Pandora's Box, starring Louise Brooks, was approved for release on this day in 1929

Pandora's Box, directed by G.W. Pabst and starring Louise Brooks, was approved for release on this day in 1929, though the film did not premiere until February 9, 1929. That first showing -- the film's premiere -- took place at the Gloria–Palast in Berlin. (And despite what has been stated elsewhere, Louise Brooks did not attend the premiere. She had already returned to the United States.)

Pandora’s Box was based on two plays by the acclaimed German dramatist Frank Wedekind. Despite it being a German production made from a well known work of German literature, German censors were taken aback by what was then considered the film’s frank portrayal of sexuality. The modernist poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), writing in the English / Swiss film journal Close-Up, noted the controversy when she stated the film had only “passed by the German censors after a stormy discussion of several hours duration.”  

On January 30, 1929, the production received an approval card (No. 21540) from the Berlin Film Censorship Board which allowed for its public screening.** 

Some ten days later, the G.W. Pabst-directed film debuted at the Gloria-Palast in Berlin. Writing in Film-Kurier on February 11, Georg Herzberg thought it inevitable that the film would contain less provocative material than Wedekind’s stage play. The reason the reviewer suggests was “self-censorship” — because unlike the stage-play, the film was aimed at a larger audience, not only in Germany, but also overseas. Herzberg notes “… the filmmaker had to tone things down.” And then asks, “In popular cinema, how will one understand the character of Countess Geschwitz and her relationship with Lulu?” 

** On April 9, 1934 the Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda revoked the January 30, 1929 approval card, thereby banning the film in Germany. Please visit the Louise Brooks Society website for more on Pandora's Box and its history of censorship around the world. 

 
And, more about Pandora's Box can be found on the newly revamped Louise Brooks Society website on its Pandora's Box (filmography page).

THE LEGAL STUFF: The Louise Brooks Society™ blog is authored by Thomas Gladysz, Director of the Louise Brooks Society  (www.pandorasbox.com). Original content copyright © 2026. Further unauthorized use prohibited. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.