Baby Face 1933

     Lilly grew up working in a basement speakeasy as a bartender.  Her mother died and she her father to took care of her.  When he is killed in a fire caused by his still, Lilly and her friend Chico head for New York City.  She’s determined to get a good job, escape her past poverty and make her way up the corporate ladder.  She intends to accomplish this with her pretty face and ability to increase the status of her boyfriends.  She rises floor by floor at the bank where she works.

     This is good, interesting and a recording of the song Baby Face plays as background music in several scenes.  I liked the clothing and the hairstyles of the period.  You can see how Lilly changes as she goes higher up the boyfriend ladder.  There is a twist in the later scenes and at the ending.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

71 min, Drama directed by Alfred E. Green with Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Alphonse Ethier, Henry Kolker, Margaret Lindsay, Arthur Hohl, John Wayne, Robert Barrat, Douglass Dumbrille, Theresa Harris.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, 100% critic 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 106 reviews.

Special Note:  The New York State Censorship Board rejected the original version of this film in April 1933.  Some material and some scenes were deleted, new footage was added and a new ending.  The uncut version was lost until 2004 when it was discovered in the Library of Congress vault.  The restored version premiered at the London Film Festival

in November 2004.  In 2005 this version was selected for preservation in the US Library of Congress National Film Registry.  It was also named by Time as one of the best 100 movies of the last 80 years.