ABSTRACT
September 1, 1948: On September 1, 1948, after a string of successful films for RKO, actor Robert Mitchum and actress Lile Leeds were arrested for possession of marijuana. The arrest was the result of a sting operation designed to capture other Hollywood partiers as well, but Mitchum and Leeds did not receive the tip-off. After serving a week at the county jail (Mitchum described the experience to a reporter as being “like Palm Springs, but without the riff-raff”) Mitchum spent 43 days (February 16 to March 30) at a Castaic, California, prison farm, with LIFE magazine photographers right there taking photos of him mopping up in his prison uniform. The arrest became the inspiration for the exploitation film She Shouldna Said No! (1949), which starred Leeds. The conviction was later overturned by the Los Angeles court and district attorney’s office on January 31, 1951, because it was a setup. Mitchum went on to have many more big box office successes (Figure 9.1).
