The Pace That Kills (1935)

Director:

William A. O'Connor

Release Date:

December 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Crime! Suicide! Prostitution!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

City | Drugs | Cocaine | Small Town | Opium Den

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	...	Himself - Master of Ceremonies
Nona Lee	...	Herself - Vocalist
Gay Sheridan	...	Dorothy's Friend
Frank Collins	...	Himself - Singing Waiter

Also Known As:

The Cocaine Fiends (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (1973 re-release) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:15

Company:

Willis Kent Productions

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 (1928), and the actress shown was the one who played the original Fanny. So essentially, in this scene, Fanny points to herself.

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!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Confessions of a Vice Baron (1943)

Soundtrack:

All I Want Is You

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.