Baby Face (1933)

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

Darryl F. Zanuck (story)
Gene Markey (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!

Plot:

Lilly (Baby Face) sleeps her way from basement speakeasy bartender, literally floor by floor, to the top floor of a New York office building...

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Gun | Barmaid | Cruise Ship | Big City

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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.
Robert Barrat	...	Nick Powers
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Brody (as Douglas Dumbrille)
Theresa Harris	...	Chico
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter Brennan	...	(scenes deleted)

Runtime:

71 min | 76 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 (1933) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

In spring of 1933 this film was submitted to the New York State Board of Censors, who rejected it, demanding a number of cuts and changes. Warner Brothers made these changes prior to the film's release in July 1933. 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.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: After Lily mentions to Courtland she would like to be a Mrs., there are two shots of newspapers announcing the wedding. The second shot is a close up of two paragraphs. The first paragraph misspells Courtland's name as "Courtney" and the word company as "comany."

Quotes:

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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Early Stanwyck role is one to relish

Barbara Stanwyck as a real tough cookie, a waitress to the working classes (and prostitute at the hands of her father) who escapes to New York City and uses her feminine wiles to get a filing job, moving on to Mortgage and Escrow, and later as assistant secretary to the second in command at the bank. Dramatic study of a female character unafraid to be unseemly has lost none of its power over the years, with Barbara acting up a storm (portraying a woman who learns to be a first-rate actress herself). Parlaying a little Nietzschean philosophy into her messed up life, this lady crushes out sentiment all right, but she never loses our fascination, our awe. She's a plain-spoken, hard-boiled broad, but she's not a bitch, nor is she a man-eater or woman-hater. This gal is all out for herself, and as we wait for her to eventually learn about real values in life, her journey up and down the ladder of success provides heated, sexy entertainment. John Wayne (with thick black hair and too much eye make-up) does well in an early role as the assistant in the file office, though all the supporting players are quite good. *** from ****