Set in 1917 New Orleans and the infamous red light district of Storyville.

Internationally acclaimed director Louis Malle has taken a taboo subject - child prostitution - and has created in Pretty Baby a film of humanity and beauty. E.J. Bellocq (Keith Carradine) is a photographer obsessed with the prostitutes in New Orleans' red-light district. Violet (12-year-old Brooke Shields), a young girl in 1917, bewitches Carradine with her curiosity and naive coquettishness. Malle's level-headed treatment of this controversial theme and exceptional performances by the entire cast (especially Susan Sarandon as Violet's prostitute mother) makes Pretty Baby a must-see for all serious film fans.

A film by Louis Malle

USA, 1978, Fiction, 1h49, historical drama film

starring Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, and Susan Sarandon.

Plot Keywords: child prostitute | tween girl | virginity auction | prostitute | underage sex |

Producer: Louise Malle

Director: Louise Malle
Screenplay: Polly Platt, based on a story by Polly Platt and Louise Malle and material from Al Rose's Storyville, New Orleans: Being an Authentic Account of the Notorious Redlight District.
Cinematography: Sven Nykvist
Music: Gerald Wexler
Production Design: Trevor Williams

CAST
Brooke Shields (Violet),
Keith Carradine (Bellocq),
Susan Sarandon (Hattie),
Frances Faye (Nell),
Antonio Fargas (Professor),
Matthew Anton (Red Top),
Diana Scarwid (Frieda),
Barbara Steele (Josephine).

Production Company
Paramount Pictures