Baby Face Reviews
AJ V
Super Reviewer
November 15, 2010
I really liked this movie, but it does remind you a lot of Red-Headed Woman story wise. I really liked Stanwyck in this movie. Also I loved the ending.
dietmountaindew
Super Reviewer
October 1, 2007
"baby face" was an mighty milestone to set up the stanwyckesque femme fatale image before the fatally classic "double indemnity"...generally..the vital charm of most femme fatales is their gluttonish sensuality and sex apeal...but the allure of stanwyck's femme fatale is based upon her ruthless toughnes and also her un-willing-ness to comprise..sorta refreshing...it's just like a man who takes what he wants without hesitation...basically BF is an heavily melodrama-driven story even it's worthy being praised for its audacious outrage in a conservative decade. to apply nietzscheistic superman into the "bad girl survives and rules" pattern is indeed feministically offbeat that could be considered a defying moral dynamite at that time. babyface's hostility against man is motivated by her experience of being exploited by men, especially her father. her remarks about her father philandering her was incredically explicit in the concern of the censor in the 30's. the quick wit and dare-devil adventurousness of stanwyck's material girl sorta savor the audience's appreciation over babyface's resourcefulness. but the devilsih brazen fun of the movie is somehow hindered by the moralistic closure. (bad girl is suddenly stricken with the meaning of love.) if interpretating it from a different perspect, perhaps it could be a touching story of an astray female discovering the warmth of bona-fide human affection. only stanwyck's swiftly polished acting talent could carry it off without diverged distortion.
Lanning :
Super Reviewer
December 30, 2007
If you see this, make sure you get the DVD that has both versions on it, the uncensored and the censored. Nowadays, I doubt there would be any question about toning down the original; it's tame by today's standards. But there was a time when what we take for granted in movies today was definitely considered dubious content. Stanwyck is stunning as the abused child who sleeps her way to the top. Although she may appear to be heartless, it's a Hollywood ending 1930s style.
jjnxn
Super Reviewer
March 29, 2007
wild pre code with a sensuall and hard as nails barbara
Michael G
Super Reviewer
January 17, 2007
This isn't an amazing movie. You see a Nietsche-fueled floozie sleeping her way to the top and leaving a trail of heartbroken men in her wake. Very racy for it's time I'm sure. But there was something about Stanwyck and her performance that I liked. Happy ending gets pulled out of it's ass...
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
February 16, 2013
In olden times, women were not allowed to advance very far in business. So what was a poor woman like Lily supposed to do? The answer lies in the darkly entertaining and bracingly honest "Baby Face" wherein Barbara Stanwyck pulls out all the stops and then some as a character whose actions while not recommended, are certainly understandable by the social tenets of the day. At the same time, the movie takes shots at then current hypocrisies. For example, Stevens(Donald Cook) is engaged to Ann(Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of his boss(Henry Kolker). And how is that any different? On another note, I approve of any movie that references philosophy like this one but maybe psychology would have been the way to go instead for Lily, especially with the way she was raised.
Note: This is the original unedited version.
In "Baby Face," Professor Cragg(Alphonse Ethier) lectures Lily(Barbara Stanwyck), a barmaid, on not living up to her true potential. That might have something to do with the dive bar where she works or her father(Robert Barrat) unsuccessfully trying to pimp her out to Ed Sipple(Arthur Hohl), a local mob boss, who suffers the painful response of Lily's rejection. So, it might not come as a surprise that Lily is ambivalent at her father's death in a sill explosion. With nothing left to tie her to Erie and almost no money, Lily decides to take up the professor's advice by traveling to New York City with her friend Chico(Theresa Harris) to get a job in a bank, using her charms of seduction. While so employed, she rises quickly and is recommended by McCoy(John Wayne) to his boss Brody(Douglas Dumbrille) for a promotion who in return takes a liking to her.
In olden times, women were not allowed to advance very far in business. So what was a poor woman like Lily supposed to do? The answer lies in the darkly entertaining and bracingly honest "Baby Face" wherein Barbara Stanwyck pulls out all the stops and then some as a character whose actions while not recommended, are certainly understandable by the social tenets of the day. At the same time, the movie takes shots at then current hypocrisies. For example, Stevens(Donald Cook) is engaged to Ann(Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of his boss(Henry Kolker). And how is that any different? On another note, I approve of any movie that references philosophy like this one but maybe psychology would have been the way to go instead for Lily, especially with the way she was raised.
Note: This is the original unedited version.
DrStrangeblog
Super Reviewer
May 29, 2012
"Well....do you have any experience?"
"Plenty!"
Barbara Stanwyck as Lily follows the advice of Nietzsche (seriously!) to bury her feelings to escape the smokey speakeasy of her abusive father and to use a string of men in order to rise as both an employee and a mistress at a big city bank. Men come off as lascivious fools in this one as Lily can easily manipulate whomever she chooses - even John Wayne gets shot down faster than a bad guy in any of his Westerns. It's great to watch her in action though, with a few quality quips you'd expect from a 1930's script, like during this heated exchange early on:
"You can't talk to me that way, I'm your father!"
"That's my bad luck, isn't it?"
Eventually she rises to the top by dating the newly-elected chairman of the bank's board Chatwood Trenholm (a more pretentious name there is not) and for the first time is affected by her feelings when he gets indicted for mismanagement. Will she chuck her winning system and sell her hard-earned luxuries to bail him out, or will she take the money and run? The ending gives a definitive answer to that but is still not very satisfying as the many problems that lie ahead are obfuscated by the appearance of the end title screen.
"Surely in this big, tall building there has to be a job somewhere for me?"
"Well....do you have any experience?"
"Plenty!"
Barbara Stanwyck as Lily follows the advice of Nietzsche (seriously!) to bury her feelings to escape the smokey speakeasy of her abusive father and to use a string of men in order to rise as both an employee and a mistress at a big city bank. Men come off as lascivious fools in this one as Lily can easily manipulate whomever she chooses - even John Wayne gets shot down faster than a bad guy in any of his Westerns. It's great to watch her in action though, with a few quality quips you'd expect from a 1930's script, like during this heated exchange early on:
"You can't talk to me that way, I'm your father!"
"That's my bad luck, isn't it?"
Eventually she rises to the top by dating the newly-elected chairman of the bank's board Chatwood Trenholm (a more pretentious name there is not) and for the first time is affected by her feelings when he gets indicted for mismanagement. Will she chuck her winning system and sell her hard-earned luxuries to bail him out, or will she take the money and run? The ending gives a definitive answer to that but is still not very satisfying as the many problems that lie ahead are obfuscated by the appearance of the end title screen.
May 18, 2010
I love this film. It was awesome to see this film after seeing movies about oppressed women in society.
Sunshineyness
August 8, 2009
Ooooh... was Ms. Stanwyck one complicated broad in this one. Lying, scheming, trampy, devious- aka AWESOME. A cheap tacked on morality ending kinda brings the movie down a bit but other than that this was exactly what the pre-code era did best- make women complicated, difficult, and less perfect. Them dames didn't really get a chance to be like this again until the 60's. BTW, blink-and-you-miss him first role by John Wayne looking so young you might not even realize it's him.
February 24, 2007
For its time, it was quite risque, but by today's standards it's pretty tame. One of my favorites of the Pre-Code era and Stanwyck was amazing (as always). If you're going to pick this up, definitely get the TCM release with the uncut version.
February 21, 2008
Very good, VERY risque! Barbara Stanwyck sleeps her way to the top in this one...great cautionary tale.
Valerie G
Super Reviewer
May 25, 2007
Barbara makes this script work. And its enjoyable to see cameos of John Wayne climbing into a different kind of saddle. ;)
Michael H.
April 11, 2013
Stanwyck plays an unapologetically opportunistic woman who uses sex to gain security. The unvarnished primacy of security (here in the guise of money) as the driving feminine motivation may not sit comfortably with modern audiences, but it is still a very active force in our relationships. The story is a bit of a hit-the-highlights outline, but still effective.
March 30, 2013
When you think of all the movies from the 1940s to the present--and tv shows--featuring strong amoral women who did not care what they had to do in order to move up the ladder of success, this is the movie where it comes from. Barbara Stanwyck is an American treasure.
Harlequin68
Super Reviewer
February 16, 2013
In olden times, women were not allowed to advance very far in business. So what was a poor woman like Lily supposed to do? The answer lies in the darkly entertaining and bracingly honest "Baby Face" wherein Barbara Stanwyck pulls out all the stops and then some as a character whose actions while not recommended, are certainly understandable by the social tenets of the day. At the same time, the movie takes shots at then current hypocrisies. For example, Stevens(Donald Cook) is engaged to Ann(Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of his boss(Henry Kolker). And how is that any different? On another note, I approve of any movie that references philosophy like this one but maybe psychology would have been the way to go instead for Lily, especially with the way she was raised.
Note: This is the original unedited version.
In "Baby Face," Professor Cragg(Alphonse Ethier) lectures Lily(Barbara Stanwyck), a barmaid, on not living up to her true potential. That might have something to do with the dive bar where she works or her father(Robert Barrat) unsuccessfully trying to pimp her out to Ed Sipple(Arthur Hohl), a local mob boss, who suffers the painful response of Lily's rejection. So, it might not come as a surprise that Lily is ambivalent at her father's death in a sill explosion. With nothing left to tie her to Erie and almost no money, Lily decides to take up the professor's advice by traveling to New York City with her friend Chico(Theresa Harris) to get a job in a bank, using her charms of seduction. While so employed, she rises quickly and is recommended by McCoy(John Wayne) to his boss Brody(Douglas Dumbrille) for a promotion who in return takes a liking to her.
In olden times, women were not allowed to advance very far in business. So what was a poor woman like Lily supposed to do? The answer lies in the darkly entertaining and bracingly honest "Baby Face" wherein Barbara Stanwyck pulls out all the stops and then some as a character whose actions while not recommended, are certainly understandable by the social tenets of the day. At the same time, the movie takes shots at then current hypocrisies. For example, Stevens(Donald Cook) is engaged to Ann(Margaret Lindsay), the daughter of his boss(Henry Kolker). And how is that any different? On another note, I approve of any movie that references philosophy like this one but maybe psychology would have been the way to go instead for Lily, especially with the way she was raised.
Note: This is the original unedited version.
April 28, 2012
Esta mujer, esta mujer compite con Lola (Blue Angel, Marlene Dietrich), son los mujeres mas manipuladoras y maquiavà (C)licas que he visto en pantalla.
August 18, 2011
A classic pre- code Hollywood film! Lily Powers (Stanwyck) is a trampy, manipulative woman, who sleeps her way to the top. She lies to men, and gets her way, and then pushes them aside, and at one point, it ends in murder and suicide. Then when offered a job in Paris, she falls in love with the handsome manager (Brent) but is afraid. Can she handle it? I watched the Pre- Release version, because I wanted to see the one that was the original-- this is when the Hays Code began to set in, so they were forced to make a version that was nicer to the censors. I wish they hadnt revised it, because the dirty one is so much better. It captures Stanwycks characters trampiness (thats not even a word :)), and she was absolutely wonderful in her role. I consider it in her top five best performances, and this one is even better than the villainous Phyllis in Double Indemnity. Leonard Maltin agreed and gave this movie a great rating. I think Ive proved than Baby Face is a great movie, and anybody whos a fan of the Forbidden Hollywood movies, this one is the best of them all.
Kevin Rimney
June 27, 2011
Watched the original undedited version and was blown away by how modern this nearly 80 year old film is. The code really hurt the potential for some hard hitting, cutting edge material.
The story is simple, attractive young woman has enough of being used and starts doing the using. Sleeping her way to the of a company she breaks a few hearts along the way and doesn't care who suffers as long is it isn't her.
Barbara Stanwyck is amazing, she steals the show.
I was a little surprised at the happy ending but it wasn't all that bad.
Worth a watch, you bet!
It's a classic and a top example of pre-code Hollywood.
Watched the original undedited version and was blown away by how modern this nearly 80 year old film is. The code really hurt the potential for some hard hitting, cutting edge material.
The story is simple, attractive young woman has enough of being used and starts doing the using. Sleeping her way to the of a company she breaks a few hearts along the way and doesn't care who suffers as long is it isn't her.
Barbara Stanwyck is amazing, she steals the show.
I was a little surprised at the happy ending but it wasn't all that bad.
Worth a watch, you bet!
Monsieur Rick
February 27, 2010
A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness. Coaxed on by an old friend interested in a German philoshopher who advises aggressive methods, then crush and destroy.
Baby Face, the title, actually comes from the mouth of none other than John Wayne, a small bit player as one of the many loves of Baby Face. You actually hear him say Baby Face for the first time in the film. He looked pretty handsome to me and you know my mug is not handsome.
This dvd is taken from a set of a set highlighting the more sensuous years of early Hollywood, when there were no rules.
A forerunner of films today, these black and white classics paved the way for the intensly graphic sexual scenes we are forced to watch today.
The music score, St. Louis Woman, is played constantly to the point of sickness.
NOTES about the film:
1 "Baby Face", the title, actually comes from the mouth of none other than John Wayne, a small bit player as one of the many loves of Baby Face.
2 Taglines: "She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!"
3 In 2004, a "dupe negative" copy of the film as it existed prior to being censored was located at the Library of Congress. This uncensored version received its public premiere at the London Film Festival in November 2004, more than 70 years after it was made.
4 one of the most outrageous pre-Code releases of the early 1930s
Some dialog from the film:
1 Lily Powers: "Yeah, I'm a tramp, and who's to balme? My Father. A swell start you gave me. Ever since I was fourteen, what's it been? Nothing but men! Dirty rotten men! And you're lower than any of them. I'll hate you as long as I live!"
2 Lily Powers: "Of course, if Fuzzy Wuzzy really wants to give me something, he could put a few more pennies in my bank account."
J.P. Carter: "My Dear, ask me something difficult." :)
Stars:
Barbara Stanwyck ... Lily Powers
George Brent ... Courtland Trenholm
Donald Cook ... Ned Stevens
Alphonse Ethier ... Adolf Cragg
Henry Kolker ... J.P. Carter
Margaret Lindsay ... Ann Carter
Arthur Hohl ... Ed Sipple
John Wayne ... Jimmy McCoy Jr.
Director: Alfred E. Green
Writers: Gene Markey (screenplay), Kathryn Scola (screenplay)
Way ahead of its time, this moderately placed film is probably more true than any of us would like to believe. Girls get ahead not by their knowledge, but by their looks (imagine THAT!). Baby Face is proof of this as our lead ruins one man after another. A heavily censored film by NY.
A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness. Coaxed on by an old friend interested in a German philoshopher who advises aggressive methods, then crush and destroy.
Baby Face, the title, actually comes from the mouth of none other than John Wayne, a small bit player as one of the many loves of Baby Face. You actually hear him say Baby Face for the first time in the film. He looked pretty handsome to me and you know my mug is not handsome.
This dvd is taken from a set of a set highlighting the more sensuous years of early Hollywood, when there were no rules.
A forerunner of films today, these black and white classics paved the way for the intensly graphic sexual scenes we are forced to watch today.
The music score, St. Louis Woman, is played constantly to the point of sickness.
NOTES about the film:
1 "Baby Face", the title, actually comes from the mouth of none other than John Wayne, a small bit player as one of the many loves of Baby Face.
2 Taglines: "She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!"
3 In 2004, a "dupe negative" copy of the film as it existed prior to being censored was located at the Library of Congress. This uncensored version received its public premiere at the London Film Festival in November 2004, more than 70 years after it was made.
4 one of the most outrageous pre-Code releases of the early 1930s
Some dialog from the film:
1 Lily Powers: "Yeah, I'm a tramp, and who's to balme? My Father. A swell start you gave me. Ever since I was fourteen, what's it been? Nothing but men! Dirty rotten men! And you're lower than any of them. I'll hate you as long as I live!"
2 Lily Powers: "Of course, if Fuzzy Wuzzy really wants to give me something, he could put a few more pennies in my bank account."
J.P. Carter: "My Dear, ask me something difficult." :)
Stars:
Barbara Stanwyck ... Lily Powers
George Brent ... Courtland Trenholm
Donald Cook ... Ned Stevens
Alphonse Ethier ... Adolf Cragg
Henry Kolker ... J.P. Carter
Margaret Lindsay ... Ann Carter
Arthur Hohl ... Ed Sipple
John Wayne ... Jimmy McCoy Jr.
Director: Alfred E. Green
Writers: Gene Markey (screenplay), Kathryn Scola (screenplay)
Kat1979
November 25, 2009
The story quickly develops well as you get to know the main character, Lily Powers, played by Barbara Stanwyck. Hard-knock life from an early age, she worked at her father's speakeasy catering to drunken lowlifes and prostituting herself through his coercion. When given a chance, she and her friend Chico move to New York City to start a new life, and under the advice of her former Pennsylvania friend, Adolf Cragg, she uses men to get what she wants. It seems to work at first, as Lily easily sleeps her way up the corporate ladder, until she meets Courtland Trenholm, played by George Brent...
What a wonderful story. It spends not too much and not too little time setting up the character development; has wonderful acting, script and pacing; is very engaging, from start to finish; and winds up being an unforgettable film with a happy ending.
Very recommended pre-code classic. Must see, if not must own! - 9.2/10.
Side note: Due to the era in which this movie was released, there are some shamefully forgotten and painful unacknowledged performances. That part is taken by Theresa Harris, who plays Chico in the film. Sadly, Theresa suffered this misfortune of being a side character throughout her career, but for a moment you will get the rare privilege to hear her remarkable and very talented singing voice, which is not to be missed.
Just excellent!
The story quickly develops well as you get to know the main character, Lily Powers, played by Barbara Stanwyck. Hard-knock life from an early age, she worked at her father's speakeasy catering to drunken lowlifes and prostituting herself through his coercion. When given a chance, she and her friend Chico move to New York City to start a new life, and under the advice of her former Pennsylvania friend, Adolf Cragg, she uses men to get what she wants. It seems to work at first, as Lily easily sleeps her way up the corporate ladder, until she meets Courtland Trenholm, played by George Brent...
What a wonderful story. It spends not too much and not too little time setting up the character development; has wonderful acting, script and pacing; is very engaging, from start to finish; and winds up being an unforgettable film with a happy ending.
Very recommended pre-code classic. Must see, if not must own! - 9.2/10.
Side note: Due to the era in which this movie was released, there are some shamefully forgotten and painful unacknowledged performances. That part is taken by Theresa Harris, who plays Chico in the film. Sadly, Theresa suffered this misfortune of being a side character throughout her career, but for a moment you will get the rare privilege to hear her remarkable and very talented singing voice, which is not to be missed.
