Illicit

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Movie
Original title Illicit
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1931
length 79 minutes
Rod
Director Archie Mayo
script Harvey Thew ,
Robert Riskin
production Warner bros.
camera Robert Kurrle
cut William Holmes
occupation

Illicit is an American married drama starring Barbara Stanwyck and directed by Archie Mayo . The film is a good example of the lax handling of the censorship regulations before the Hays Code came into force .

action

Dick Ives, a wealthy New York lawyer, and Anne Vincent, a young woman with independent ideas about life and marriage in particular, have been living together openly and without a marriage license for several years. Both are happy with their relationship when Dick's conservative parents vigorously push for the conditions to be legalized. Dick persuades Anne to give up her opposition to marriage. Anne is still very concerned. In their opinion, getting married automatically means the end of romance and passion. Hours before the wedding, Anne's former lover Price Baines appears and demands that Anne run away with him. Anne stands firm while Price promises to wait for her.

After a year of marriage, Dick and Anne are trapped in routine and lovelessness. Out of boredom, Dick begins an affair with Marjorie True. Anne is shocked by this affair and she confronts Dick. He lies to her openly and Anne leaves her husband. Although the couple now live in separate apartments, they cannot leave each other and continue to meet more or less regularly. Dick meets Anne and Price one evening. After a number of other complications, the couple finally found their way back together.

background

Barbara Stanwyck was already a household name in Hollywood when Warner Bros. loaned the actress for $ 7,000 a week from Columbia Pictures for Illicit . Stanwyck had made it to star with the success of Ladies of Leisure , directed by Frank Capra , but working with Harry Cohn , the autocratic president of Columbia, was marked by arguments about money and good scripts. Stanwyck therefore signed a non-exclusive deal with Warner Brothers after the success of Illicit , who paid the actress at least $ 50,000 per film and gave her a say in the scripts.

As the economic situation in the US worsened, the number of viewers in cinemas fell from over 120 million in 1930 to just 55 million in 1933. One method of luring visitors back was to disregard current censorship rules with films that were human Bringing meanness, violence, sex, betrayal and other abysses of interpersonal relationships as explicitly as possible onto the screen. This in turn fueled the resistance of the influential women's organizations and the Catholic Legion of Decency, an organization of Catholic lay people who campaigned against immorality and the decline of values. One of the reasons for the rather lax compliance with the regulations was the lack of a central, uniformly competent institution that would have been responsible for compliance. Up to mid-1934 there were countless regional censorship authorities at the state and municipal level, which sometimes contradicted each other in their assessments. However, certain uniform guidelines existed, including the requirement that marriage as an institution should not be degraded or even questioned. Also, sexuality outside of marriage should not be portrayed positively or as something worth striving for. Adultery and divorce should be avoided if possible and if they are, then only brought onto the screen as negative developments.

Illicit , filmed in late 1930, disregarded any of these guidelines. The topic of how the traditional idea of ​​marriage can be brought into harmony with the (then) modern demands for freedom and self-fulfillment, however, was developed cautiously and subtly. The character of Anne was presented as a practical, moral personality. Her ideas about marriage and sexuality, progressive for the time, are the product of careful consideration and not only serve to fulfill base motives. Anne is not a vamp or easy-going woman, but a woman who sees the danger of losing her independence in marriage. Originally, Lew Cody , a famous silent film star and husband of Mabel Normand provided for the role of Price. However, he was replaced by Ricardo Cortez , who had previously worked with Stanwyck in Ten Cents a Dance . The studio filmed the story again in 1933 under the title Ex-Lady with Bette Davis , who was first announced here as the sole star above the title.

criticism

The New York Times critic , Mordaunt Hall , praised the intelligent handling of a sensitive issue.

“In this story, an intelligent adaptation of a play [..] the real winner is not marriage, but love. While the development on screen isn't particularly dramatic or new, the story does develop well, and whether Ann and Richard are angry with each other or having fun, their actions are always interesting. [...] Barbara Stanwyck gives an extraordinarily impressive portrayal as Anne. "

Web links

Sources and further literature on pre-code films

Individual evidence

  1. In this story, an intelligent adaptation of a play [...] the real conqueror is not marriage, but love. Although the happenings in this production are not particularly dramatic or original, the tale is well worked out and whether Richard and Anne are frowning or cheerful, their doings are always interesting. [...] Barbara Stanwyck gives a most effective performance as Anne.