Baby Doll (1956)

Steamy tale of two Southern rivals and a sensuous 19-year-old virgin.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Tennessee Williams (screenplay)

Stars:

Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Karl Malden	...	Archie Lee Meighan
Carroll Baker	...	Baby Doll Meighan
Eli Wallach	...	Silva Vacarro
Mildred Dunnock	...	Aunt Rose Comfort
Lonny Chapman	...	Rock
Eades Hogue	...	Town Marshal
Noah Williamson	...	Deputy

Storyline

Living in Tiger Tail County, Mississippi, middle aged Archie Lee Meighan and nineteen year old "Baby Doll" Meighan née McCargo have been married for close to two years. Their marriage is not based on love, but each getting what they want from the other. Their marriage agreement has them consummating their marriage on her twentieth birthday, which is in three days, the act to which Baby Doll is not really looking forward. But she does taunt him and other men with her overt "baby doll" sexuality, the baby doll aspect which she fosters by sleeping in their house's nursery in a crib. Baby Doll's now deceased father allowed the marriage on the stipulation that Archie Lee provide Baby Doll financial security as displayed by the most resplendent house in the south. They currently live in a dilapidated mansion with her Aunt Rose Comfort, and although Archie Lee is making some renovations on it, he no longer has the financial means to make it what Baby Doll wants as his cotton ginning ...

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | cotton | sicilian | cotton gin | birthday | 

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Taglines:

She's nineteen. She makes her husband keep away -- she won't let the stranger go.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 December 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Voz do Desejo

Filming Locations:

Benoit, Mississippi, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Newtown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tennessee Williams's screenplay for "Baby Doll" is based on two of his one-act plays, "Twenty-seven Wagons Full of Cotton" and "The Unsatisfactory Supper".

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Goofs

The water spray from Baby Doll's bath shoots out from the next room and not from the bath room.

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Quotes

Silva Vacarro: Come on up and sing me to sleep!

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Connections

Referenced in The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Third One from the Left (1964)

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Soundtracks

"Shame, Shame, Shame"
Sung by Smiley Lewis

User Reviews

We're definitely not in Kansas anymore!

The crumbling ruins of a deep south plantation, circa 1956. Karl Malden running through empty rooms, yelling "BayBee DOLLLLL!" The dementia-ridden elderly aunt forgetting to turn on the stove before cooking the greens. The old guys lounging around the yard, laughing and watching Malden's frenzied activities like it's must-see TV. Kooky gorgeous Baby Doll sucking her thumb, sleeping in her crib. And Eli Wallach: ah, what a specimen. He's intense, he's irresistible. He's relentlessly "handsy" like a high school boy on a date; he never, ever, for a moment, lets up. It's impossible to take your eyes off of him.

This movie is perplexing and wonderful, it really is more of a place and an atmosphere than a story. Twisted, and in a good way. The characters are as wild and inexplicable as any you've seen in a David Lynch movie. Your jaw will drop, you'll laugh out loud, and the whole weird place just gets better each time you watch it.