Girl Missing

Motor-mouthed Glenda Farrell adds sass and vinegar to this better-than-most crime programmer dating from the early sound era. She and Mary Brian play a couple of New York gold-diggers stranded in Palm Beach when frustrated sugar daddy Guy Kibbee sticks them with an unpaid hotel bill. Spurred on by the prospect of a big reward, they get mixed up in the bridal-night disappearance of yet another gold-digger (Peggy Shannon), whom they know from her days in the kick line, but who managed to snag a millionaire (Ben Lyon).

In the course of their meddling, they encounter an old pal (Lyle Talbot) who seems anxious to get them out of town; a pair of overstuffed hams posing as a society couple (Helen Ware, Ferdinand Gottschalk); and a body in the hotel gardens, still smoking a cigar. Film buffs will catch brief appearances by Walter Brennan, Louise Beavers and Dennis O'Keefe.

Without ever really losing sight of its mystery plot or lapsing into the `comic,' Girl Missing brandishes a lot of racy, pre-Code wit, dished out mainly by Farrell. Most of the credit can no doubt go to scriptwriter Jules Furthman, whose credits include Shanghai Express, Bombshell, The Big Sleep and Nightmare Alley. The rest can go to Frenchman Robert Florey, whose directorial career may not be quite so distinguished but bears watching: Cocoanuts (the first Marx Brothers movie), the first `talking' Murders in the Rue Morgue, and a few noirs like Danger Signal and The Crooked Way. Girl Missing succeeds because of good teamwork, and it had a great team.

Kay (Glenda Farrell) and June (Mary Brian) have gotten away from the chorus line in New York and are living it up in a posh Palm Beach hotel, but the price is leading on elderly wealthy Kenneth Van Deusen (Guy Kibbee), and hoping he will just continue to be led with no sexual payoff. He gets tired of the routine and leaves the girls owing a 700 hotel bill. Their solution is to find another wealthy guy, but this time the guy (Ben Lyon as Henry Gibson) is engaged. And he is engaged to somebody they both knew in the chorus line (Peggy Shannon as Daisy), but who snubs them by saying she doesn't know them. The girls have their problems solved when an old friend (Lyle Talbot as Raymond Fox) offers not only to pay their hotel bill but pay their train fare back to New York.

When Kay and June miss their train and have to stay an extra night, they hear on the radio the next morning that newlywed Daisy is a "girl missing". Gibson, her new husband, is offering 25000 as a reward for returning her, and Kay and June decide to stick around and solve the mystery. There is a car chase along a seacoast highway, a dead body found on a bench, and a note with a dagger through it saying "you are next".

This thing is pure rat a tat action and precode one liners , largely powered by brassy Glenda Farrell who really carries the weight of the energy of this thing. Kibbee is great in his small role as the frustrated wannabe lover. Edward Ellis is memorable as the very skeptical police inspector. Watch this one if you are in the mood for some precode goodness Warner Brothers style.

Girl Missing (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Robert Florey directed this fast-paced Warner mystery about a couple chorus girls (Glenda Farrell, Mary Brian) who are ditched in Palm Springs after their sugar daddy (Guy Kibbee) leaves them there. They hear about a former friend who has snagged a millionaire (Ben Lyon) but after she goes missing on her honeymoon the girls decide to do their own investigating. GIRL MISSING certainly isn't going to be mistaken for a classic but there's no doubt that the cast is attractive and it all leads up to a pretty good ending. I think the best thing the film has going for it is the cast all of whom fit their roles quite nicely. Farrell and Brian are certainly the strong points as the two work perfectly well together and they know had to throw things back and forth and they really help keep the film moving. The two of them have some nice comic timing and there's no question that they take their parts and rise them a few notches. Lyon is also good in his role as the husband who might have something to hide and we also have Lyle Talbot playing a man who helps the girls out. Kibbee appears at the very start of the film in just a five-minute sequence but he's certainly memorable in the funny bit of a man who wants to "make love" for spending money on the ladies. The opening few scenes contain quite a bit of pre-code comedy aimed at money for sex, which is certainly fun when viewed today. The film has quite a few small issues including the fact that the comedy usually doesn't work. There are some supporting characters who are constantly arguing and this here never gets the laughs. There are also some minor bits with a dimwitted detective that really doesn't work either. With that said, fans of "B" mysteries should enjoy this one as it goes by at a quick pace and there's no doubt that the cast is attractive.

Glenda Farrell is a delight as Torch Blane in that series. Here we have more of a hybrid:

This starts out as a light-hearted comedy dedicated strictly to the fine art of gold-digging.

When it eases into the mystery suggested by the title, Glenda keeps pace beautifully and the movie keeps its rhythm.

A real pleasure!

Instead of the usual two guys as sleuth and sidekick, Girl Missing features two gals, blonde Kay (Farrell) and brunette June (Brian). I guess shaking a leg in a chorus line sharpened their Sherlock skills. Add mystery girl, Daisy (Shannon) and you've got lots of 1930's eye-candy along with the styles and fashions. Seems Daisy mysteriously disappears on her wedding night to a wealthy man, Gibson (Lyon). Her secret is she's a gold digger, but what good will disappearing do since how then can she collect. Thus the mystery begins.

This is pre-Code Warner Bros., so how can you lose. Even programmers like this 69-minutes are full of snap and sass. As a brassy dame Farrell belongs up there with Blondell and Rogers. Here she's full of ideas and push, but cutie Brian gets the guys. Together there're a good team, causing me to wonder if WB had series in mind. There's also an unusual wind-up since there're two plausible solutions to the mystery, one implicating apparently nice guy and male lead, Gibson. And catch those rickety old flivvers rolling down the road. I'm surprised they ever held together. Also in passing, check out actress Shannon's bio in IMDb—it's on the tragic side, especially since she had the screen talent.

Anyway, the movie's an entertaining way to pass on hour, without being anything special.