The Loud Bassoon

The Cocaine Fiends (1935)
aka The Pace That Kills
Directed by WIlliam A. O'Connor

Don't be fooled by the campy poster art, which promises cheesy moralizing on the dangers of cocaine. This film is a dreadful bore, so poorly lit that at times it's like watching a strobe light, and the print far choppier than an attempt at getting streaming video on a hacked Amiga with a 2k dial-up connection.

It sure seems like any 1930s movie tackling cocaine abuse would inevitably be hilarious, but not so with The Cocaine Fiends. All the scandalous elements (dope use, prostitution, suicide, murder) take place off screen, and the acting is, innapropriately, good. There's slight humor value in the characters calling cocaine "headache powder," and instantly feeling "swell" after taking it. But it drags worse than a corporate accounting seminar.

The last two minutes suddenly pick up out of nowhere, with a twist ending that was kind of surprising, but I can't say it was worth waiting for. This is the last time I let my NA sponsor talk me into watching movies about drugs to prevent myself from buying drugs. I'd have been much better off with an eightball.

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Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by La Fée


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