Narcotic (1933)

As the opening scroll explains, "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 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 Caeserean operation after the mother is 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 tells 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.