THE PACE THAT KILLS is your typical anti-drug film from the 20's, it shows the evils of the big city that are always insidiously corrupting good old rural farmboys in all ways imaginable. The story consists of a good 'ol farmboy (Eddie) who moves to the big city and meets a co-worker at his new found job (named Fanny), Fanny gives him some of that wowee zowee white powder to cure his headache. Eddie and Fanny get fired for being higher than a kite on a clear Kansas sky. Soon Cocaine is not enough for Eddie and Fanny so they start doing morphine, opium, and if that's not enough Heroin!! SPOILER ALERT So, Eddie then finds his long lost sister in a opium den, tries to take her home, narrowly gets busted by the fuzz, then finds out Fanny killed herself because she was pregnant with his kid, so what does he do...he kills himself, and then a final title card says "how many mothers-how many sweethearts are waiting for the boys who will never come home?" well since urban centers are always shown to be evil in these anti-drug films, the answer is simple KEEP HIM AT HOME!
It is interesting to see that this film portrayed Cocaine as a stepping stone for more harsher drugs, (instead of showing Marijuana being the classical beginner drug) since cocaine is already pretty high up there on the harshness scale for narcotics. Also interesting enough Willis Kent the movie maker re-made this exact film in the 30's as a talkie (Cocaine Fiends 1935).
It is interesting to see that this film portrayed Cocaine as a stepping stone for more harsher drugs, (instead of showing Marijuana being the classical beginner drug) since cocaine is already pretty high up there on the harshness scale for narcotics. Also interesting enough Willis Kent the movie maker re-made this exact film in the 30's as a talkie (Cocaine Fiends 1935).