Pretty Baby (film)

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Pretty Baby

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Louis Malle
Produced by Louis Malle
Polly Platt (associate)
Written by Polly Platt (story)
Louis Malle (story)
Polly Platt (screenplay)
Starring Brooke Shields
Keith Carradine
Susan Sarandon
Music by Ferdinand Morton
Cinematography Sven Nykvist
Editing by Suzanne Fenn
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) April 5, 1978
Running time 109 min.
Country United States
Language English

Pretty Baby (1978) is an Academy Award-nominated 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.

Contents

[edit] 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, abandoning Violet in the brothel. Bellocq continues to spend time with Violet, fascinated by her beauty, youth, and photogenic face. When the brothel eventually closes, Bellocq and Violet marry, ostensibly to protect her from the larger world. He is much older than she, and others question his motives in befriending her to begin with.

[edit] Main cast

Shields and Carradine (center left) and Sarandon (center right) in a setting with costumes and poses inspired by the historic photos of Ernest J. Bellocq

[edit] 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.

[edit] Awards

The film won the Technical Grand Prize at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival.[1]

[edit] 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.[2] 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.
  • 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.

[edit] References

[edit] External links