Leofwine_draca CITY OF MISSING GIRLS is set in the titular location and sees a group of district attorneys, reporters, and cops trying to piece together pieces of a jigsaw puzzle involving numerous disappearances of beautiful young women, all of whom were students at a local fine arts college.The story that transpires is heavy on plot but less so on involvement, as the events portrayed tend to play out in a rather routine fashion. At least there's plenty of incident to keep you occupied, as well as a rather large tableau of characters. What's most interesting about CITY OF MISSING GIRLS is the subject matter dealing with prostitution, blackmailing and vice, most of which is only hinted at in these old days.

dougdoepke 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.

MartinHafer "City of Missing Girls" is a B movie that strongly implies but never really says what it's talking about--enabling it to sneak into theaters despite the Production Code. That's because the film is about prostitution--but it's not explicitly stated and might be interpreted differently.The film begins with the discovery of a dead girl. It seems that the trail leads to an acting academy...which is a front for prostitution. When the police dig, they also discover that several missing girls also attended this school and so their suspicions are justly piqued.At the same time, an inquisitive reporter infiltrates the school to learn the truth. Oddly, however, she doesn't realize that her own father is deeply involved in the conspiracy--leading to a really DUMB finale. That's because after she is caught by the ringleader, her father learns about this. Now what do you think you should NOT do if you are him? I'm sure that announcing to the big evil boss "I'm gonna call the police and tell them all about the operation" is perhaps the biggest NOT TO DO thing--and that's EXACTLY what he does. Take a wild guess what happens next!! Yep, you've no doubt guessed! Overall, despite a suck-tastic ending, not a bad film and it's interesting to see because of its adult plot and decent acting. An interesting low-budget curio to say the least.

dbborroughs 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