Baby Doll
Written by Tennessee Williams and directed by Elia Kazan, Baby Doll tells the story of a 19-year-old fiancee of a cotton gin owner in the South. Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) has promised not consummate his marriage to Baby Doll (Carroll Baker) until her 20th birthday; Baby Doll has other ideas, however. Her naive sexuality attracts a rival gin owner (Eli Wallach) who believes that Archie Lee has cheated him.
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards in 1956, including Best Actress for Carroll Bakker, this movie is also credited with the name 'babydoll' for the type of dress worn by Bakker throughout the film.
Member Reviews
Terrible... - Damion
So, I took in this 1956 Tennessee Williams' film, directed by Elia Kazan, based purely on the fact that it was hugely controversial back in the day, and was banned by the Catholic church, the church even stating that anyone who sees it is committing a sin.
So, of course I had to see it, because anything the Catholic church bans has to have some good qualities to it.
Having said that, you also have to take into account the fact that this film did come out in 1956, when the church was just as patheticly stupid in their banning as they are today in many regards. I completely understand where the controversy lay, as Carroll Baker's portrayal of a 19 year old sex pot of a wife was almost shocking...not to mention shockingly bad. Despite the controversy, Baker's absolutely horrifying performance garnered this film one of it's FOUR Oscar nominations and I cannot understand where any of them came from. The film didn't really SAY anything except that Baker should never have taken up acting, nevermind getting an Oscar nomination for a horrendous wannabe performance.
I am glad I can say I have seen this, but will follow that up with saying that that is the ONLY thing I can say about this horribly unentertaining 1956 pseudo-sex and revenge romp.Intriguing - truenorth2002
From the same people who brought us A Streetcar Named Desire comes another poignant look at man's desires, lusts, and greed. Very good acting from all the characters and a brilliantly written screenplay make this a must-see film. Here's a good example of how sexual tensions were generated without being explicit. Eli Wallach exuded a certain sexiness that shames the present-day heartthrobs.Baby Doll - Coco
Tennessee W.’s first and finest creed to screen transfer, Baby Doll is anarchic fun for old school subversives of any stripe whatever. Think Lolita meets Lubitsch, and you know you’re in for a dandy treat (especially if yr a literate old man of the dirty persuasion – in short, one of the people who watches the film on Turner Classics at four in the morning). Karl Malden is the perti dish where they grow heart attacks (in freely reproducing clusters), while Carroll Baker works him into a steam engine tizzy like heart attacks sound like a very good idea indeed, from her end of it. One gets the feeling that she won’t sleep with him not because she is moral or a prude, but rather because she’d simply rather not and, besides, what else is there to amuse her? David Lynch was definitely thinking of Baby Doll when he gave Willem Dafoe (any relation to Daniel?) that Eli Wallach moustache and had him take it a bit too far with Laura Dern’s not-so-baby doll in Wild at Heart. Thankfully, in Baby Doll, nobody really gets taught any lessons. They all just blow off a little steam. Hence the fire trucks.
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Member Reviews
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Terrible... - Damion
So, I took in this 1956 Tennessee Williams' film, directed by Elia Kazan, based purely on the fact that it was hugely controversial back in the day, and was banned by the Catholic church, the church even stating that anyone who sees it is committing a sin. ...Intriguing - truenorth2002
From the same people who brought us A Streetcar Named Desire comes another poignant look at man's desires, lusts, and greed. Very good acting from all the characters and a brilliantly written screenplay make this a must-see film. Here's a good example of how ...Baby Doll - Coco
Tennessee W.’s first and finest creed to screen transfer, Baby Doll is anarchic fun for old school subversives of any stripe whatever. Think Lolita meets Lubitsch, and you know you’re in for a dandy treat (especially if yr a literate old man of the dirty persuasion ...