Baby Face (1933)

A young woman, sexually exploited all her life, decides to turn the tables and exploit the hapless men at a big city bank - by gleefully sleeping her way to the top.

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Gene Markey (screen play), Kathryn Scola (screen play)

Stars:

Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Lily
George Brent	...	Trenholm
Donald Cook	...	Stevens
Alphonse Ethier	...	Cragg
Henry Kolker	...	Carter
Margaret Lindsay	...	Ann Carter
Arthur Hohl	...	Ed Sipple
John Wayne	...	Jimmy McCoy Jr.
Robert Barrat	...	Nick Powers
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Brody (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Theresa Harris	...	Chico

Storyline

Lilly (Baby Face) sleeps her way from basement speakeasy bartender, literally floor by floor, to the top floor of a New York office building. Bank sub-manager Jimmy McCoy finds her a job in the bank only to be cast aside as she hooks up with the bank's president. When he complains of not seeing her she says: "I'm working so hard I have to go to bed early every night."

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Plot Keywords:

cult film | national film registry | looking out a window | black american | african american | 

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Taglines:

SHE'S THE KIND OF A GIRL THAT MEN REGRET (Print Ad- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,((Pittsburgh, Penna.)) 27 June 1933)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

17 November 1933 (France)

Also Known As:

A Mulher que Nos Perde

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$187,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

71 min 76 min (restored) 76 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original 1933 sneak preview, Barbara Stanwyck's dialog in the opening sequence where she attacks her father for surrounding her with men since she was the age of 14 is intact, although it was actually cut from the release version.

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Goofs

Courtland's hands change position as he sits down in the boardroom.

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Quotes

Stevens: Lily, don't do this to me. I can't stand it. Its been brutal not seeing you.
Lily Powers: Yeah? Well, you better get used to it. Listen, I don't owe you a thing. Whatever I do is my own business. You never had but one idea about me. That's all I ever meant to you.
Stevens: Oh, but, Lily...
Lily Powers: You made your choice. Now, what do you want?
Stevens: You mean - I can't - see you anymore?
Lily Powers: [Sarcastically] How did you guess it?

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Alternate Versions

The original release had to be cut by four minutes to pass inspection by the New York Board of Censors. The cuts were mostly very minor but the most notable were the scene where Lily admits that she began working as a prostitute when she was fourteen and the scene the boxcar with the yardman, the close-up of the hand turning out the light. These scenes were cut before the film's release in 1933 and were not seen publicly until 2004.

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Connections

Featured in American Grindhouse (2010)

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Soundtracks

What Will I Do Without You?
(uncredited)
Music by Lewis E. Gensler

User Reviews

Stanwyck Sizzles

Arriving by boxcar in New York City, the shrewd young woman with the BABY FACE begins to methodically canoodle her way to the top floors of power in a great bank.

Barbara Stanwyck is fascinating as the amoral heroine of this influential pre-Code drama. Without a shred of decency or regret, she coolly manipulates the removal or destruction of the men unlucky enough to find themselves in her way. A wonderful actress, Stanwyck has full opportunity here to display her ample talents.

Appearing quite late in the story, George Brent is a welcome addition as the one fellow possibly able to handle Stanwyck; his sophisticated style of acting makes a nice counterpoint to her icy demeanor. Douglas Dumbrille, Donald Cook & Henry Kolker portray a succession of her unfortunate victims.

John Wayne appears for just a few scant seconds as an unsuccessful suitor for Stanwyck's affections. This would be the only time these two performers appeared together on screen.

Movie mavens should recognize Nat Pendleton as a speakeasy customer, and Charles Sellon & Edward Van Sloan as bank executives - all unbilled.

The music heard on the soundtrack throughout the film, perfectly punctuating the plot, is ‘Baby Face' (1926) by Benny Davis & Harry Akst and ‘St. Louis Blues' (1914) by W.C. Handy.

BABY FACE is a prime example of pre-Code naughtiness. In its frank & unapologetic dealing with sex, it is precisely the kind of film which the implementation of the Production Code in 1934 was meant to eliminate.