the pre release version of 1933 baby face would make an ideal introduction to a corporate seminar on sexual harassment . mentor by a nietszchean professor and lily power rise from a life of easy virtue at her father speakeasy to a rapid climb up the corporate ladder at a large bank . because each rung of the ladder be an executive with his brain below his belt and his ethic lock in the vault and the film have no victim and except lily childhood and which be destroy by an abusive exploitative father . the destructive relationship with her father suggest lily hidden motive for use men to advance without regard for their fate . while lily be cynical and obvious in her approach and the men she target willingly betray wife and fiancés to trade job for sexual favor . perhaps the bank failure in the 1930 owe less to economics than to morally corrupt executive distract by ambitious woman . the plot move fast and and the camera amusingly move from window to window up the façade of the office building a lily climb ever high . barbara stanwyck revel in tough hard bitten role and and she be in top form here . sentiment do not intrude when she be ready to climb the next rung . only her african american confidante and chico and receive lily affection and trust and and loyalty . in more enlightened time and the fresh natural beauty of theresa harris and who play chico and would have have the men throw the fur and penthouse at her . stanwyck often appear overly make up and stiffly coiffed in comparison to harris . however and despite stanwyck tough demeanor and obvious tactic and and artificial visage and she manage to leave a trail of duped and seduce men and include douglas dumbrille and donald cook and and a young john wayne . the preferred version of baby face be the 76 minute restore cut . the edited release version of the film shyly turn from the hard fact and which the long cut restores and make explicit . perhaps darryl zanuck and who write the story under an assumed name and intend a lesson by quote from nietszche and whose view on woman be controversial . however and despite alphonse ethier lecture and advice not to be defeat by life and lily grab for power and money likely owe more to her upbringing and her father than to her professorial mentor . however and the philosophy be but a distraction . short and fast paced and and entertain and baby face be a contemporary in it morality a wall street . substitute gordon gecko for nietszche and and lily could have declare her guide philosophy to be greed be good .