Baby Face (1933)

Director:

Alfred E. Green

Writers:

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

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:

Big City | Murder Suicide | Golddigger | Cruise Ship | Cynical

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)
Joan Barclay	...	Job seeker (uncredited)
James Bush	...	Paris bank clerk (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Hodges (butler) (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Speakeasy waiter (uncredited)
Cecil Cunningham	...	Paris bank clerk (uncredited)
Frank Darien	...	Paris bank agent (uncredited)
Arthur De Kuh	...	Lutza (uncredited)
John Elliott	...	Bank director (uncredited)
Harry Gribbon	...	Doorman (uncredited)
Grace Hayle	...	Mrs. Hemingway (uncredited)
Maynard Holmes	...	Pratt (personnel office) (uncredited)
Edward LeSaint	...	Bank director (uncredited)
Reginald Mason	...	Gault (bank director) (uncredited)
James Murray	...	Brakeman (uncredited)
Spec O'Donnell	...	Office boy (uncredited)
Henry Otho	...	Laborer (uncredited)
Nat Pendleton	...	Stolvich (laborer) (uncredited)
Donna Mae Roberts	...	Office worker (uncredited)
Matty Roubert	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Cliff Saum	...	Laborer (uncredited)
Charles Sellon	...	Vanderlure (bank director) (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Speakeasy drunk (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Laborer (uncredited)
Jacques Vanaire	...	Paris bank clerk (uncredited)
Edward Van Sloan	...	Jameson (bank director) (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	...	Laborer (uncredited)
Renee Whitney	...	Office worker (uncredited)
Josephine Whittell	...	(uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Laborer (uncredited)
Toby Wing	...	Office worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred E. Green

Writing credits
Darryl F. Zanuck		(story) (as Mark Canfield)
Gene Markey		(screenplay) &
Kathryn Scola		(screenplay)

Produced by
William LeBaron	....	producer
Raymond Griffith	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
James Van Trees

Film Editing by
Howard Bretherton

Art Direction by
Anton Grot		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Fox	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Oliver S. Garretson	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Buddy Longworth	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	conductor: Vitaphone Orchestra

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Vitaphone Corporation, The

Other Companies

• Vitaphone Orchestra  orchestra

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:

Originally banned in some US cities due to its sexual innuendo.

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:

Baby Face

Possible uncensored-version on DVD in 2006

An original uncensored print of this amazing film was discovered in 2004 in the Library of Congress, and has been shown in a few specialized theaters around the world in 2005. According to current reviews that I've found online, the original has all of the nastiest dialog and innuendos intact; they were later either removed or completely re-shot by the studio prior to initial release, in order to pass the New York state censors. I have also read that a DVD is "expected in 2006" and one can only hope! If we're really luckily, it will include comparisons between the 2 versions. Note that the released censored version was originally available on Laserdisc, which I have seen. Stanwyck rules!