Pretty Baby (film)

Infobox_Film
name = Pretty Baby


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Louis Malle
writer = Polly Platt (story)
Louis Malle (story)
Polly Platt (screenplay)
starring = Brooke Shields
Keith Carradine
Susan Sarandon
producer = Louis Malle
Polly Platt (associate)
music = Ferdinand Morton
cinematography = Sven Nykvist
editing = Suzanne Fenn
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = April 5, 1978
runtime = 109 min.
country = United States
language = English
amg_id = A39087
imdb_id = 0078111

"Pretty Baby" is a 1978 historical fiction, dramatic film directed by Louis Malle. The screenplay was written by Polly Platt. The title is inspired by the Tony Jackson song, "Pretty Baby", which is used in the soundtrack.

Plot summary

The film is set in 1917, during the last months of legal prostitution in Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, Louisiana. Hattie, a prostitute at the elegant home of Madame Nell, and her 12-year-old daughter Violet are the only ones awake when photographer Ernest J. Bellocq comes by with his camera. He takes photographs of Hattie and fascinates Violet. Over the next few months, Nell arranges for the auction of Violet's virginity, Hattie marries and goes to St. Louis, leaving Violet behind, and Violet determines to marry Bellocq.

Main cast

* Brooke Shields .... Violet
* Keith Carradine .... Bellocq
* Susan Sarandon .... Hattie
* Frances Faye .... Nell
* Antonio Fargas .... Professor
* Matthew Anton .... Red Top
* Diana Scarwid .... Frieda
* Barbara Steele .... Josephine
* Seret Scott .... Flora
* Cheryl Markowitz .... Gussie
* Susan Manskey .... Fanny
* Laura Zimmerman .... Agnes
* Miz Mary .... Odette
* Gerrit Graham .... Highpockets
* Mae Mercer .... Mama Mosebery

Film music

ABC Records released a soundtrack of the film's ragtime score, which won an Academy Award for Original Music Score in the "Adaptation Score" category.

Controversy

* In addition to the subject of child prostitution, some eyebrows were raised because of scenes involving a 12-year-old Brooke Shields appearing nude. [ [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20070948,00.html People.com: "Pretty Brooke"] ] Because of this, the 109 minute film was edited down to 106 minutes in some releases. The unedited version of the film is now available on DVD, but there is controversy amongst its fans because of differences in film dimensions, leading some people to believe that the film was either incorrectly matted or the victim of false letterboxing.
* This film received an R rating in the U.S., an 18 rating in the U.K., and an R18+ rating in Australia, for nudity and sexual content.

References

External links

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* [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19780601/REVIEWS/51012001/1023 Original Roger Ebert Review from 1978]
* [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=EE05E7DF173EE573BC4D53DFB2668383669EDE&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes&oref=slogin Original New York Times Review] "(Site registration required)"