atlasmb The film "Baby Face" has earned some notoriety for its pre-Code depiction of a woman who flaunts the conventions of polite society to achieve success. Released in 1933, it stars Barbara Stanwyck as a young woman who feels trapped in an unhappy life. Circumstances give her the freedom to change her life, so she departs for the big city, determined to "use men" to accomplish her goals.Her musical theme is "St. Louis Blues", a popular song quite familiar with the audiences of 1933. Its lyrics lament the "St. Louis woman" who "pulls my man around by her apron strings." It's a suitable theme for Lily, who has decided to disregard emotions in her drive for money. She is, surprisingly, inspired by the words of Nietzsche, who posits that "sentiment is opposed to reason."The film moves swiftly as Lily quickly works her way through the men-and the hierarchy-of a powerful bank. We might ask if she is a heroine on a noble quest. Or maybe just driven to achieve an order of success---seen as the vanquishing of her impoverished, powerless past. Some might see it as a version of feminism, to achieve one's goals despite the motivations and machinations of men. But she is never a feminist heroine, because she never approaches her obstacles from a position of power.Unfortunately, the ending of the film is rather weakly resolved. But it is engaging till its final moments.It is interesting to compare "Baby Face" to the more modern "Sucker Punch" (2011), starring Emily Browning as the character Babydoll. Each film has a protagonist who is victimized by men and searches for a way to gain her goals, in part by using her wiles. The endings are very different, allowing for contrast and comparison.Stanwyck is convincing as Lily, but she portrays an emotionally one-dimensional woman. Still, you can see the machinations behind that placid façade--a tribute to fine acting.

sharky_55 To see a pre-code film like this is to have bawdiness thrown into your face, and have all your pre-conceived notions of the propriety of early Hollywood upended. Baby Face was Warner Bros' attempt to one-up MGM's Red-Headed Woman from the previous year, and both films would contribute to the hastening of the Production Code. Jean Harlow flaunted her infidelity and sexuality at every turn, openly declaring her trashy beauty with see-through dresses and a sexual thrill at being struck, but Barbara Stanwyck only needed a light caress and one look to bring men to their knees. Vice Presidents, aides and bosses walked into the room all thinking to set her straight, yet she has other ideas, and sends them on their way dazed. It is one of Stanwyck's most electric roles, made of smothering closeups and dialogue not merely laced but stinking of suggestion, and it points to her scene-stealing allure no matter the colour or style of her hair. In one particularly intoxicating scene in The Lady Eve, she lies in the lap of Henry Fonda, donning that dark, half-cut dress, and turns a screen icon into putty in her hands. The wardrobe in Baby Face similarly marks her rise from the ashes. Beginning with small-town rags and a reputation for being the town prostitute (she's slept with more men at the film's opening than in Lilian's entire crusade), she emerges from the flames of a fateful fire determined to make a name for herself. Soon she has lacy dresses of all sorts, dons frilly manes and scarfs of ridiculous proportions, and at one point, seems to have fat, furry ferret wrapped around her neck and back (it's a heavy and cumbersome thing). How has she afforded these costumes? Green never shows her truly working, but in an audacious sexual metaphor, utilises a craning shot that gradually rises from the lowly filing department all the way up to executive offices. She is sleeping her way up the corporate ladder.It was wildly progressive in other ways too. Theresa Harris plays Chico, Lily's quiet, unassuming black maid, one of the last times we would see such subtlety before the mammy character took hold. Chico remains a loyal companion throughout, gaining some frilly additions to her dress as well - Lily's insistence that Chico stay by her side while others stared uncomfortably is perhaps the single streak of goodness left in her as she ascends to the top and falls from grace. Yet even before the code censorship boards were still demanding redemption for villains such as Lily Powers, if only eventually. Comeuppance wasn't enough, she had to be beaten into submission, have sentiment reintroduced into her, and so the original script's ending of Lily ending up slaving away in a steel mill was scrapped for the romantic realisation in the ambulance. Only then could it be screened to the public; a hour of debauchery and immorality, only for the conclusion to assert the overpowering values of true love and modesty. Rediscovered in 2004 and restored to its full corruptive allure, the uncut version of Baby Face allows some insight into its intended version. Gone was a man's first consuming gaze of Stanwyck, the camera moving over her long legs, and then only reluctantly up towards her face. Audience did see that same man's shockingly forward approach in propositioning her, first by stroking her on the knee, and then coming up from behind to snatch at her breasts. What they missed was the fiery Stanwyck giving as good as she got: pouring hot coffee over the guilty hand, and then later smashing a bottle over the man's head. They wouldn't see anything as daring as that from a woman for a while afterwards.

Adventure_Claire7 A woman who was used all of her life by men now makes a decision between power and love. She started from the bottom with a couple dollars to her name and used her looks to get what she wanted to get to the top. She decided that she was not going to be used any longer, and that she was going to use them instead. Once she reaches the top and finds a man who she falls in love with, something tragic happens and she needs to give up everything she has. But is love strong enough to make her give all of her money away? The title of this film is deceiving because you think it is going to be about a sweet and innocent woman.

jakob13 Watching 'Baby Face' 80 old years after it came out, simply confirms the seductive talent of Brooklyn-born Barbara Stanwyck. She had a way of looking at guy to get what she wanted in this Warner Brothers pre-Code film (later cut for the censors) of a poor gal from a Pennsylvania steel town who rose from poverty to wealth. It is interesting to see a conceit restating Nietzsche's philosophy: the individual has the inner power and freedom to shape his character and destiny. And that's exactly what Baby Face does as she uses men as her ladder to get to the top. The central the is as fresh then as it is today in the world of an Ayn Rand and the gnomes of Wall Street and the showy influence of an Allan Greenspan. We see a young juvenile in the person of John Wayne and a savvy, debonair playboy banker in a young George Brent. But be aware of the foxy eyes and sly smile of Stanwyck.And get a look at the changing style of clothing as she rise to the pinnacle of her forged destiny. Another note worthy item:the black character actress Theresa Harris who is Baby Face's good friend Chico without the slightest evidence of condescension and on an equal footing. Not common for those times!