Movies - Pretty Baby

Home > Listing Index > Movies > Pretty Baby (film)

	Movies - Pretty Baby

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.

Taglines: In 1917, in the red-light district of New Orleans, they called her "Pretty Baby".
1917. The red-light district of New Orleans. The story of the women. The photographer. And the prostitute's daughter.

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

Plot summary

In 1917, 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 pictures of Hattie and he 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. Is this idyllic or is she just a girl wearing rouge, soon to return to childhood?

Film music

The soundtrack used many local New Orleans musicians playing in the jazz, ragtime, and blues style of the city in the early 20th century. A LP album of the soundtrack, also entitled "Pretty Baby", was issued in 1978 on ABC Records.

Academy Award for Original Music Score in the "Adaptation Score" category.

Performers include the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, James Booker, Kid Thomas Valentine, Raymond Burke, Louis Nelson, Louis Barbarin.

Controversy

In addition to the subject of child prostitution, some ire was raised because of scenes involving a 12-year-old Brooke Shields appearing nude. 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.
Susan Sarandon
provided a g-string for Brooke Shields to wear in most of her nude scenes so she would not have to be totally nude.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Pretty Baby (film) ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article Pretty Baby (film); it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.

Movies - Pretty Baby

Main cast

Plot summary

Film music

Controversy

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay