I Don't Want to Be Born (1975)

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Director:

Peter Sasdy

Writers:

Nato De Angeles (story)
Stanley Price (screenplay)

Release Date:

30 August 1976 (Sweden)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Not Since "Rosemary's Baby"...

Plot:

A woman gives birth to a baby, but this is no ordinary little tyke. The child is seemingly possessed...

Plot Keywords:

Baby | Mother | Dwarf | Beautiful Woman | Oversized Baby

Cast

Joan Collins	...	Lucy Carlesi
Eileen Atkins	...	Sister Albana
Ralph Bates	...	Gino Carlesi
Donald Pleasence	...	Dr. Finch
Caroline Munro	...	Mandy Gregory
Hilary Mason	...	Mrs. Hyde
John Steiner	...	Tommy Morris
Janet Key	...	Jill Fletcher
George Claydon	...	Hercules
Derek Benfield	...	Police Inspector
Stanley Lebor	...	Police Sergeant
Judy Buxton	...	Sheila
Andrew Secombe	...	Delivery Boy
Susan Richards	...	Old Lady
Phyllis MacMahon	...	Nun
John Moore	...	Priest
Floella Benjamin	...	1st Nurse
Penny Darch	...	2nd Nurse
López	...	Stripper
Susie Lightining	...	Stripper
Val Hoadley	...	Dancer
Janice Brett	...	Dancer

Directed by
Peter Sasdy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Nato De Angeles		story
Stanley Price		screenplay

Produced by
Norma Corney	....	producer
Nato De Angeles	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ron Grainer

Cinematography by
Kenneth Talbot		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Keith Palmer

Art Direction by
Roy Stannard

Makeup Department
Stephanie Kaye	....	hair stylist
Eddie Knight	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Christopher Sutton	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Bracknell	....	assistant director

Art Department
Ted Ambrose	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Don Challis	....	sound editor
John Hayward	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gordon K. McCallum	....	dubbing mixer
Kevin Sutton	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Bert Luxford	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Kindred	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Brenda Dabbs	....	wardrobe supervisor

Music Department
Ron Grainer	....	conductor

Other crew
Jill Bender	....	assistant to director
Renée Glynne	....	continuity
Mia Nadasi	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Unicapital

Distributors

• Fox-Rank (1975) (UK) (theatrical)
• American International Pictures (AIP) (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• Ambassador Film Distributors (1976) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Axon Video (video)
• Video Garant (1984) (Belgium) (video)

Also Known As:

It Lives Within Her (UK) (video title)
It's Growing Inside Her (TV title)
Sharon's Baby (USA)
The Baby
The Devil Within Her (USA)
The Monster

Runtime:

95 min | Belgium:90 min (video version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:X | USA:R | Norway:18 (video rating) (1982) | Norway:(Banned) (1975-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

32 Wellington Square, Kensington, London, England, UK

Company:

Unicapital

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Prime Suspect: Scent of Darkness (1995) (TV)

Abortion would have been a much better option

I really hate saying this about 70's Brit horror but…this is a very, very BAD film! Everything that could possibly go wrong actually features here in this lame horror vehicle. A really bad basic idea, for starters, handling about Joan Collins giving birth to an (unusually big) baby possessed by evil and controlled by a dwarf Collins once spurned. This film 'borrows' style and script elements from Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist, Don't Look Now, It's Alive and even tiny details from Hammer and Amicus successes. The screenplay is extremely poorly written and Peter Sasdy's directing is the worst of all disasters. What happened to this guy? He was responsible for an endless amount of great TV-movies and a few downright classic Hammer titles (like 'Countess Dracula' and 'Hands of the Ripper') but, ever since Doomwatch, he just seems to make crap. This production is very banal, not the least bit scary or atmospheric and the bloodshed is kept to a minimum. It looks like this film is blessed with a terrific all-star cast, but everybody is performing far below their normal acting skills. Donald Pleasance looks dead long before his character is actually slaughtered and Ralph Bates' character is far too fake. Eileen Atkins triumphs as the worst cast-member though. She stars as an Italian nun (?) and speaks with the most atrocious accent I ever heard. The only one that gets a little sympathy is the beautiful Caroline Munro as the sexy cabaret dancer. I don't Want to be Born is a giant disappointment in every respect and better left unmentioned. Avoid!