"Prix de Beaute" *** (out of ****)After discussing Louise Brooks recently in my review for the G.W. Pabst film "Pandora's Box" (1929) I had the urge to write about her again. My ultimate attempt for this blog is to discuss all of the major figures in film history and Louise Brooks deserves to be discussed.
Anyone who appreciates the history of cinema knows who the great Louise Brooks is. If you don't know who she is I'd reconsider your status as a film lover. To me, she is the second greatest female star of the silent era, only coming behind the great Greta Garbo. Her career was plagued with controversy. She was an unconventional person behind the scenes. Leading a life many disapproved of in Hollywood.
Brooks was born in Kansas in 1906. Her first bout with fame came not as an actress but as a dancer in 1922. With her extraordinary beauty on full display Hollywood came knocking and in 1925 Brooks made her screen debut in the film "The Street of Forgotten Men", it was a uncredited role. However the following year she found herself in "The American Venus" (1926) with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Edna May Oliver and Ford Sterling. Sadly the film is considered lost. But that is the film which would give the world the gift of Louise Brooks.
Brooks did not like Hollywood. She felt she didn't fit in and wasn't happy with the film roles which were being offered to her. Controversy followed her as she refused to do sound retakes for the film "The Canary Murder Case" (1929). Paramount Studios hired another actress to do voice-over work and put Brooks on an unofficial blacklist. With this she suddenly found herself in Europe where she worked on a few German films directed by G.W. Pabst. Her collaborations with Pabst, including the films "Pandora's Box" and "Diary of A Lost Girl" (both made in 1929) are what made her a star.
And that is where we found ourselves when "Prix de Beaute" (1930) was made. The film was Brooks' only made in France, where once again her voice was dubbed (this time by Helene Regelly). The film was directed by Italian filmmaker Augusto Genina which was based on an idea by the famous French comedy filmmaker Rene Clair, who directed "Under the Roofs of Paris" (1930) and "Le Million" (1931). The script adaptation was done by none other than G.W. Pabst.
The film tells the story of Lucienne (Brooks), (AKA Lulu, also her name in "Pandora's Box") a typist who enters a beauty contest looking for the first ever "Miss Europe". Lucienne's boyfriend Andre (Georges Charlia) does not approve. He wants the two of them to lead a simple life with both of them out of the public spotlight. What Andre doesn't know is that Lucienne has won the contest. Will their relationship be able to withstand the pressure of Lucienne's new found fame as a beauty queen?
For a film made in 1930 its message is still able to connect with our modern world, where everyday people make fools of themselves on TV in so-called "reality" shows in order to achieve instant celebrity status. Andre gives Lucienne a choice. Either chose me or celebrity. She initial chooses Andre but the pull to become a celebrity is just too strong for Lucienne and ultimately that is more important to her than a "normal" life with Andre.
The other interesting element to the film is in America the country was going through the "Great Depression". Try to imagine an audience's reaction to a film where an ordinary woman suddenly becomes rich and famous for no other reason than her beauty.
If it seems I'm making too much of Brooks' beauty it is not a personal observation. The whole point of the film is to center on her beauty. The first image we see of Brooks is her legs. A man notices her undressing at a beach. The camera then lingers on her long sexy legs. The camera pulls back and we see Brooks' face. Directors such as Genina and Pabst also loved to get close-ups of Brooks' face. The whole point of this is to put her beauty on display. Brooks was an international sex symbol. She, along with Clara Bow, were seen as quintessential flappers of the day. So don't think I'm obsessed with Brook's beauty. She was a beautiful woman but I wouldn't make as big of a deal about it if the films didn't make it such an issue.
There is suppose to be a silent version of this film. That would make more sense. In fact I wish I would have seen that print instead. I saw the KINO sound version of the film. The sound is off sync, you can clearly tell Brooks is not speaking French as well by the movement of her lips. "Prix de Beaute" would have worked better as a silent film. The audio becomes distracting.
"Prix de Beaute" is not a great film. There isn't enough character depth and the film makes major shifts in tone. My guess is the first half of the film was all Clair. It is light hearted and humorous while the second half of the film is much more dark. It becomes a brooding love story with an ending that may shock some even today. That was probably all Pabst. Watch "Pandora's Box" and you'll see the themes he liked to work with. However the two style don't gel. It doesn't make "Prix de Beaute" unwatchable, not by a long shot. But the shift is noticeable. I may have preferred Pabst's vision for this story. I would have liked a closer look at Lucienne and Andre. A closer examination of their relationships and why he doesn't want Lucienne to enter the contest. But I can wish from now until doomsday, it's not going to happen. The film is what it is and either I appreciate it or a I don't.
And film fans should appreciate the film. While it is no masterpiece it is at least one more film we can watch with the great Louise Brooks. On the cover of the KINO DVD it states "in her last starring role". That is misleading. That may make some think this was Brooks' last role. It wasn't. Brooks went back to Hollywood after this film. She appeared in "It Pays to Advertise" (1931) with Carole Lombard and the last screen appearance came in the John Wayne western (of all things!) "Overland Stage Raiders" (1938). Neither was a starring role and neither took full advantage of her charms and acting ability.
Will today's audiences respond kindly to Ms. Brooks? I don't know, but, I sure hope so. Her name isn't as well known as Garbo to casual film fans and rarely do film buffs discuss her any more. But Brooks does have her admirers. Among them was Henri Langlois, the co-founder of Cinematheque Francaise, who once said "There is no Garbo, there is no Dietrich, there is only Brooks." That is quite a statement. Anyone watching "Prix de Beaute" may not think that Brooks deserves that acclaim but she was a true talent. This isn't her greatest film but we can see why audiences were impressed with her back then.
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