Girl Missing (1933)

Director:

Robert Florey

Writers:

Carl Erickson (story) &
Don Mullaly (story) ...

Release Date:

4 March 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery

Tagline:

Who Kidnapped The Bride On Her Wedding Night?

Plot:

Golddiggers Kay and June are left stranded in Palm Beach after their latest catch skips without paying the girls' hotel bill...

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Hotel Bill | Murder | Threat | Actress

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Glenda Farrell	...	Kay Curtis
Ben Lyon	...	Henry Gibson
Mary Brian	...	June Dale
Lyle Talbot	...	Raymond Fox
Guy Kibbee	...	Kenneth Van Dusen
Harold Huber	...	Jim Hendricks
Edward Ellis	...	Detective Chief J.T. McDonald
Peggy Shannon	...	Daisy Bradford
Helen Ware	...	Mrs. Bradford
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Alvin Bradford
G. Pat Collins	...	Detective Crawford (as George Pat Collins)

Also Known As:

The Blue Moon Murder Case (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

69 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #2702-R, 22 September 1936 for re-release)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Production reports indicate the film was shot in 13 days.

Quotes:

Kay Curtis: It's for us all right. It says "for the g.d. sisters." I don't know if he means gold diggers or another well-known word.

Director Florey, writer Furthman add energy to Florida-set early crime programmer

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.