Baby Face was the subject of our culture club this month, and what a terrific movie it is. This movie was so racy that even in pre-Code 1933, several scenes, bits of dialogue, and images had been censored. The original pre-censored copy was discovered in 2004. The Netflix DVD we watched had both versions. It’s only about 75 minutes long.
Barbara Stanwyck stars as the irresistable Lilly Powers, whom we meet working in her father’s Pittburgh prohibition era sleazy speakeasy.
the film's portrayal of working class masculinity, at least in the pre-edit version, is unambiguous
We learn she has been pimped out since the age of 14. When her father dies, Lilly takes the advice of a Nietzsche-quoting (Will to Power and Thoughts Out Of Season) German immigrant cobbler who has been a father figure, and heads for the big city. Once there, noticing the wealth all around her, she proceeds to sleep and scheme her way to riches, leaving a trail of ever more powerful and wealthy brokenhearted men. The original version ends with Lilly married to a man she loves, richer than she ever dreamed (the edit has her — totally implausibly — losing her fortune, returning to steel town, poor but happy with the man she loves.)
Stanwyck is sexy and in control and amazing to watch, and seeing a very young John Wayne as an early conquest was loads of fun, but most of my enjoyment of the movie came from just being amazed at the frank way it dealt with sex and pondering what it was trying to say about it.
Lilly is a very sympathetic protagonist, and in the initial version she goes to Gotham not just to get rich, but to exercise her will to power. Here’s the quote from her mentor:
A woman, young, beautiful like you, can get anything she wants in the world. Because you have power over men. But you must use men, not let them use you. You must be a master, not a slave. Look here — Nietzsche says, “All life, no matter how we idealize it, is nothing more nor less than exploitation.” That’s what I’m telling you. Exploit yourself. Go to some big city where you will find opportunities! Use men! Be strong! Defiant! Use men to get the things you want!
Unfortunately, her quest looks vastly less interesting in the edited version of this speech, which a member of the Studio Relations Committee wrote:
A woman, young, beautiful like you, can get anything she wants in the world. But there is a right way and a wrong way. Remember, the price of the wrong way is too great. Go to some big city where you will find opportunities! Don’t let people mislead you. You must be a master, not a slave. Be clean, be strong, defiant, and you will be a success.
In the original version, Lilly was not the subject of moral disapproval: the weak, duplicitous, cuckolded men were. Although they were in suits and ties, and employed at the big skyscraper bank (screen shots of which symbolized Lilly’s ascent), Lilly was the one who was winning at capitalism.
In some ways, the film worked as a kind of feminine (but not feminist) fantasy. Although Lilly undeniably suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her father and the men who paid him for her body as a teenager, we don’t see that. What we see onscreen is a woman who, although surrounded by men frequently drunk and in a state of nearly insane lust, is always in total control.
Lilly protecting herself from sexual assault in a scene cut for the theatrical release
In the real world, a file clerk who gets caught having sex in the ladies room with her married boss would lose her job and be disgraced. In Baby Face, the boss is fired and Lilly becomes the mistress of the man who fired him. [This is an amazing scene, especially the moment we see Lilly seeing her lover's boss watching her in the mirror.]
Another interesting thing about this movie is Lilly’s relationship with the one African American character, Chico, Lilly’s friend/maid. It wasn’t easy to find any stills with Chico, but here’s one:
As an aside, the scene pictured above was edited. In the initial version, the camera pans slowly and leeringly up Stanwyck’s body. In the edited version, the camera focuses on her face and shoulders.
Lilly’s complex relationship with Chico provides some of the more poignant moments in the film, as on a Christmas Eve when Chico heads out for a night with friends and Lilly is all by her lonesome (married men can’t usually get away on holidays), and near the end, when Chico tries to intercede and Lilly firmly, verbally and physically, reminds her of her inferior racial and class status.
In the end, love prevails, although it doesn’t clearly prevail over money in the original version (it’s ambiguous whether she and her husband stay wealthy — he’s facing a massive lawsuit thanks to her).
So is this a romance? I don’t think so. It’s Lilly’s story. We don’t even really get a sense of why she falls for the man she does, except perhaps that he’s the bank president, so there’s no higher conquest, and the narrative has to close at some point.
Lilly is smart, tough, beautiful, driven, and, in the end, happy. I think if this movie were made today, Lilly would been raped, beaten, and wound up poor and lonely. What do you think?
Here’s the theatrical trailer for your enjoyment.
“She played the love game … with everything she had… for everything they had .. and made ‘IT’ pay!”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6tmkW_ykt0
Thank you so much for this post! I have seen “Baby Face” twice, and I enjoyed it even more the second time! I will watch it again in the future. It’s one of those movies that reveals more with each viewing. Barbara Stanwyck was an amazing lady and actress. Fearless and absolutely certain in her acting and her relationships with the movie studios! From Baby Face to Double Indemnity, from The Big Valley to the Thorn Birds, Ms. Stanwyck was always a cut above the rest! Her versatility allowed her to shine in more comedic roles like her character in Ball of Fire and then break our hearts in Stella Dallas. She was a petite woman who stood tall and captured us all with her keen personality and those deep, mesmerizing brown eyes!
Thank you for sharing this. Barbara Stanwyck is still one of my favorite actresses for her portrayals of strong women who survive adversity and often end up having it all, including the HEA. The Lady Eve is on my short list of films I’d watch over and over, and now I’ll look for Baby Face based on your review.
I have seen both versions of BABY FACE. Saw both with my jaw on the floor at how matter-of-factly the film showed BS using her sexuality. And I had thought her early films like THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN was racy but this was the raciest. The uncensored version was better but either way, I didnt care for BS finally falling for a dullard like Brent. BS was so beautifully ruthless thruout the film that she shouldnt have changed her spots even in the least bit.
I’m glad more people are viewing this gem. I used to belong to several movie forums and I was the only one who ever saw this film for the longest time.
My grandfather studied in the U.S. from approx 1935 to 1937, when the Japanese invaded China and he, as the eldest son, returned home to be the head of the family.
He loved the U.S. And he especially loved American movies. 50 years later, when he returned to the States, my mom, then a poor grad student ($700 a month assistantship), nevertheless splurged on basic cable for him, so he could watch old movies.
And he loved Barbara Stanwyck. I think she was his favorite actress.
It’s a shame that teenagers are so little interested in their elders. Now I wish I’d asked him a lot more about his life–and watched some of those old movies with him.
I really enjoyed this film, even though in the context of other Pre-Code films, it’s racy and sleazy for the sake of being racy and sleazy. However, it is interesting to note how common it is in these Pre-Code women’s pictures for the heroine to sleep her way to the top, or to become a kept woman to stave off poverty and dispair, and at times (Ruth Chatterton’s role in Female), to absolutely own their sexuality–and all without any apologies for their choices.
On the subject of Chico (played by the gorgeous Theresa Harris, who never got a chance to have as much screentime as in this and “Hold Your Man” because she didn’t fit the “Mammy” image that was acceptable to see onscreen for black female actresses), her relationship with Lily was complex–and yet it wasn’t, because Lily, for all her sordid background, could still feel superior to her “chaste” black maid because she was white.
As for the romance tacked on between Lily and George Brent’s character, it was okay. Even though she got away with her crimes, audiences needed to be reassured of a happy ending even amidst all the ugly lust and violence. But I don’t think that the film could have been made today because we just don’t get the power of female sexuality and we don’t like to see women being sexually vulnerable–unless it’s a semi-tragedy. For all our progress, it is funny and sad that a woman with a past like Lily’s wouldn’t be permitted to have a happy ending, or even a narrative to achieve happiness. Case in point: “Pretty Woman”–I’ve read the original screenplay, which was pretty gritty and realistic, but for today’s audiences, Cinderella has to be pretty, virginal and pristine to be worthy of her Prince Charming. Had Julia Roberts’ character been as grimy and drug-addicted as her friend Kit, would she have been a proper partner for Richard Gere’s “Edward”?
I’ve never seen this, but it sounds like it would make a great double feature with “A Fool There Was” (silent film with Theda Bara).