Pretty Baby (1978)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Polly Platt (story)
Polly Platt (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

In 1917, in the red-light district of New Orleans, they called her "Pretty Baby"

Plot:

A pre-teen girl grows up in a house of prostitution in the Storyville section of New Orleans in 1917.

Plot Keywords:

Prostitution | Virginity | Prostitute | Auction | Photographer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Brooke Shields	...	Violet
Keith Carradine	...	Bellocq
Susan Sarandon	...	Hattie
Frances Faye	...	Nell
Antonio Fargas	...	Professor
Matthew Anton	...	Red Top
Diana Scarwid	...	Frieda
Barbara Steele	...	Josephine
Seret Scott	...	Flora
Cheryl Markowitz	...	Gussie
Susan Manskey	...	Fanny
Laura Zimmerman	...	Agnes
Miz Mary	...	Odette
Gerrit Graham	...	Highpockets
Mae Mercer	...	Mama Mosebery

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Netherlands:12 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-18 (1978) | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Canada:R | Chile:18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 (1978) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:M18

Filming Locations:

Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Dana Plato later claimed that she had been offered the lead role but her mother Kay had turned it down.

Quotes:

Bellocq: Her father unknown, and her mother deserted the child.
Violet: My mother's name was Hildegarde. Hildegarde Marr. M-A-R-R.
Priest: And she was Caucasian, or other?
Violet: She was a whore, Father.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "20 to 1: Child Stars: Where Are They Now? (#6.6)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Swipesy

Very pretty and very solid

At the time of its release, PRETTY BABY attracted a lot of controversy for its subject matter and matter-of-fact nudity of pre-teen Brook Shields (Violet).

Now it would probably not get made at all -- which is a shame, because it's a solidly written and directed drama.

The late Louis Malle, who also directed the amazing BLACK MOON, approaches the subject of child prostitution without judgement or moralizing.

The film's effectiveness comes from a script that does not burden any of its characters with explanatory dialog. Most of the dialog heard is of the incidental kind. Characters do not pause to explain situations or pontificate. Malle captures glances, body language, reflections and uses the non-verbal to tell his very human story of a New Orleans cathouse.

Susan Sarandon, as Violet's prostitute mother, turns in a fine performance as a woman in denial of her reality. Keith Carradine, who plays a photographer who falls in love with Violet, delivers a perfectly tuned performance with little more than than a dozen lines of dialogue. Also worth nothing is the beautiful performance of Francis Faye as Nell, the cathouse madam. She brings a sharp gift for irony to her role.

Brooke is very, very good, too, and this was the performance of her career.