| Cocaine Fiends aka. The Pace that Kills Directed by William O�Connor ( U.S.A �1936) Much like the juvenile casualties of narcotics that they gleefully depicted in their films, it was only a matter of time before Roadshow producers moved on from marijuana to harder drugs. Cocaine Fiends opens with a prologue that tells us that public awareness is the strongest weapon in the war on drugs. �It is in the hope of aiding and developing such awareness that this picture has been produced� the somber pre-credit sequence tells us. �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�. And just who is Jane Bradford? She�s a bored waitress eking out a living in a family owned roadside diner just on the outskirts of the middle of nowhere. Nothing exciting ever happens; until one day, a smooth talking drug peddler named Nick stumbles into the greasy establishment after a close call with the local fuzz. The nerve of them� and all he did was sell rock cocaine to children at a nearby school. The drug dealer is the only customer in the place. Business hasn�t been the best lately. He doesn�t tell the doe eyed waitress his real profession. He poses as a representative of a large international oil company ( ironically these days, such a position would be seen as even more unethical than that of a coke peddler in certain circles). Old Nick�s certainly the charmer. �It�s a shame that a beautiful girl like you should waste her life here. You should be in the city� he shamelessly tells the easily enamoured country girl. When the cops arrive out the front of the diner, Nick explains that they�re highjackers. He tells the waitress that the trio of goons are after the contents of his leather attach� case. He hides in the kitchen as they quiz Jane, and leave. The relieved dope peddler emerges from out the back. �Gee kid, you�re a doll!� he gushes gratefully. �You sure handled that situation swell�. Despite the fact that she realises her new friend is lying, Jane has a crush on him regardless. They have lunch together in the deserted diner, the waitress coyly fluttering her eyelashes the entire time. Nick notices Jane rubbing her forehead. �What�s the matter? Got a headache?� he asks, feigning concern. �It�s nothing� all the excitement I guess� she sighs, resigning herself to a lengthy migraine. �I can fix that right up!� the peddler cheerfully tells her. �I got the grandest headache medicine in the world!�. Nick promptly pulls out a small quantity of cocaine and offers it to the puzzled waitress. The na�ve Jane doesn�t suspect that the �headache powder� may be anything untoward. �How do you take it? Water?� the less than street smart waitress asks her new friend. �No, lemme show you� the sly pusher tells her, showing her how to snort the Columbian snow (off-screen of course). After inhaling a line of coke with about as much reserved class as Scarface kingpin Tony Montana, Jane has turned her frown upside down. �How�s that?� Nick asks with a wolf-like grin. �Why that�s marvelous! I feel better already!� the hopped up waitress cheerfully replies as she enjoys the full effects of the devil�s dust. As the pusher leaves, he asks if he can see her again. They meet back at the diner several days later. Nick professes his love, and asks Jane if she loves him. �I�m not sure� she admits vaguely. �I hardly know you Nick� and yet when I�m with you, I�m happy. And I�m miserable and depressed when you�re gone�. Having an intimate relationship with your supplier will do that to you every time. Nick also asks Jane to move to the city with him. And being the understanding boyfriend that he is, he realises that she�ll have to give the matter some thought before making such a big decision. She�ll need a clear mind to give the matter some sensible balanced thought. And that means no distracting headaches. �You�re all nervous and upset� the understanding drug dealer tells his favorite customer. �Here, take one of these headache powders, and everything will look brighter� he reminds her. Everything looks brighter after one of Nick�s headache powders. They�re the greatest thing since BEX. �How do you feel now?� he asks the now skittish waitress. �I feel swell!� she beams. A lot of people wind up feeling swell as the story of Cocaine Fiends unfolds, but they�ll soon learn that such a wild fast ride has its price. The addicted Jane moves to the city with Nick, becomes a bona fide gangster moll, and spends her evenings performing in a raunchy cabaret act in the excessively seedy Dead Rat Caf�. The Dead Rat is even decorated with tasteless wallpaper embossed with rodents who�ve turned their toes up. It�s an interior design that would even confuse Andy Warhol. Jane�s brother Eddie moves to the city in search of his missing sister, gets a job as a soda jerk (a popular occupation in the Roadshow celluloid universe), and gets hooked on �headache powders� after falling for the lovely Fanny, the type of girl you�d be proud to introduce to your parents were it not for her frequent migraines and resultant indiscretions. They�re both fired from their minimum wage jobs when the owner begins to realize that his respectable business is beginning to take on all of the classy mystique of a heroin shooting gallery. Eddie�s a �hopeless hophead� in need of a fix, and Fanny is forced to sell herself on the streets. Meanwhile, the innocent Dorothy has just been lured into the circle of devilish white powder. Will Lil be able to find redemption by saving her from a life of collapsed nasal cavities and prostitution? And where does Dorothy�s wealthy influential father fit in to the whole sordid mess? Entertainment : 2.5 out of 4 Watchability : 2 out of 4 Overall : 2.25 out of 4 Reviewed by Blake |