The Pace That Kills (1935)

Drug dealer on the run from the law meets an innocent young girl and her brother, and turns them into "cocaine fiends."

Director:

William A. O'Connor

Stars:

Lois January, Noel Madison, Sheila Bromley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lois January	...	Jane Bradford aka Lil
Noel Madison	...	Nick - The Pusher
Sheila Bromley	...	Fanny (as Sheila Manners)
Dean Benton	...	Eddie Bradford
Lois Lindsay	...	Dorothy Farley
Charles Delaney	...	Dan - the Detective - Dorothy's Boyfriend (as Chas. Delaney)
Eddie Phillips	...	Manager of Dead Rat Club
Frank Shannon	...	Mr. Farley
Fay Holden	...	Madame / Henchwoman (as Gaby Fay)
Maury Peck	...	Master of Ceremonies
Nona Lee	...	Band Vocalist
Gay Sheridan	...	Dorothy's Friend
Frank Collins	...	Singing Waiter

Storyline

Small town girl Jane Bradford falls for Nick, a guy from the big city who offers her the opportunity to get away from her small town life. He also offers her "headache powder", she not knowing that it's cocaine and that Nick is a drug pusher. By the time they get to the city, she's hooked on her new medicine. Jane's brother, Eddie, goes to the city to look for his sister, who has not kept in touch with her family. Eddie gets a job as a carhop at a drive-in and is befriended by a drive-in's waitress named Fanny. Fanny is one of Nick's customers, and Fanny soon gets Eddie hooked on the headache powder. Due to this vice, Eddie and Fanny's life soon goes downhill. They're both fired from their jobs and are unable to find other work in their drugged out state. On the periphery of both Eddie and Jane's life is Dorothy Farley, a customer at the drive-in. Dorothy, dating Dan, comes from a wealthy family and she throws her money around easily. She's willing to assist financially those in need....

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Plot Keywords:

city | drugs | cocaine | small town | opium | 

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Taglines:

Crazed dope fiends on a narcotic rampage!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Cocaine Fiends

Company Credits

Production Co:

Willis Kent Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Fanny and Eddie go to the club, Fanny points out "Shirley Claire, the famous actress" and the shot is followed by two stock footage inserts from another film, showing a young man talking to a pretty young woman while seated at a table. This footage is actually from the original The Pace That Kills, and the actress shown was the one who played the original Fanny. So essentially, in this scene, Fanny points to herself.

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Quotes

Fanny: Tonight I'm gonna take you on a sleigh ride with some snow birds.
Eddie: Sleigh ride? Snow birds? In summer?
Fanny: Gee, you ARE dumb!

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Crazy Credits

Opening statement: Among the many evils against which society struggles, one of the most vicious is the traffic in dope . . in every community where the menace developes all the forces which society can mobilize, including social agencies, doctors, law enforcement officials and government band together to stamp it out . . . . . . Without such activity the dope evil would run rampant. Yet it has long been recognized that one other powerful force is necessary before the struggle can be completely successful. That force is an aroused and educated public awareness. It is in the hope of aiding in developing such awareness that this picture has been produced. What happens to Jane Bradford may happen to anyone. There will always be "Jane Bradfords" until you, Mr. Citizen, co-operate with the forces now fighting the dope evil to forever stamp it out in our land. --The Management.

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Connections

Edited into Confessions of a Vice Baron (1943)

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Soundtracks

"Chi Chi Mangalay"
Written and Performed by Frank Collins

User Reviews

My first 1930's drugsploitation flick

This was the first of those 1930s drug-scare exploitation movie I ever saw. I hadn't even seen Reefer Madness. I just knew a little about the genre and figured this would be an amusing little romp.

Well, it wasn't exactly. At points it was funny, but mostly it was boring and slow. It did provide a fairly candid view of every day American life in the thirties. Since the makers of this film clearly didn't have the finances that MGM or Universal lavished on their pictures, there aren't any striking Art Deco sets of Adrian gowns. Speaking of which, the set's are some of the most stark and unconvincing pieces of dressing ever to go before a movie camera. And, since the filmmakers probably didn't even have the kind of money that Continental or Majestic spent, you have to wonder if this movie wasn't shot the way Little Shop of Horrors was. I think of that roadhouse set and wonder "What lost and forgotten B movie was that really built for?"

A note of interest: Do you know that scene in Wizard of Oz where everybody's getting sproused up and some attractive supporting actress sings "We can make a dimpled smile out of a frown"? Well, that chick is the star of The Pace That Kills! Her name is Lois January and she's not a bad actress either.