''Cocaine'' is a 1922 British crime film directed by

Graham Cutts John Henry Graham Cutts (1884 – 7 February 1958), known as Graham Cutts, was a British film director, one of the leading British directors in the 1920s. His fellow director A. V. Bramble believed that Gainsborough Pictures had been built ...

and starring

Hilda Bayley Hilda Christabel Bailey (29 June 1888 – 26 May 1971) was a British theatre and film actress. On stage from 1913, she was in both stage and film versions of ''Carnival'' in 1918 and 1921, respectively; and in the controversial crime film ''Coca ...

Flora Le Breton Flora Le Breton (1899 – 11 July 1951 in Brooklyn, New York City) was an English silent film actress from Croydon, Surrey, England. She was a dainty blonde with dark blue eyes. In the UK she was called both ''the British Mary Pickford'' an ...

Ward McAllister Samuel Ward McAllister (December 28, 1827 – January 31, 1895) was a popular arbiter of social taste in the Gilded Age of late 19th-century America. He was widely accepted as the authority as to which families could be classified as the cream o ...

and

Cyril Raymond Cyril William North Raymond MBE (13 February 1899 – 20 March 1973) was a British character actor. He maintained a stage and screen career from his teens until his retirement, caused by ill health, in the 1960s. His many stage, film and tele ...

. It depicts the distribution of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

by gangsters through a series of London

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s and the revenge a man seeks after his daughter's death. Because of its depiction of drug use, it was the most controversial British film of the 1920s. Authorities feared that it might encourage the spread of narcotics. However, as it had a clear message about the dangers of drugs,

censors Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

eventually passed it in June 1922 and it was released in cinemas under the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''While London Sleeps''. The Chinese gangster Min Fu was reportedly based on real-life criminal

Brilliant Chang Brilliant (Billy) Chang (real name Chan Nan; born c. 1886, death date unknown) was a Chinese restaurateur and drug dealer who was implicated in supplying the drugs that killed Freda Kempton in 1922.Hilda Bayley Hilda Christabel Bailey (29 June 1888 – 26 May 1971) was a British theatre and film actress. On stage from 1913, she was in both stage and film versions of ''Carnival'' in 1918 and 1921, respectively; and in the controversial crime film ''Coca ...

as Jenny *

as Madge Webster *

as Min Fu *

as Stanley * Tony Fraser as Loki *

Teddy Arundell Teddy Arundell (1873 in Devon – 5 November 1922, in London) was a British film actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * ''The Lyons Mail'' (1916) * ''Justice'' (1917) * ''Nelson'' (1918) * '' The Swindler'' (1918) * '' The Splendid Cow ...

as Montagu Webster

References

Bibliography

* Robertson, James Crighton. ''The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action, 1913–1975''. Routledge, 1993. * Sweet, Matthew. ''Shepperton Babylon: The Lost Worlds of British Cinema''. Faber and Faber, 2005.

External links

* 1922 films 1922 crime films Films directed by Graham Cutts British crime films British silent feature films Films set in London Triad films British black-and-white films 1920s English-language films 1920s British films {{1920s-UK-film-stub