City of Missing Girls

"A string of mysterious deaths and disappearances of young women have all been traced to a drama school, where all the girls were students. The district attorney suspects the school may be a front for a prostitution ring and sets out to investigate it. After the D.A. is blackmailed into dropping the investigation, a female reporter decides to go undercover to learn the truth," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.

Writer/director Elmer Clifton manages to squeeze a few drops of blood from this stone. A scene between villain Philip Van Zandt (as King Peterson) asking "Do you mind if I smoke?" and hero John Archer (as Jimmy Horton) replying "I don't care if you burn" piques interest. Mr. Clifton and H.B. Warner (as "Mac" McVeigh) were bigger names during the silent film era (look for Walter Long, also).

Mr. Archer was a fine actor, who did not get the parts he deserved; and it shows, in this film. Teenage Gale Storm (as Mary Phillips), who unexpectedly became a 1950s TV and rock 'n' roll era recording star, is irresistibly cute; she, and brief pair of vivacious dancing girls, give the film some much-needed oomph. In spite of some strengths, "City of Missing Girls" remains oblique and recumbent.

**** City of Missing Girls (3/27/41) Elmer Clifton ~ John Archer, H.B. Warner, Gale Storm

A cadaverous H.B. Warner hovers on the fringes of this crime thriller which boasts better-than-average production values for a Poverty Row production but plods along at a dreary pace.

Girls are going missing and a DA and veteran cop team up to expose the rackets that are set up to lure young girls in to a life of shame.

This film is more a curiosity than anything. My guess it was cheaply made and ran on the exploitation circuit for years. The music isn't even stock music, but is supplied by an organ that pumps out bridges between scenes.

How best to describe this movie? Its the type of movie that insomniacs prayed not to find on the Late Late Show because it was just interesting enough to keep them awake while it un-spooled. It wasn't good enough to actually wake them up, but it wasn't bad enough to put them out, rather its a film of the twilight between asleep and awake.

I'm of a similar mind, its not bad, but its not good. Its the sort of thing that just is. If you should run across it on TV you might want to try it, but I can't suggest searching it out.

5 out of 10

Dull but well acted story of young women that have turned up missing that have one thing in common - they have been attending the Crescent School of the Arts in pursuit of getting into show biz. I enjoyed watching a young John Archer, pretty Astrid Allwyn, crusty HB Warner, and devious Phil Van Zandt give their all in what had to be a pretty inexpensively made film. Also look for Herb Vigran, who amazingly was unaccredited, as one of Phil Van Zandt's henchmen. This an okay time waster but don't seek it out.

An assistant DA tries to track the whereabouts of missing girls, leading into a tangled web of corruption.

With that suggestive title and sleaze director Elmer Clifton, I was expecting maximum titillation. Well, there is some peek-a-boo at The Crescent School of Fine Art, where the half-clad dancers somehow manage to all be female. No doubt, if it weren't for the censors, the "school" would be called Gateway to Hookerland, but then this is a commercial product.

Not surprisingly, it is a cheap undertaking by quick-buck producers. Still, the cast is much better than the material, especially the sparkly Allwyn and the smoothly slick Van Zandt, who's especially impressive as an egotistical gangster. His sarcastic exchanges with DA Horton (Archer) may well be the film's dramatic highlight. These main players may not be exactly household names but they do lend edge to what could have been merely a listless payday. Impressive too is old-timer HB Warner who's about as relaxed before the camera as anyone I've seen. Still, it's a long way from Jesus in King of Kings (1927), a silent screen classic. I imagine he was added for marquee value. Then too, catch malt-shop Gale Storm in a small but appealing part.

Anyway, it's a rather complex plot so you may need to keep notes. Still, the large cast does about as well with the tacky material as can be expected, and is not without points of interest.