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RUNTIME
Did you know
Tight 76-minute runtime β shorter than most television pilots.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#01
Baby Face
"She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!"
1933 1h 16m EN
π
7.2
SOLID
β
7.2TMDB Β· 163
Drama
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A young woman uses her body and her sexuality to help her climb the social ladder, but soon begins to wonder if her new status will ever bring her happiness.
βShe climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!β
Cast
Barbara Stanwyck
Lily Powers
George Brent
Courtland Trenholm
Donald Cook
Ned Stevens
Alphonse Ethier
Adolf Cragg
Henry Kolker
J.R. Carter
Margaret Lindsay
Ann Carter
Arthur Hohl
Ed Sipple
John Wayne
Jimmy McCoy Jr.
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Alfred E. Green
- Writers
- Gene Markey, Darryl F. Zanuck, Kathryn Scola
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts πΏ
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $0.2M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
93 years old β a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#03
4 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Alfred E. Green, shot by James Van Trees. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor Howard Bretherton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#05
6 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent and Donald Cook carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#06
7 / 8
FACT
Did you know
Marketing tagline: "She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!".
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#07
8 / 8
WILD
Did you know
IMDB entry: tt0023775 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
MoodPlayr Β· trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Alfred E. Green directs. James Van Trees behind the camera. Howard Bretherton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Tight 76-minute runtime β shorter than most television pilots.
- 2Shot for just $0.2M β micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 393 years old β a genuine piece of film history.
- 4Directed by Alfred E. Green, shot by James Van Trees. Note their partnership β DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Editor Howard Bretherton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 6Barbara Stanwyck and George Brent and Donald Cook carry the top of the cast.
- 7Marketing tagline: "She climbed the ladder of success - wrong by wrong!".
- 8IMDB entry: tt0023775 β still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Classified under 11 themes, including "new york city", "paris, france", "ambition", "mistress".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- James Van Trees
- Editing
- Howard Bretherton
- Costume design
- Orry-Kelly
- Runtime
- 76 min Β· 1h 16m
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $187,000
- Box office
- $451,000
- Return
- 241% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- IMDB
- Baby Face (1933)
Also by
Alfred E. Green
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Community reviews
What people are saying
- CinemaSerfβ 7/10
Barbara Stanwyck is at the top of her game in this cracking story of a young girl "Lily" who thanks to her pal "Cragg" (Alphonse Ethier) and some ideology from Nietzsche quickly discovers that she can use her femininity and her brains to get on in life. When her exploitative father has a rather unfortunate accident with a still, she heads to the big city where she shrewdly works her way through the bosses (including a young John Wayne) right to the top - accumulating wealth and wrecking relationships and marriages as she goes. Will she manage to get away with it all, or will she get her comeuppance? Well you will have to watch and see, but along the way we get a frequently humorous depiction of a lady who knows exactly how to manipulate these shallow, fickle and all-too-often stupidly horny men for her own advantage. She is not ruthless with everyone, though. She stays friends with her old companion "Chico" (Theresa Harris) whose observations and gentle ditties pepper the relentlessness as "Lily" quite literally gets to the top of the pile. Though it is entertaining to watch her use and abuse her menfolk, I can't say that I especially warmed to her character as she started to develop a rather thoughtless, maybe even cruel, streak - especially with the emotionally challenged "Trenholm" (George Brent) - her pièce de resistance! Without being graphic, this is a splendid piece of sexually charged cinema, and Miss Stanwyck almost glows with sultriness and ambition. The use of the exterior of the building to illustrate her climb up the ladder of success is fun, as are the increasing scenarios of confusion and desperation among the men whose attentions she craves, uses and steps on to leave behind. Great fun and pokes a potent finger at many of the flaws in a "man's world". Sexy, clever and well worth a watch.
Production companies
Who made it
Warner Bros. Pictures
US
Key crew
- ProducerWilliam LeBaron
- EditorHoward Bretherton
- ConductorLeo F. Forbstein
- Art DirectionAnton Grot
- Costume DesignOrry-Kelly
- SoundOliver S. Garretson
- ProducerRaymond Griffith
- CastingMaxwell Arnow
- Assistant DirectorFred Fox
- Still PhotographerBuddy Longworth
- Casting AssistantWilliam Forsyth
- Casting AssistantWilliam Maybery
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- new york city
- paris, france
- ambition
- mistress
- black and white
- pre-code
- speakeasy
- gold digger
- flirtation
- kept woman
- mischievous
Release history Β· US
When it landed
- Theatrical1933-07-13Β· Los Angeles, California
Also known as
International titles
- LilianeFR
- ΥΥΈΦΦΥ«Υ―Υ« Υ€Υ₯Υ΄ΦΥ¨AM
