Monkey on the back

Canada, 1956

Film
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This documentary drama, based on the real-life experiences of a drug addict, not only portrays the terrible consequences of the misuse of narcotics but presents the general problem of addiction and, particularly, of the addict as an individual. Dick Smith lost everything valued most in life because of his craving for the narcotics which finally killed him. In relating the story of his attempts to break the habit, the film reveals the essential nature of addiction as both a social and a human problem.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Julian Biggs

producer

Grant McLean

production company

National Film Board of Canada

Duration

00:28:53:00

Production places
Canada
Production dates
1956

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

007225

Language

English

Subject categories

Documentary

Documentary → Docudrama

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Drug abuse - Social aspects

Education, Instruction, Teaching & Schools → Drug abuse - Study and teaching

Educational & Instructional

Educational & Instructional → Instructional

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drug abuse

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drug abuse - Social aspects

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drug abuse - Study and teaching

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drugs - Physiological effect

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Drugs - Psychological aspects

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Health education

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Narcotic addicts

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Narcotic habit

Food, Health, Lifestyle, Medicine, Psychology & Safety → Narcotics

Short films

Short films → Short films - Canada

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Black and White

Holdings

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/70552--monkey-on-the-back/ |title=Monkey on the back |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=1 May 2025 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}