In the 1929 film Pandora’s Box, Louise Brooks plays Lulu.
Lulu is the central character in Georg Wilhelm Pabst’s German silent film. She is portrayed as magnetic, socially unconventional, and capable of inspiring intense devotion and jealousy. The plot follows the consequences of her relationships and choices, giving the film its atmosphere of fascination and impending disaster.
The character comes from Frank Wedekind’s dramatic works Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box. Pabst’s movie combines material from both plays, so Lulu’s literary origin is distinct from the ancient Greek Pandora whose story inspired the title.
Louise Brooks’s performance made Lulu one of her signature roles. The character is often discussed in connection with the modern image of the “fatal woman,” although the film’s emotional and social pressures are more complicated than that simple label suggests.