I noticed today that IMDb has had something of a facelift. I haven’t explored it to any great extent but it does seem an improvement. At least visually it seems a bit more contemporary. But that’s a very superficial impression. I simply haven’t used it enough to judge.
I caught the new design when I was looking up Baby Face (1933), which I watched on the weekend. It’s part of Forbidden Hollywood, a set I picked up quite a while ago. However I’ve only now gotten around to watching the movies (there are three - four if you count both versions of Baby Face).
I hope to toss some thoughts together on Baby Face soon. It’s certainly interesting given its history: a 76 minute film in pre-release chopped down to 71 minutes when it was finally released, and only seen in the 71 minute version until this recent restoration.
Why were five minutes taken out? Sexual content. Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Baby Face is about a young women who climbs the social ladder by sleeping with any guy who can move her up a few rungs. While there are no real sex scenes in the film, the sex is heavily implied … and some of that was removed in the theatrical version. (I watched the restored, 76 minute version, so I’m unsure which scenes were removed.)
It may be the film is more interesting historically and culturally than as a film. I found it was about average as a piece of cinema, though Barbara Stanwyck really does stand out. The bones of the story are also good - presentation, maybe not so much (beyond the lurid sexual aspect).
Stanwyck’s character, Lily (Baby Face), is horribly used as a young woman at home. Her father prostitutes her; men around her treat her shabbily and as if she exists for their sexual convenience. Finally, she breaks away and goes out into the world where, thanks to her background, she takes an attitude that she will do whatever it takes to get ahead. Rather than being used by men, she will use them - sex being her tool. The film is about her rise to the top and what happens once she gets there. (I think you can make a good guess.)
But I’ve rambled on more than I intended for a quick post. Baby Face is an interesting story, has a fascinating history, but is kind of an average, or slightly above average, film.
And I don’t know why the name Baby Face is in the film, much less the title, other than that they seemed to want to use the song Baby Face in the film. Go figure.
(By the way … a very young John Waynes makes an appearance in the film too. And he’s rather good in his brief moment.)
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