Pandora's Box (1929)

Loosely based on a pair of German stage plays by Frank Wedekind, Pandora's Box would transform American actress Louise Brooks into a star in Europe as well as her homeland, but only for a brief time. Much like the Greek mythology which inspired the title of the film, the picture dealt with the evils in the world including issues that were quite taboo for that period. The story of a sexually promiscuous girl of the roaring twenties would play a double-edged sword in the world of cinema and for the film's star, leading to success and well as failure.

The story is of a mistress, Lulu (Brooks), who has used the men whom have become infatuated with her to get her whatever she has wanted in life. When Lulu gets herself involved with newspaper publisher Dr. Ludwig Schön (Fritz Kortner) her life starts a downward spiral, ending with his accidental death when he threatens Lulu for being so promiscuous around other men. After her conviction for manslaughter she runs away with her new lover, Schön's son Alwa (Fritz Lederer). The melodrama takes Lulu and Alwa into hiding on a gambling ship to avoid her being recognized in public, and when that becomes unsafe because of all the unsavory men looking to make money off Lulu being a fugitive the couple along with her good friend (and former pimp as it were) Schigolch run off to London. Their they reach rock bottom, once wealthy, but now living with nothing. Lulu turns back to prostitution to make her own way. Her first man of interested would unfortunately be Jack the Ripper, who despite wanting to suppress his urge to kill would bring Lulu's days to an end. Alwa who was brought down by the seduction of this short haired beauty would never know what has happened to her as he would find a new path in life with the Salvation Army.

Technically speaking the film is quite good. The cinematography is creative, using depth and long tracking and panning shots, allowing the camera to tell the story rather than editing several shot together. The shot that was the most impressively striking was when Lulu was convicted and someone sets off the fire alarm sending the courtroom into a panic allowing Lulu to escape. The camera all in one shot shows the room go into a flurry, yet we see Lulu clearly get wrapped up in the people and get out the door, panning back the a fabulous mess of scattered chairs and a loan figure of Alwa standing among the aftermath for the rush. A few times in the film the artistry of the camera revealing the progression of action is carried out like this. It is very creative and harckens to the shots seen in Spielberg movies. The use of light in and shadow, even fog, is carried out very well as the film progresses, especially in the scenes in a dreary London. It would appear that European films would have the upper hand with the use of the camera during this early era of film as seen in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligiri and Metropolis.

The film would define the short career of Louise Brooks. With her bob haircut and electrifying energy she carries the film of her shoulders and embodies the flappers of the 20s. Her acting is subtle and realistic, never overacting. She sucks you into the story as you watch her bring man after man down with her seductive presence. The movie even includes, what is believed to be a first in major motion pictures, a character that is lesbian and would do anything for Lulu even giving her body up to save Lulu from scoundrels. The film was Brooks' first when she left Paramount Pictures and Hollywood altogether after only three years of making movies, and the German filmmakers loved the young energy, along with her actual youth, she brought to the screen. After a couple of years in Germany she would return to Hollywood with herself established and a form of sexuality as her films where heavily watched by censors. She would never make major films again as she would be blacklisted for not being easy to work with, relegating her to B movies, but at the same time would be a topic in the tabloids as her sexuality would lead to many rumors that would follower all of her days.

Pandora's Box toed the lines of open sexuality in the cinema in the late 20s, but also seemed to care about the craft of filmmaking as well. The film was well shot and had many layers, though it was played out very much like a play (after all, it was inspired by two plays), including announced act breaks which I saw as unnecessary. Despite Brooks' short career this film was well acted by her and seemed to be the perfect movie for her as the picture would find a new following years later in the 1950s reigniting the world's infatuation with the girl with the bob haircut.