Prix de beauté (Miss Europe) (Beauty Prize Miss Europe) (1930)

The French Prix de Beaute stars cult figure Louise Brooks as a nondescript typist for a Parisian newspaper. On a whim, Brooks submits her photograph to the Miss France Contest. To everyone's amazement--and her boyfriend Andre's (Georges Charlia) displeasure--she wins the contest, and is sucked into a whirlwind of photo ops and interviews at the Miss Europe contest in Spain. Here she is confronted by Andre, who angrily demands that she give up this foolishness and return home. But the lure of fame and fortune is much too strong, and before long Brooks has signed a movie contract. The heart-stopping tragic climax brilliantly juxtaposes the image of the dead Brooks with her "live" screen image. Not as highly regarded as Louise Brooks' German films for G. W. Pabst, Prix de Beaute nonetheless succeeds in terms of visual dynamics and the naturalness of the star's performance. Available in both sound and silent versions, the film never received a formal American release. Augusto Genina replaced the film's original director Rene Clair during the pre-production stages. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi