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I have a definite penchant for movies and tv programming that fall into the odd, offbeat, and obscure category. In my estimation The Poppy Is Also A Flower fills the bill perfectly! This cumbersome international escapade was a joint production between the United States, France, and Austria. The film was the original, “cautionary” anti-drug public service announcement long before the feeble “Just Say No” campaign which was a hallmark of the 1980s so-called “War On Drugs”. This was prominent during the second half of Ronald Reagan’s two-term presidency getting constant publicity but became something of a national joke. The “Just Say No” campaign offered various ways for impressionable teenagers to avoid the perils of illicit, recreational drug use.
From my own teenage memories of the 80s it seemed that much of this anti-drug movement was focused more on the dangers of cocaine — especially cocaine and it’s much cheaper, more dangerous and more widely available derivative commonly known as “crack” or rock cocaine. Suffice it to say I had no experience with any drugs during that period… (except very limited nicotine) which was a good thing! Anyways, the narrative of The Poppy Is Also A Flower focuses on the perils of the international heroin trade, which apparently was the bane of 1960s. I guess every era has its outstanding social ills and Poppy was determined to show the world how to effectively combat this particular evil.
Originally, Poppy was produced for broadcast television in association with the United Nations which intended to make a series of films for tv to showcase what good it was accomplishing in the world. After all, it wasn’t doing a bang-up job of promoting or enforcing world peace then (or now for that matter), as was its original reason for being when established in 1945. However, that is another discussion entirely and in my next post I will discuss more fully the television specials the United Nations had intended to produce as I find this quite intriguing. For now, though let’s get back to The Poppy Is Also A Flower. As it turned out, Poppy was originally broadcast on the ABC network in 1966, but also had a limited theatrical run the following year.
The film had a large ensemble cast with major stars of the 1940s and 50s such as Rita Hayworth and Yul Brynner in supporting or cameo parts, while important stars of the 60s such as Angie Dickinson and Omar Shariff featured in bigger roles. Now, for some fun facts about Poppy. It was narrated by the always elegant and regal Princess Grace Of Monaco which added a touch of needed panache to the production. The princess was the former Grace Kelly of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who had retired in 1956 from a lucrative career as one of Hollywood’s leading Academy Award winners as Best Actress for The Country Girl (1954) and top box office draws. She left the silver screen after marrying Prince Rainier, ruler of the tiny Mediterranean principality of Monaco, also the home of the the fabled Monte Carlo. Princess Grace would die tragically in a car crash sixteen years later in France on September 24, 1982 at age 52.
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The film was directed by Terence Young which seemed a natural choice as Poppy was something of a spy story as well as being an anti-drug message. Young had recently directed several of the highly successful James Bond showcases like Dr. No (1962), From Russia, With Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965). I must say (most people would likely agree) these three productions come off far better as international intrigue stories and have a certain polish that The Poppy Is Also A Flower is lacking.
Generally speaking, one of the superior stories about the illicit heroin trade is the classic The French Connection (1971) starring Gene Hackman as the indomitable Popeye Doyle, a narcotics detective working the mean streets of New York City to catch drug smugglers. The French Connection has a level of excitement, an electrifying protagonist, and thrilling car chase that The Poppy Is Also A Flower is hard pressed to match. Still, after watching Poppy I wanted to refresh my memory about the poppy flower at the center of the whole heroin maelstrom.
Apparently not all types of poppies can be used to create this powerful and very addictive drug. The type that provides this is the opium poppy which contains certain compounds or alkaloids of morphine and codeine. Of course, these compounds were originally intended for valid medical uses to provide relief from severe pain. However, leave it up to humans to also take something beneficial and turn it into something illicit and addictive to make tons of money from it.
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Along with later drugs like crack cocaine, the heroin created from the opium poppy (and mixed with god only knows what else!) created an intense craving for it and the resulting addictions impacted the poor minorities of inner city ghettos in the United States and Europe more severely than elsewhere and further complicated other social problems.
This addiction to heroin was worsened by the diseases which were also spread through the sharing of contaminated needles used to inject the drug directly into the bloodstream for the quickest, maximum “high”. Just writing about needles makes me nauseous, but heroin is supposed to cause an intense euphoria or “rush” that usually leads to cloudy sensations and then drowsiness. So, it’s not impossible to understand the appeal of the drug — if it didn’t cause so many other negative impacts.
According to the Poppy Is Also A Flower’s narrative the worst of the heroin trade was coming from Afghanistan and Iran where anti-drug forces were trying valiantly to nip it in the bud (pun intended). Despite the strict theocratic, Islamic regimes which rule both countries presently, they are still significant conduits in the heroin trade, though probably not the main sources of the drug as was the case in 1966 when Poppy was released.
I still think the film is intriguing although it’s far from being the best anti-drug or international spy thriller around. As I’ve said before, though, I’m willing to watch almost anything once and The Poppy Is Also A Flower is most interesting for its international all-star cast even though it sank like rock at the box office and seemed to disappear without a trace. It has had a resurrection of sorts and can now be watched on Amazon Prime.
