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.

Two gold digging chorines think they can solve the mystery of a criminal's murder and a GIRL MISSING on her wedding night.

Fast-moving & fun, this is another example of the comedy crime picture that Warner Brothers was so expert at producing. Casts & plots could be shuffled endlessly, with very predictable results. While this assembly line approach created few classics, audience enjoyment could usually be assured.

Warners' wisecracking brassy blonde, Glenda Farrell, and pretty Mary Brian play the chorus girls stranded in Florida who must crack the homicide and kidnapping case in order to earn the sizable reward. They are both excellent in their roles, with sassy Farrell especially funny slinging her one-liners.

Ben Lyon plays the newlywed husband with much unexpected trouble on his hands. Lyle Talbot appears as a successful New York gigolo gone adventuring to Miami. Little Ferdinand Gottschalk is the eccentric parent of the purloined bride and wonderful character actor Guy Kibbee enlivens his few scenes as an old lecher desperate to get his hands on Miss Brian.

Movie mavens will recognize Louise Beavers as a maid & Walter Brennan as a garage attendant, both uncredited.

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.

I've become very aware of the fast talking in early films since a high school class saw a screwball comedy from the '30s and couldn't understand anything because the people were talking too fast. Wow.

Girl Missing from 1933 stars Glenda Farrell, Mary Brian, Lyle Talbot, Guy Kibbee, Ben Lyon, and Peggy Shannon.

Farrell and Brian play Kay and June, two chorus girls who have glommed onto a rich guy (KIbbee) and are leading him on, all the while living it up in Florida. He finally gets sick of June having a headache and takes off, leaving the women with a $700 hotel bill.

Fortunately, an old friend (Talbot) comes through and pays their bill. He also buys them tickets so they can go home. However, they miss the train and have to stay an extra night.

Then they find out that another golddigging chorus girl, Daisy (Peggy Shannon) newly married to a rich man, Henry Gibson (Lyon) has disappeared. Her new husband is offering a $25,000 reward for anyone who can find her. Kay decides they're staying put.

This film moves like lightning, with Glenda Farrell saying probably pages of dialogue in seconds. It seems from the story that Kay is the one trying to fix June up with a wealthy man. Farrell is only two years older and an attractive blond, so I did wonder why she wasn't looking to score herself.

Very much a Warners Brothers film, with the two women deftly solving the mystery of Daisy's disappearance and a murder besides. Always fun, always fast.

When Ben Lyon's bride is kidnapped from their Palm Beach hotel, stranded chorines Glenda Farrell and Mary Bryan find themselves mixed up as witnesses, suspects, and crime-crackers.

For a Warner Brothers quickie that clocks in at 69 minutes, this one has a surprisingly leisurely set-up, taking the first 25 minutes to paint the resort as populated by gold diggers, operators and rich marks. This is made possible by casting Miss Farrell, who could recite all of Hamlet in 27 minutes, but also the efficient story-telling at Warners in this period. It's not a topnotch script, but director Robert Florey keeps things humming along, with a few dutch angles and cheesecake shots to keep the intellectuals and lechers happy.