Wac Double Features: Girl Missing/Illicit (2 Disc)

Independent women take center stage in a twin bill showcasing the range and moxie of pre-Code filmmaking. The pace leaps and lines snap in Girl Missing as gal pals Glenda Farrell and Mary Brian set out to solve the mystery of a gold digger who disappears during her honeymoon. Not even murder will stop these sassy sleuths. "Married love or illicit: which does the modern girl prefer?" the studio's ad for Illicit asks. Barbara Stanwyck portrays a woman who, devoted to her man but not to the norms of her time, prefers cohabitation over marriage. Yet the two marry just the same, leading to jealousies and temptations that could destroy their love. Co-stars include Ricardo Cortez and blonde bundle-of-talent Joan Blondell.