Baby Face

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Poe P Jan 26, 2019 Babs Stanwyck as a woman who decides one day to use men as she, unfortunately, has been used. Her rise to the top begins immediately. Look for a young John Wayne as an interested suitor, but this pre-Code tale assumes that you know, as everyone knows, that all men are only after one thing. Ms.Stanwyck interestingly looks too frail for the part, but her acting chops as the bad girl men fear - and desire - are right on target. Good, lowdown, pre-Code stuff. See more

Harry M Oct 1, 2018 The schtick grows old and wearisome, though it starts intriguing. She sleeps with people and screws them over. Nothing warrants that she'd suddenly have a change of heart at the end other than a studio's desperate plea for some sort of unearned character arc. See more

Anakin R Sep 20, 2018 A pretty simple story, the more interesting because it belongs to the pre-Code days. Barabara Stanwyck, an irresistibly beautiful woman and a very talented actress, in a very cool performance lifts this movie way up; her sexuality breathes out of every pore. See more

George S Oct 14, 2017 There are several things that make this salacious pre-Code film worth watching, starting with Barbara Stanwyck, of course, who with her eyes and sexy come-on's seduces man after man to get ahead, literally f'ing her way to the top. There are some fantastic scenes from the beginning, where she fends off the advances of one man at her father's bar by pouring coffee on his hand, and explodes with anger at her father for essentially pimping her out since the age of 14. It's when he perishes in a fire that she has to fend for herself in the world. I'm not a big fan of John Wayne, but for those who are, you'll see him in an early role as one of her men along the way, and it was great to see Theresa Harris, who plays her maid. Lastly, I liked the elements of Nietzschean philosophy that at least form a basis for, and perhaps attempt to justify, Stanwyck using sex to get what she needs and wants out of men. On the other hand, the film is quite cynical and pretty linear in its plot. Stanwyck simply screws man after man - starting with a railroad worker who catches her hitching a ride to New York, and ending with an executive in a skyscraper. The film is brazen about this, and at one point she has sex in the ladies room, so if you're looking for elements of romance, this is not your film. How interesting is it that these "gold digger" themes are so common in films of this period, with men "victimized", when the far more prevalent situation in offices is sexual harassment, the inverse. While Stanwyck is one of my favorite actresses of the period, and it was exciting to see her in this steamy role, with those "take me" eyes and slow lead-ins to kisses, it's really rather hard to like any of the characters. The ending was a lame effort to patch some of that up, and didn't work for me. There are several Barbara Stanwyck pre-code films I would recommend over this one, including Night Nurse (1931), Ladies They Talk About (1933), and The Purchase Price (1932). If you're looking for high-wattage pre-Code shock value, though, this one is hard to top. See more

Albus S Aug 25, 2017 Baby Face is too short, but thus incredibly entertaining and it flies by how immensely fun it is. This is a highly curious movie that probably was the one film most responsible for the bringing of the Hays Code to Hollywood owing to its very sexual and bold story, but it is a movie that is still powerful and engaging to this day with a very interesting story and message, a lot of highly memorable scenes and such a complex, fascinating female protagonist beautifully played by Barbara Stanwyck who probably gave her career best performance here. See more

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Baby Face

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