A cinematic sequence depicts the moral bankruptcy of 1970s Hollywood at its peak. A severely dolled-up 12-year-old girl is carried through a high-class brothel while drooling clients compete for her virginity.
Brooke Shields played the child prostitute in Beautiful Baby when she was only 11 years old and had to appear naked on TV and kiss 29-year-old Keith Carradine.
The film’s production company selected Jodie Foster, 14, for the role, but French director Louis Malle insisted on Shields.
