The Pace That Kills (1928)
Directed by William A. O’Connor and Norton S. Parker
Written by Ruth Todd
Starring Owen Gorin, Thelma Daniels and Florence Turner
Runtime 1 hour and 4 minutes
Available from Kino Lorber on Blu-ray here

The Cocaine Fiends (1935)
Directed by William A. O’Connor
Starring Lois January, Noel Madison and Sheila Bromley
Runtime 1 hour and 8 minutes
Available from Kino Lorber on Blu-ray here

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief

I’m always down for a Something Weird disc issue. In their latest partnership with Kino Lorber (under the Kino Classics banner) they have released volume 16 in the series, “Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of The Exploitation Picture”. This Blu-ray includes the silent film, The Pace That Kills (1928), the talkie remake The Cocaine Fiends (1935), and a bunch of great extra features. Let’s dig in!

Back of the box synopsis:
A cocaine-snorting gangster (Noel Madison) lures a small-town waitress (Thelma Daniels) to the big city, where a series of tragedies unfold. When her brother (Dean Benton) attempts to locate her, he falls into his own whirlpool of drugs and moral degradation. The Cocaine Fiends is a remake of the wildly successful 1928 silent film The Pace That Kills, which was the template for Reefer Madness, Marihuana and a host of 1930s drug scare films. Both films are presented here in new restorations, from archival 35mm elements preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive (4K from the original camera negative) and the Library of Congress (2K from a seasoned 35mm print), and are presented in cooperation with Something Weird and the Sonney Amusement Enterprises Film Collection.

Features that make it special…

Audio commentary for The Cocaine Fiends (1935) by Eric Schaefer, author of “Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!: A History of Exploitation Films”
Audio commenatry for The Pace That Kills (1928) by film historian Anthony Slide
Alternate opening titles
1973 Re-release trailer of The Cocaine Fiends
Gallery of exploitation trailers

Why you need to add it to your library…

When I received this Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, I was excited to learn that the talkie was a remake of the silent flick. There’s nothing like a good old showdown of a silent versus talkie, especially given that they were both made by the same director, William A. O’Connor. After viewing both, I adamantly feel that the silent picture is far superior. Additionally, I never expected to learn so many terms for cocaine: dope, snow, sleigh ride, white powder whirlpool, headache medicine. Another lesson learned from the movies! Also, with my affinity for great cinematic poster artwork, I loved the cover design which seemed to be inspired by the original poster designs for both the films.

“You belong in the city…”

The Cocaine Fiends starts off strong, but manages to get derailed at about the halfway mark. Initially, the film starts out as a serious drama in which a young woman is lured to the city by a gangster type fellow, unknowingly takes narcotics provided by said gangster for her headache, and starts to spiral. Unfortunately just as things seem to get going, the picture takes a detour to a night club where a variety and drag dance show is witnessed. There is nothing wrong with a drag show however, in this case, I have no idea what this scene’s—which is extremely too long, I might add—intentions were. The only theory I have is that it was meant to pad the runtime and provide some light humor. This was an error in judgement as The Cocaine Fiends would be a much stronger flick with it being snipped. All in all, the restoration is worth the price. Unfortunately some part of the film are missing and only audio remains. This takes nothing away from the story it self, it is only a shame they did not manage to lose other pieces in stead (ie the night club variety show).

The Pace That Kills is a whip smart film. I may not agree with the sentiment that the big city will lead to a life of sin, but what I am able to appreciate about this film is the story it tells about addiction. I believe it does a rather good job with showing how drugs such as cocaine can start off as innocent fun, but later become routine, and may ultimately lead to someone’s demise. The picture is also not afraid to show society’s poor handling of those that suffer from an addiction illness, which sadly makes The Pace That Kills resonate even today. I am always impressed by how much can be said in a silent motion picture without a single line of dialogue.

Overall, I recommend picking this release up as you can’t go wrong with two films for the price of one. The two motion pictures were meant to to serve as cautionary tales to society, but in many ways play off as propaganda. If anything, it is quite a marvel that these now exist for purchase, and should be seen as a time capsule given that they are close to one hundred years old. In my opinion the people that are behind such releases as this are doing tremendous work to ensure the history of film is not lost.