Movies:
Illicit
- Rating:
- Genre: Romance
- Movie Type: Marriage Drama
- Themes: Extramarital Affairs, Crumbling Marriages
- Director: Archie Mayo
- Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, James Rennie, Charles Butterworth, Joan Blondell, Natalie Moorhead, Ricardo Cortez
- Release Year: 1931
- Country: US
- Run Time: 76 minutes
Plot
Few actresses exuded as much raw sensuality as the pre-Production Code Barbara Stanwyck. In Illicit, Anne Vincent (Stanwyck) spends most of her time dressed in a loose-fitting kimono as the mistress of Dick Ives (James Rennie). The couple lives openly in sin because Anne does not believe in marriage, convinced that she could never remain faithful to Dick if they legalized their union. Sure enough, when Annie and Dick do tie the knot, they immediately begin fooling around with others. In the end, however, morality and fidelity prevails -- and about time! Illicit created quite a stir in 1931, not so much because of its half-hearted advocation of "free love," but because of its unconventionally independent heroine (of course, if it had been the hero who was opposed to marriage, no one would have said boo). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideReview
"Nearly every girl I know is either unhappily married or unhappily divorced," a no-nonsense Barbara Stanwyck tells prospective father-in-law Claude Gillingwater in an early scene in this frank society drama from Warner Bros. Despite rumors of an illicit affair with handsome James Rennie, Gillingwater's son, Stanwyck remains doubtful of whether marriage is for her. And amazingly to viewers accustomed to post Production Code films, there is indeed an illicit affair going on here, what with Miss Stanwyck and her prospective groom lounging about at all hours in their night attire. They do of course get married but almost immediately lose that special spark that comes with a new romance. Rennie begins to dally with mature femme fatale Natalie Moorhead and Stanwyck, despairing at being turned into the shrewish wife, demands that they start afresh, and in separate apartments. Needless to say, the couple come to their senses before the obligatory happy ending, but that didn't pacify scores of local censorship boards, some of whom refused to permit even the film's title. Borrowed from Columbia and suffering a slight case of miscasting, Barbara Stanwyck nevertheless gives yet another of her patented standout performances, adding a bit of street smarts to her Long Island debutante. She is matched in most scenes by the unfairly forgotten James Rennie, a stage actor from Canada, who is best remembered today as the husband of Dorothy Gish. Based on a risqué 1930 play by Edith Fitzgerald and Robert Riskin, Illicit was remade by Warners in 1933 as Ex-Lady, this time starring Bette Davis. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie GuideCast
- Barbara Stanwyck - Anne Vincent
- James Rennie - Dick Ives
- Charles Butterworth - Georgie Evans
- Joan Blondell - Helen Duckie Childers
- Natalie Moorhead - Margie True
- Ricardo Cortez - Price Baines
Claude Gillingwater - Ives Senior
Hazel Howell
