Pandora’s Box (1929)

Pandora’s Box (Die Büchse der Pandora)
Directed by G.W. Pabst
Written by Ladislas Vajda from plays by Frank Wedekind
1929/Germany
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Prosecutor: The Greek gods created a woman – Pandora. She was beautiful and charming and versed in the art of flattery. But the gods also gave her a box containing all the evils of the world. The heedless woman opened the box, and all evil was loosed upon us.

Some things never change and the allure of Louise Brooks after almost a century is one of them.

Lulu (Brooks) is a young woman who makes her way in the world with her beauty, body, and man manipulation skills.  She has also attracted the unrequited love of a lesbian who will do anything for her.  She is not mercenary exactly as she seems to share most of her money with her creepy pimp/father and his mostly drunk friend.  She just likes a perpetual good time.

As the movie begins, Lulu is being kept by respectable Dr. Ludwig Schön.  The good doctor has been long engaged to a wealthy and respectable young lady.  The point has come when he must choose or lose his chance at an advantageous match.  Though Lulu doesn’t appear to love the doctor, she is extremely jealous and manages to wreck his prospects.  So he decides to marry Lulu, though he knows this may be the end of him.

On her wedding day, the doctor’s son Alwa (Franz Lederer) reveals his love for Lulu.  The doctor catches them in a fairly innocent embrace.  He knows that this will ruin his son and tells Lulu she must kill herself or she will drive him to murder.  Instead it is the doctor who ends up dead and Lulu is arrested for his murder.  After her conviction, she escapes the courtroom, and goes on the lam with Alwa and her two hangers on.  Her fortunes take a turn for the worse with the appearance of a blackmailer.  Then things get worse.

Brooks alone makes this movie a must-see.  She is so natural she seems modern in comparison to any of the silent screen actresses of her time.  Her smile would melt any heart.  But we get more.  Pabst is a master at directing crowd scenes and using the camera in a beautiful expressionist fashion.  And this is a glimpse into the decadence of the Weimar Republic.  Recommended.

Restoration Trailer

Montage of scenes featuring Brooks