Pretty Baby (1978)

A teenage girl lives as a prostitute in New Orleans in 1917.

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Polly Platt (story), Polly Platt (screenplay)

Stars:

Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, Susan Sarandon

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In 1917, in the red light district Storyville, New Orleans, the prostitute Hattie lives with her twelve year-old daughter Violet in the fancy brothel of Madame Nell, where she works. Photographer Ernest J. Bellocq has an attraction to Hallie and Violet and he is an habitué of the whorehouse. One day, Madame Nell auctions Violet's virginity and the winner pays the fortune of US$ 400 to spend the night with the girl. Then Hattie marries a wealthy client and moves to Saint Louis, leaving Violet in the brothel alone. Violet decides to marry Bellocq and she moves to his house. Until the day that Hattie, who has overcome her past, comes to Bellocq's house with the intention to take Violet with her.

---

Plot Keywords:

child prostitute | tween girl | underage sex | girl man relationship | lolita | 

---

Taglines:

1917. The red-light district of New Orleans. The story of the women. The photographer. And the prostitute's daughter.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Niña bonita

Filming Locations:

Columns Hotel - 3811 St Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,786,368

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,786,368

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Clint Eastwood was offered the role of Bellocq, but turned it down to do Every Which Way but Loose (1978) instead.

---

Goofs

After Violet stands up from trying to have her nude picture taken a man can be seen in the reflective part of the camera.

---

Quotes

Bellocq: [about Violet] What will become of her now?
Nell: What's going on with you? You don't have to worry about her. She's made a lot of money. She can do as she likes.
Bellocq: She's only twelve. She's completely alone.
Nell: Bellocq, you're in love with her.
Bellocq: Don't be absurd.
Nell: I've seen it a thousand times. I am old, and I know one thing - life is very long.

---

Crazy Credits

The closing credits include a card that states, "With our gratitude for the priceless music of FERDINAND "JELLY ROLL" MORTON."

---

Alternate Versions

Against his own wishes UK censor James Ferman was forced to make minor edits to the original cinema version under the 1978 Protection of Children Act, and pubic hair was optically airbrushed onto a scene where Brooke Shields is sitting with her legs slightly spread so that 'the actual cleft was not visible'. A further cut was also made to remove a very brief shot of her standing up in a bath. The edits were fully waived for the 1987 video release.

---

Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Roles Too Mature for Child Actors (2019)

---

Soundtracks

Big Lip Blues
(uncredited)
Written by Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton
Played while everyone is waiting downstairs for Violet

User Reviews

Can you step outside of yourself for two hours?

"Pretty Baby" (1978): Usually, when a controversial film comes out, the hubbub dies off in a few weeks. Later, people wonder why anyone got upset at all. In this case, I think the opposite is the case. There WAS some buzz about "Pretty Baby" when it premiered in 1978, but NOW? People would be killing the director, photographer, and screen writers in the names of Decency & Righteousness. It's a crazy world. Photographed by Sven Nykvist (Ingmar Bergman's photographer), Louis Malle directed this Polly Platt screenplay about the real life New Orleans documentary photographer E.J. Bellocq. He spent much of his career photographing those no one else would – the prostitutes of N.O. - and eventually became involved with a young girl (Brooke Shields) raised by her prostitute single mother (Susan Sarandon), to be a prostitute herself. There's an interesting push/pull to this film. It is SO beautifully photographed, and the prostitutes shown SO human, there is much warmth in the scenes, yet the facts remain difficult to accept – life was what it was, and they did what they had to do to survive in the turn-of-the-century South. This is NOT a story of tragedy (except in personal terms that have nothing to do with the profession). Most everyone went about their days in matter-of-fact acceptance of their "station" in life, and did not get ulcers. They had a roof, decent money, good food, servants, and a place to raise their "accident" children. "Pretty Baby" asks you to step outside your contemporary world and standards, and try, just for two hours, to see another point of view. It's an interesting challenge…perhaps more now than even a mere 30 years ago.