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''Illicit'' is a 1931 American
Anne Vincent is a woman who has modern ideas about love. She believes that marriage kills love and leads to unhappiness and, inevitably, divorce. Although her boyfriend, Dick Ives II, and his father, Dick Sr., try to persuade Anne to get married, she resists their arguments. She believes it is important for people to be individuals, and that when they marry, they tend to become too emotionally dependent on each other, rather than, as an old suitor says, "being responsible to no one but herself." Both Anne and Dick have prior romantic entanglements still in the picture. Margie True admits she still loves Dick, and they talk; he says she will find someone who loves her as much as he loves Anne.
Anne and Dick see each other until late at night, and go away for weekends together for a while without getting married. However, after word gets out about a weekend away, Dick pressures Anne, and eventually she caves in to avoid scandal. When the news becomes public, Anne receives a telegram from her ex-boyfriend, Price Baines, saying that he wants to visit her. Dick doesn't want Anne to see him, but she does so anyway. Price tries to persuade Anne not to get married, tells her that he is still in love with her, and warns her that she will be unhappy if she marries, but she has already made up her mind.
Anne marries Dick, and they start to behave like a typical married couple, meeting social expectations regarding attending events and visiting people. They seem to be unable to share the romantic time alone together that they did in the past. They tire of each other, avoid each other and fight over silly things. Eventually Anne tells Dick that they need to separate for a time. At first this rekindles the romance. But when Price Baines comes back into the picture, Dick becomes resentful, and starts to take an interest in Margie True, who tells him that she is still in love with him. Price Baines woos Anne aggressively. Ultimately, however, the separation makes Dick and Anne realize that there are no substitutes for each other, in spite of the costs involved.
pre-Code
Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by Archie Mayo
Archibald L. Mayo (January 29, 1891 – December 4, 1968) was a film director, screenwriter and actor.
Early years
The son of a tailor, Mayo was born in New York City. After attending the city's public schools, he studied at Columbia Unive ...
and starring Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Ricardo Cortez, and Natalie Moorhead
Natalie Moorhead (born Nathalian Morehead, July 27, 1901 – October 6, 1992) was an American film and stage actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for distinctive platinum blond hair.
Early years
Moorehead grew up in Pittsburgh.
...
. Based on a play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin
Robert Riskin (March 30, 1897 – September 20, 1955)"Robert Riskin, Who Won 'Oscar' For 'It Happened Ohe Night,' Dies." ''New York Times.'' September 22, 1955. was an American Academy Award-winning screenwriter and playwright, best known for his ...
, the film is about a young couple living together out of wedlock because the woman does not believe in marriage. When they finally get married, both become unfaithful to each other. ''Illicit'' was produced and distributed by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
Plot
Anne Vincent is a woman who has modern ideas about love. She believes that marriage kills love and leads to unhappiness and, inevitably, divorce. Although her boyfriend, Dick Ives II, and his father, Dick Sr., try to persuade Anne to get married, she resists their arguments. She believes it is important for people to be individuals, and that when they marry, they tend to become too emotionally dependent on each other, rather than, as an old suitor says, "being responsible to no one but herself." Both Anne and Dick have prior romantic entanglements still in the picture. Margie True admits she still loves Dick, and they talk; he says she will find someone who loves her as much as he loves Anne.
Anne and Dick see each other until late at night, and go away for weekends together for a while without getting married. However, after word gets out about a weekend away, Dick pressures Anne, and eventually she caves in to avoid scandal. When the news becomes public, Anne receives a telegram from her ex-boyfriend, Price Baines, saying that he wants to visit her. Dick doesn't want Anne to see him, but she does so anyway. Price tries to persuade Anne not to get married, tells her that he is still in love with her, and warns her that she will be unhappy if she marries, but she has already made up her mind.
Anne marries Dick, and they start to behave like a typical married couple, meeting social expectations regarding attending events and visiting people. They seem to be unable to share the romantic time alone together that they did in the past. They tire of each other, avoid each other and fight over silly things. Eventually Anne tells Dick that they need to separate for a time. At first this rekindles the romance. But when Price Baines comes back into the picture, Dick becomes resentful, and starts to take an interest in Margie True, who tells him that she is still in love with him. Price Baines woos Anne aggressively. Ultimately, however, the separation makes Dick and Anne realize that there are no substitutes for each other, in spite of the costs involved.
Cast
* Barbara Stanwyck as Anne Vincent * James Rennie as 'Dick' Ives II * Ricardo Cortez as Price Baines *Natalie Moorhead
Natalie Moorhead (born Nathalian Morehead, July 27, 1901 – October 6, 1992) was an American film and stage actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for distinctive platinum blond hair.
Early years
Moorehead grew up in Pittsburgh.
...
as Margie True
* Charles Butterworth as Georgie Evans
* Claude Gillingwater
Claude Benton Gillingwater (August 2, 1870 – November 1, 1939) was an American stage and screen actor. He first appeared on the stage then in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1939, including the Academy Award-nominated ''A Tale of Two ...
as Ives Sr.
* Joan Blondell
Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years.
Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...
as Helen 'Duckie' Childers
* Lucille Ward
Lucille Ward (February 25, 1880 – August 8, 1952) was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1915 and 1944. She was born and died in Dayton, Ohio.
Ward's career began in 1907 when she acted in a production ...
as Susan - Anne's Maid
* Barbara Weeks as Girl at the Bridal Shower
Production
Soundtrack
* "When Love Comes in the Moonlight" ''Played during the credits'' (from the Warner Bros. musical Oh Sailor Behave). * "Maybe It's Love" ''Sung by James Rennie and Barbara Stanwyck'' (from the Warner Bros. musical Maybe It's Love). * "Looking for the Lovelight in the Dark" ''Played on the radio'' (from the Warner Bros. musical Top Speed). * "Pretty Little You" ''Played on the radio'' (from the Warner Bros. filmSon of the Gods
''Son of the Gods'' is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film with Technicolor sequences, produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Rex Beach. Richard ...
).
* "In the Land of Let's Pretend" ''Used in scoring'' (from the Warner Bros. musical On with the Show).
* "Get Happy" ''Played in nightclub''
Reception
Writing on January 25, 1931, for ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
,'' Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.Dennis Schwartz
observed: “This daring risqué melodrama…has aged badly and when viewed today seems arch. If it weren’t for the fine performance by the twenty-four-year old Barbara Stanwyck in her first starring role, this would be a real snoozer. Archie Mayo…does a poor job keeping this morality tale alive, as it’s way too chatty, the characters remain undeveloped clichés and it has no surprises up its sleeve to keep us tuned in….In this trivial and tedious weepie that lacks much punch and action, after both parties in the separation seek solace in others they have a reawakening after much soul searching and reunite for a happy ending. Thereby they reinforce the traditions of marriage over living a sexually free life and the film takes the sauce out of any arguments it offered to the contrary. Two years later the studio made an exact remake called
observed: “This daring risqué melodrama…has aged badly and when viewed today seems arch. If it weren’t for the fine performance by the twenty-four-year old Barbara Stanwyck in her first starring role, this would be a real snoozer. Archie Mayo…does a poor job keeping this morality tale alive, as it’s way too chatty, the characters remain undeveloped clichés and it has no surprises up its sleeve to keep us tuned in….In this trivial and tedious weepie that lacks much punch and action, after both parties in the separation seek solace in others they have a reawakening after much soul searching and reunite for a happy ending. Thereby they reinforce the traditions of marriage over living a sexually free life and the film takes the sauce out of any arguments it offered to the contrary. Two years later the studio made an exact remake called
Ex-Lady
''Ex-Lady'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy/drama film directed by Robert Florey. The screenplay by David Boehm is a remake of the Barbara Stanwyck film '' Illicit (1931),'' both crediting a story (actually a play) by Edith Fitzgerald and R ...
, which starred Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
. At least this dud had Stanwyck.
Preservation
The film survives intact and has been shown on television and cable. A copy is held in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) p.87 c.1978 by The American Film InstituteReferences
External links
* * * * {{Darryl F. Zanuck 1931 films 1931 romantic drama films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Archie Mayo Films produced by Darryl F. Zanuck Warner Bros. films Films scored by Louis Silvers 1930s English-language films 1930s American films