City of Missing Girls (1941)

Touches You

As Good As It Gets

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Leading young actress wannabees on the road to ruin is the name of the game in this expose of white slavery in the sex trade, going on around the world even back in the 1940's (and way before that), and police captain H.B. Warner is determined to prevent the vice trade from expanding anymore and prevent any more innocent young girls from having their lives ruined. Philip Van Zandt is the head of this racket, given the obvious criminal name of King Peterson, head of a nightclub who treats the accusations made against him like a total joke, laughing at the law, knowing that they just don't have the evidence on him for being the scum of the earth that he is. He's secret partners with wealthy Boyd Irwin and slimy Herb Vigran (a veteran of many T.V. episodes and especially remembered for commercials), and he threatens them with the fact that if he goes down, he's taking them as well.Astrid Allwyn is Irwin's daughter, an ace reporter who is unaware of her father's protectives and is determined to expose the racket for what it is, even if it means sneaking in as one of the possible girls they utilize for their nefarious intentions. John Archer plays a young assistant D.A. whom Allwyn harasses to get information, and he steps right into the middle of the investigation by answering the phone call from one of Van Zandt's molls who promises to give him the information that he's been searching for. Of course, it's a trap, and all that happens in his attempts to question her is the discovery of a dead body and evidence which will ultimately bring the bad guys down. This of course results in a cowardly act of one of the villains to save their own neck, but the only thing that ends up being saved is the noose to go around it. The end for this nefariously evil character will obviously be in the electric chair! Somewhat shady and exploitive in its pursuit of one of the most low-life of big city rackets, this is cheaply made and sometimes pretty tacky in the way it laughs at the law through the villains. Warner's character, in particular, is so decent and moralistic that this comes off more as a warning for the young girls who have yet to have left their homes and head to big entertainment metropolises like New York or Los Angeles. Patricia Knox, playing the moll, seems to be an unknown variation of similar actresses playing characters which Marian Martin, Veda Ann Borg, Barbara Pepper and Adele Jergens were experts in. This has some enjoyable moments that are pretty heated, but overall, the film just seems to be major exploitation with a few familiar names involved in, amongst them a very young Gale Storm.

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.

"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

Having seen H. B. Warner as a character player in dozens of films, i was pleasantly surprised to see him starring in this crime-exploitation film about the white slave trade. I was also deeply impressed with his ability to carry the complex role of a poetic, philosophical police captain on the verge of retirement with such presence during the course of what otherwise would seem to have been destined to be a routine crime drama. Alas, being a post-code movie, the white slave trade aspect of the plot is only understandable as a subtext, but there are plenty of other intriguing moments in the movie that will make B-film enthusiasts sit up and say, "Wow." For me, the gymnastic dance featuring a pair of uncredited twin teen girls was one such moment. Where did they FIND such unusual talent? Who were those young, incredibly athletic, giggling twins? We'll probably never know. And then there was the scene in which H. B. Warner, previously seeming to be frail, distracted, and ready for the scrap heap of life, suddenly LEAPED INTO THE AIR and jumped into his bed feet first! What the heck!? That was truly replay-worthy. This is not a great film, of course, but since it is available at bargain prices, old film buffs will certainly get their money's worth if they take the time to seek it out and watch it.