nameth
Starring The Velvet Underground and Nico

• Be-In [short] (1967)
Directed by Jerry Abrams
Starring Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary

• The Trip (1967)
Directed by Roger Corman
Starring Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern

• Psychedelic Sex Kicks (1967)
Starring Glen McKay, Janie Boyde, Julie Boone