- Country: USA
- Genres: Biography, Drama
- Release: 1934-03-01
- Director: Dwain Esper , Vival Sodar’t
- Writers: A.J. Karnopp , Hildegarde Stadie
- Language: English
- Stars: Harry Cording , Joan Dix , Patricia Farley , Jean Lacy , J. Stuart Blackton Jr. , Paul Panzer , Miami Alvarez , Charles Bennett , Josef Swickard , Herman Hack
- Runtime: 57 min
- Awards: N/A
- AKA: Narcotic: As Interpreted by Dwain Esper (United States of America) , Narcotic (United States of America) , Narcotic , Narcotic (United Kingdom) , Narcotic! (United States of America) , Narcotic Racket (United States of America) , They (United States of America)
- Plot: As the opening scroll tells us, Narcotic was "presented in the hope that the public may become aware of the terrific struggle to rid the world of drug addiction." The movie itself is a salacious plunge into a world of sordid pleasures. It tells us the story of Dr. William G. Davies, an infamous snake-oil salesman who started his career as a promising medical student. In the opening sequence he saves an unborn baby by performing a cesarean operation after the mother was killed in an automobile accident. Stock medical footage shows a woman's stomach being sliced open like a ripe watermelon and the baby popping out like a jack-in-a-box. But the allure of opium proves too strong for the doctor to resist. After a single night of relaxation in a Chinatown opium den, Davies becomes a slave to drugs. As his medical practice deteriorates, he shifts his attention to "selling medicine by demonstration." He says to his nurse/fiancee, "I can't see anything wrong if my preparation has merit." However, his "preparation" is one of the great quack cure-alls: "Tiger-Fat." Davies soon becomes one of the leading sideshow attractions for a carnival. His success as a carnival huckster initially allows him to run with a fast crowd. In the movie's most shocking episode, Davies and his ritzy friends retire to a hotel room together for a drug party. "We're gonna get lit," says a woman. A buffet of drugs is spread out on a table and each guest takes their drug of choice. "It takes a needle for me to get a bang," says a woman. As each participant indulges, the party quickly turns into an orgy of excesses, one woman hikes up her skirts, another laughs hysterically, a man pontificates, another man becomes paranoid. The movie provides a litany of different reactions to drugs. Ultimately, Davies' drug addiction leaves him gaunt and stooped, living in a hovel with no hope of returning to his previous life.
- IMDB:tt0121587
Narcotic Cast · · · ALL
Dwain Esper
Director
Vival Sodar’t
Director
Harry Cording
Dr. William G. Davis
Joan Dix
Mrs. Davies
Patricia Farley
Mae
Jean Lacy
Lena
J. Stuart Blackton Jr.
Gee Wu
Paul Panzer
Cashier
Miami Alvarez
Drug addict
Charles Bennett
Hand wrestler
Josef Swickard
Federal narcotics agent