G. W. Pabst, 1929. Here we have Louise Brooks smiling at the fiancé of the man she was just caught kissing in a storage closet. Look at that face! It’s just too good.
In this (excellent) film Brooks plays LuLu, a prostitute, in Weimar Germany. Pabst wanted us to know she’s a Jewish prostitute, as evidenced by the sizable menorah she keeps in her well-furnished apartment, but this soon-t0-be historically relevant detail is completely overshadowed by the larger theme of this film: attractive, charismatic, and uninhibited women leave destruction in their wake.
And it seemed Pabst knew exactly what he was doing by casting Brooks (who had already established quite a reputation for herself). She’s the most compelling and attractive female I’ve seen from this era. Undeniable sex appeal. Some imdb reviews have complained she’s too “fresh” looking for such a practiced hooker. Who cares! What matters is you believe beyond a doubt these men are obsessed with her, because you yourself are also obsessed. And I confess I am now also obsessed.
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