Baby Doll (1956)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Tennessee Williams (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Her role is raw electricity! Her portrayal is a sensation! CARROLL BAKER

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Cotton | Sicilian | Cotton Gin | Birthday

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
R.G. Armstrong	...	Townsman Sid (voice) (uncredited)
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Nurse in Doctor's Office (uncredited)
Rip Torn	...	The Dentist (uncredited)

Directed by
Elia Kazan

Writing credits
Tennessee Williams		(screenplay)

Produced by
Elia Kazan	....	producer

Original Music by
Kenyon Hopkins

Cinematography by
Boris Kaufman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gene Milford

Art Direction by
Richard Sylbert

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone

Makeup Department
Willis Hanchett	....	hair stylist
Robert Jiras	....	makeup artist (as Robert E. Jiras)

Production Management
Forrest E. Johnston	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles H. Maguire	....	assistant director
Arthur Steckler	....	assistant director: second unit (uncredited)

Art Department
Paul Sylbert	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Edward J. Johnstone	....	sound

Stunts
Lucky Kargo	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Flo Transfield	....	wardrobe (as Florence Transfield)
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lyman Hallowell	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Roberta Hodes	....	continuity
Roberta Hodes	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Newtown Productions

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1956) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cinemation Industries (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• People of Benoit, Missouri  location filming

Also Known As:

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) | Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #18129) (original rating) | USA:R | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Benoit, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Newtown Productions

Trivia:

When the film was released in 1956, it was enormously controversial for its extremely risqué subject matter. The Legion of Decency condemned the film for its "carnal suggestiveness". Francis Cardinal Spellman condemned the film in a stunning attack from the pulpit of St. Patrick's Cathedral two days before the film opened, saying that the film had been "responsibly judged to be evil in concept" and was certain that it would "exert an immoral and corrupting influence on those who see it", and exhorted all Catholics to refrain from patronizing the film "under pain of sin". Cardinal Spellman's condemnation of the film led to the Legion of Decency's first-ever nationwide boycott of an American-made film produced by a major studio. All over the country, almost 20 million Catholics protested the film and picketed theaters that showed it. The Catholic boycott nearly killed the film; it was cancelled by 77% of theaters scheduled to show it, and it only made a meager $600,000 at the box office. The film was also condemned by Time Magazine, which called it the dirtiest American-made motion picture that had ever been legally exhibited. Surprisingly, despite the film's sordid elements, the Production Code Administration gave it a seal of approval, but only after nearly a year of arguments. This was one of many examples of how the lax attitude of new Code official Geoffrey Shurlock, the successor at the PCA to the strict Catholic militant Joseph Breen, would lead to a schism with the Legon of Decency and the PCA's own downfall over the next few years. After this film, the PCA drifted farther and farther away from its traditional guidelines until it was replaced by the MPAA ratings system in 1968.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The interval between rings of the phone varies irregularly from 3 to 8 seconds, as though it was being rung manually, but it is on a dial system.

Quotes:

Silva Vacarro:I find you different this evening in some way.
Baby Doll:Never mind that.
Silva Vacarro:Grown up suddenly.
Baby Doll:I feel cool and rested for the first time in my life.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shame, Shame, Shame

A Must See For Tennessee Williams Fans

This is a wonderful film, and one of the more underrated, and unseen movies of Tennessee Williams works. The acting is topnotch. Karl Malden as Archie Lee, the sexually frustrated husband of Baby Doll, has never been better, and Carroll Baker is simply charming and luminous as the headstrong and chiding child bride, Baby Doll. Eli Wallach succeeds marvelously, (and surprisingly), in conveying to the hilt the sexual magnetism and intensity of Silva Vacarro, Archie Lee's "Italian Stallion" rival in business, and ultimately for Baby Doll herself. Mildred Dunnock's brilliant portrayal of Aunt Rose Comfort is also quite memorable.

The marriage of Baby Doll to the low-class and ineffectual Archie Lee was an obvious last resort plan made years ago by Baby Doll's dying father. Promises made by Archie Lee of restoring the estate to it's former glory and also that he would not attempt marital relations with Baby Doll until her twentieth birthday were apparently enough to cinch the deal in this dead end world. Baby Doll is clearly repulsed by her husband and has taken to sleeping in a baby's crib in "the nursery" to keep her distance from him. She treats him with annoyed disdain when she isn't making fun of him and embarrassing him in front of anyone who happens to be around. Her twentieth birthday is just days away and she is clearly feeling desperate about her situation.

This is the epitome of the Southern Gothic genre, although it is far from being dark or depressing. If anything, its a black comedy. The setting is the dilapidated Southern cotton plantation home, the remains of the once great estate of Baby Doll's deceased father and forefathers. The cinematography by Boris Kaufman, which was Oscar nominated, is executed in stark, bleached out black and white. Other Oscar nominations for the film included Carroll Baker, Tennessee Williams, and Mildred Dunnock. Eli Wallach and Karl Malden also certainly deserved an Oscar nod for their great performances. This film is a must see for Tennessee Williams fans!