Louis Malle's Pretty Baby
- Laura Kuhn
- Aug 1, 2024
- 1 min read
Louis Malle's Pretty Baby
1978
"In 1917, in the red-light district of New Orleans, they called her Pretty Baby.
The image of an adult world through a child's eyes."
Hattie (Susan Sarandon), a prostitute working in the Storyville red-light district of New Orleans, meets a photographer named Bellocq (Keith Carradine) at her brothel one night and, after he photographs her, he befriends her 12-year-old daughter, Violet (Brooke Shields).
When Violet is brought on as a working girl by her mother's madam and Hattie skips town to get married, Violet quickly loses her innocence and focuses on reuniting with Bellocq. But a life with Bellocq is compromised for Violet after her mother returns to town.
The film is based on the true account of a young girl who was sexually exploited by being forced into prostitution by her mother, a theme which was recounted in historian Al Rose's 1974 book Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic Illustrated Account of the Notorious Red-Light District.
The film is also based on the life of photographer Ernest Bellocq, who photographed various New Orleans prostitutes in the early 20th century and whose photographs are among the only images remaining of the brothels of Storyville.
The title, Pretty Baby, is derived from the Tony Jackson song of the same name, which is featured on the film's soundtrack.
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