Illicit 1931

Anne Vincent is a woman with modern ideas about love, convinced that marriage kills the spark of romance, breeds unhappiness, and often ends in divorce. Although her boyfriend, Richard ‘Dick’ Ives II, and his father, Richard Ives Sr., urge her to marry, she resists, arguing that personal independence matters and that marriage tends to make people emotionally dependent on one another, rather than, as an old suitor says, > being responsible to no one but herself.

Both Anne and Dick have prior romantic entanglements still in the picture. Marjorie ‘Margie’ True admits she still loves Dick, and they talk; he tells her she will find someone who loves her as much as he loves Anne.

Anne and Dick continue to see each other late at night and even take weekends away together for a time, all without tying the knot. But after word leaks about their clandestine getaways, Dick pressures Anne to marry, and she ultimately caves in to avoid scandal. When the news becomes public, Price Baines sends a telegram saying he wants to visit her. Dick resists, but Anne goes ahead with the plan to marry him anyway.

Price tries to dissuade Anne from marrying, insisting that he is still in love with her and warning that she will be unhappy if she marries, yet she has already made up her mind. The couple marries and begins to behave like a conventional married pair, attending social events and visiting friends, while the old romance they once shared seems to fade behind the pressures of propriety and expectation.

As time passes, the couple drift further from the intimate connection they once cherished. They tire of each other, avoid one another, and quarrel over trivial matters. Anne suggests they separate for a while, hoping to recover some of the magic they once had. At first, the separation rekindles the romance they thought was lost, but Price Baines returns to the picture, and Dick becomes resentful, turning his attention toward Margie, who confesses she is still in love with him. Price woos Anne aggressively, reigniting the conflict between duty and desire.

Ultimately, the separation forces a harsh realization: there are no substitutes for each other, no matter the costs involved. The film closes on a note that blends disappointment with a stubborn sense that true compatibility endures beyond the temptations and judgments of society.