utgard14 Boring, talky Pre-Coder with Barbara Stanwyck and James Rennie as a young couple happily living in sin. Babs isn't a fan of marriage, you see. Well they're eventually pressured into marrying and things between them go south. Will these two kids make it work? If you have the patience of Job, watch it and find out. Everybody else drink lots of caffeine first. It's a very creaky early talkie that feels more like a stage play. Charles "Cap'n Crunch" Butterworth plays a drunk and Joan Blondell brightens things up whenever she's on screen, which isn't enough. Stanwyck fans might want to check it out for one of her earliest roles.

Michael_Elliott Illicit (1931) * (out of 4) Incredibly bad pre-code from Warner features Barbara Stanwyck in her first role with the studio. In the film she plays Anne, a free spirit who doesn't want to marry the man she loves (James Rennie) because she fears it might ruin their relationship but soon she's getting pressure to do so. ILLICIT is without question one of the worst films I've seen from this era of Hollywood. In fact, it's so incredibly bad that I think Stanwyck should be thankful that studios made so many movies back in the day because if this type of film was made today I think it would have ruined her career. At least back then they had one film after another being released so people could forget this poor thing. I think the biggest problem going for the film is the fact that it simply doesn't know when to shut up. This here is yet another early talkie, which is ruined because the screenwriter simply didn't know how to do anything than throw out worthless dialogue that after a while will make the viewer contemplate suicide. I must admit that I thought the film was nearly half over when I checked to see how long I had been watching it and in terror I noticed it was just ten-minutes. The entire opening bit with Stanwyck and Rennie discussing marriage is so drawn out that you can't help but thing the run of dialogue could have been handled in just a few lines. The pre-code elements really aren't naughty enough to draw much interest and the cast too is mostly wasted. Stanwyck is good in her part but the screenplay really doesn't give her much to do. Rennie is somewhat bland but Ricardo Cortez is here for some fun as is Joan Blondell and Charles Butterworth who of course steals the film as the lovable drunk. ILLICIT is poorly directed with some ugly cinematography and it's clearly the worst film I've seen Stanwyck in.

savoir Prohibition; scorned women, that was the early 30's. This was before the "decency" rules came into effect. Avant garde is the only way to describe this. Dated, yes. But very descriptive of the times. Only Stanwyck could do this well. Her strength and sensitivity are evident in every frame. This is a history lesson of the times and traditions that existed way back when!

Jim Tritten Barbara Stanwyck and James Rennie are ultra-modern 1930s lovers who shun conventional trappings such as marriage. She is afraid that marriage will kill the romance. Who has not had these fears? He is eternally patient, but his father maneuvers her into a commitment. Their marriage stumbles (whose hasn't) and the ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend enter the scene. Soon this thoroughly modern couple are acting like typical married folk and Barbara declares that the marriage has indeed killed the love. Stanwyck exhibits skills as an actress that will make her famous in better films later. Claude Gillingwater's portrayal of the father is excellent and serve as a good role model. Charles Butterworth (the faithful friend) was really quite a wit and succeeds in stealing a scene or two. I can overlook any technical flaws in the movie because I think that the central issues are still relevant today. Who has to compromise more in a marriage? The husband or the wife? Will each of the lovers do what is necessary to save the marriage when they know they have problems? All is not revealed until the final scene whose outcome is by no means certain. Good movie, not a great one, but good entertainment for a couple that talk to each other. I say watch it (if you can find it) and see if this pre-Code movie does not warrant your appreciation and was worth your time.