Pandora's Box
1929The knife in the dark
Pabst cast an American unknown, Louise Brooks, over every established German star being considered, and her performance as Lulu -- pure appetite, no shame about it, destroyed by a world that punishes women for exactly that -- is still the reason the film is discussed today. This closing scene identifies her killer only by implication; German censors of the era wouldn't allow his name spoken outright, but everyone in 1929 knew exactly who was in the room with her.