1935 Film The Pace That Kills

The film, starring Lois January, tells the story of Jane Bradford, who gets involved with a drug dealer and becomes addicted to cocaine. Similar to other movies of the genre, the final film was a reissued work with additional scenes, mostly using footage from the earlier silent The Pace That Kills (1928).

The Pace That Kills
Theatrical poster (1935)
Directed by	Norton S. Parker William A. O'Connor (credited as Wm. A. O'Connor)
Produced by	Willis Kent
Starring	Lois January
Narrated by	Willis Kent (credited as presenter)
Cinematography	Jack Greenhalgh
Edited by	Holbrook N. Todd
Production company	Willis Kent Productions
Distributed by	"State Rights"
Release date	December 1935 (1935-12)
Running time	68 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Small-town girl Jane Bradford (Lois January) falls for Nick (Noel Madison), a guy from the big city who offers her the opportunity to escape her small-town life. He also offers her "headache powder" that she is unaware is really cocaine—and that Nick is a drug dealer. By the time they get to the city, she is hooked on her new medicine.

When Jane's family back home doesn't hear from her for a year, her brother Eddie (Dean Benton) comes to the city to look for her. He gets a job as a drive-in carhop and is befriended by waitress Fanny (Sheila Bromley). Fanny is one of Nick customers, and Fanny soon gets Eddie hooked on the "headache powder." This vice soon sends Eddie's and Fanny's lives downhill: they're both fired and unable to find new jobs. On the periphery of both Eddie and Jane's lives is Dorothy Farley (Lois Lindsay), a drive-in customer who dates Dan (Charles Delaney). She comes from a wealthy family, throws money around easily, and is willing to financially assist those in need.

Fanny tells Eddie that she is pregnant. He tells her he really never loved her. She turns off the flame and lets the gas into the tenement. The song "All I Want Is You" is sung at the nightclub. Dorothy's father is exposed as a drug mobster and Jane, now known as Lil, shoots and kills Nick as the police arrive. Dan was an undercover cop and he and Dorothy are to marry.

• A copy is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.

Typical of the other films that Willis Kent produced during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s was a string of low-budget westerns and exploitation films, thinly disguised as cautionary tales. The plot also dealt with amorality and prostitution. Production began November 9, 1935.

 

• Nona Lee - "All I Want Is You"
• Frank Collins - "Towsee Mongalay" (Written by Grahame Jones)

The Pace That Kills was released without a Code seal from the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) and distributed via "State Rights" where local sales agents would then sell rights to individual theaters. The theater operators would then play the film as often as they desired in an attempt to make as much profit as possible. The Pace That Kills was re-issued in 1937 as The Cocaine Fiends.

Footage from the film, including the song "All I Want Is You," was re-used in Confessions of a Vice Baron (1943).

Notes