The 55th Street Playhouse in New York City, the small art house that debuted the film, projected a statement lamenting that the film had been censored. Other changes were made in other countries.īy the time Pandora’s Box premiered in the United States in December 1929, nearly a third of the film was reportedly missing. Their solution was to tinker with the titles and convert Alwa (Franz Lederer) from Dr. In France, for example, censors thought it indecent for a father and son to vie sexually for the same woman. Pandora’s Box played across Europe where it was similarly received and cut according to local standards. She is quite unsuited to the vamp type which was called for by the play from which the picture was made.” One critic even called Brooks “an inanimate dummy.” Variety’s correspondent in Germany chimed in with a critique hardly more sympathetic: “Louise Brooks, especially imported for the title role, did not pan out, due to no fault of hers. Many German critics stated she looked attractive but appeared unconvincing. Pabst’s choice of Brooks was said to be a mistake, and her acting came under fire. (Hilda Doolittle) writing in the English film journal Close Up, noted the controversy when she stated the film was “passed by the German censors after a stormy discussion of several hours duration.” Critics and censors were likewise taken aback by what was then considered a frank portrayal of sexuality. Pabst conducted a well-publicized search for an actress who was the right type: according to one film journal, the search was a topic of considerable interest, and “Everywhere one went one heard ‘What about Lulu?’ ‘Is Lulu found yet?’” Once the part was cast, filmgoers objected to the relatively unknown Louise Brooks in the role, doubting an American actress could play what was thought to be an essentially German character.Īs a psychological study, some found Pandora’s Box a disappointment, regretting Pabst’s seeming retreat from the social and political engagement of his earlier works. The idea of a film had been rejected by some who claimed “Lulu is inconceivable without the words that Wedekind made her speak.” To deflect criticism, director G.W. Reviews at the time were mixed, even hostile.īased on two plays by the acclaimed German dramatist Frank Wedekind, Pandora’s Box tells the story of Lulu, a lovely, amoral, and somewhat petulant showgirl whose behavior leads to tragic consequences. When the film premiered in Berlin in February of 1929, critics and the moviegoing public were largely dismissive of the much anticipated work. You can read the program essay for our 2006 screening of Pandora’s Box here
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