Baby Love (1968)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Alastair Reid

Writers:

Tina Chad Christian (novel)
Guido Coen (writer)

Release Date:

September 1968 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

ask yourself .. or your son .. or your husband!

Plot:

Now 15 years old, Luci grew up alone with her slutty mother in a poor district of London. After her mother's suicide...

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Accidental Death | Movie Theater | Lolita | Mini Skirt

Cast

Ann Lynn	...	Amy Quayle
Keith Barron	...	Robert Quayle
Linda Hayden	...	Luci Thompson
Diana Dors	...	Liz Thompson
Derek Lamden	...	Nicholas 'Nick' Quayle
Patience Collier	...	Mrs. Carmichael
Dick Emery	...	Harry Pearson
Sheila Steafel	...	Tessa Pearson
Sally Stephens	...	Margo Pearson
Timothy Carlton	...	Jeremy
Christopher Witty	...	Jonathan
Linbert Spencer
Marianne Stone	...	Shop manageress
Troy Dante
Bernard Miles

Runtime:

93 min | Brazil:98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-18 | France:-12 (re-rating) | UK:18 (1988) | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | UK:X (1968) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Avton Films

Rare, interesting, but ultimately disappointing

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

This extremely rare British film of the late 1960s features the debut of Linda Hayden, who went on to appear in a succession of horror films and the 'Confessions' sex comedies, and an early appearance of Keith Barron, known to British audiences as a prolific character actor to this day.

The story, of a sexually-precocious and beautiful 15-year old who takes revenge for her mother's suicide by using her body to seduce not only her mother's former lover, but also is wife and son, is probably unlikely to be shown again in today's paedophile-aware society. Scenes where she lets a disgusting lecher in a cinema start touching her up, and on another occasion seemingly consents to gang rape, are both unlikely and perverted. The film does however have a lot going for it - a relentlessly downbeat yet gritty storyline, an illuminating probe behind the outward respectability of an ordinary middle-class family, and the physical assets of Linda herself, who reveals everything but full-frontal.

On the negative side, the ending is an anti-climax and suggests a loss of interest in the story by this point. Linda whilst undeniably sexy, sports a very variable northern England accent and variable acting talents - excellent in some scenes, less so in others. It's clear that subsequent casting directors saw more in her physical assets than her acting skills, considering the low-budget and fairly dire movies she went on to appear in.

The lesbian scenes between her and the relative unknown playing Keith Barron's wife are probably the most memorable. All in all, an interesting combination of a 'kitchen-sink', very British, family drama, with sexual situations which would not be allowed in a film today - especially considering Linda herself was only 15 when she made it.

Another viewing may bring out some hidden depths, but on first sight this was disappointing. A better-developed story and more care over the acting could have made this a classic of its day.