PRIX DE BEAUTE

Virtually the last major appearance of Louise Brooks, she is seen to great advantage as a typist who secretly enters an international beauty contest. Moving from the light-hearted banter and freewheeling location work ol the beginning (splendid photography by Fludolph Mate). to the extraordinary tragic finale (in which life is confronted with the film medium itself), Brooks imbues it all with her unique sensuousness. The swift, racy tone of the narrative obviously owes much to Rene Clair's scenario.