Prix de beauté (1930) - film review

Lucienne, a typist working on a Parisian newspaper, decides to a enter a beauty contest, despite her boyfriend André’s fierce objections.  Having won the Miss France award, she sets off for the Miss Europe contest in Spain.  Success, stardom and film contracts inevitably follow – but at what price?

Prix de beauté was one of the last silent masterpieces, directed by Augusto Genina and scripted by René Clair (himself a great director).  Released at a time when sound films were becoming the norm, this film was largely overlooked and has only comparatively recently received the attention it deserves.

The film stars Louise Brooks in the role of the eponymous tragic femme fatale, a part that suits the beautiful young actress perfectly.  Despite her short film career, Brooks has the reputation of one of the icons of Twentieth Century cinema, thanks mainly to her part as Lulu in G.W. Pabst’s 1928 film Pandora’s Box.

© James Travers 2001

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