Baby Doll (1956)

A steamy tale of two Southern rivals and a sensuous nineteen-year-old virgin.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Tennessee Williams (screenplay)

Stars:

Karl Malden, Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 9 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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

southern gothic | erotica | dilapidated house | sicilian american | cotton | 

---

Taglines:

From the author of "A Streetcar Named Desire"!

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

29 December 1956 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twenty-Seven Wagon Loads of Cotton

Filming Locations:

Benoit, Mississippi, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,300,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Newtown Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was banned in many countries, such as Sweden, due to what was called "exaggerated sexual content". The film was also condemned by Time magazine, which called it the "dirtiest American-made motion picture that had ever been legally exhibited". Due in part to the attempts to have it banned or suppressed, the film was not a commercial success, although it performed decently at the box office in spite of the controversy. According to Elia Kazan, however, the film did not make a profit.

---

Goofs

When Aunt Rose Comfort serves greens, some jump out, and then back into, the tureen.

---

Quotes

Archie Lee Meighan: You know, there's a new bureau in Washington, D. C. It's called the U.W. Bureau. You know what U.W. stands for? It stands for Useless Women! They got secret plans afoot to -
[takes a swig of liquor]
Archie Lee Meighan: to round 'em all up and shoot 'em. That's funny. Shoot 'em. Now, you heard me. I said shoot 'em.
Baby Doll: How 'bout men that's destructive? Ain't they got some plan to round up destructive men and shoot 'em?

---

Connections

Featured in American Grindhouse (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Shame, Shame, Shame
Written by Ken Hopkins and Ruby Fisher
Sung by Smiley Lewis

User Reviews

My how views change!

Back in 1956 when this movie came out it was the Legion of Decency run by the Catholic church that decided what was proper or improper to see. I remember my parents checking that list whenever I wanted to see a movie. They were divided into groups. Unobjectionable, Objectionable with certain restrictions and others but the worst one was rated Condemned. I laugh when I think about it. Baby Doll did not play in my town of 100,000 as the church would have made a big stink about it, but it did play in Boston which was 25 miles away. I did not see it then but I heard from others that did and they told me that it was very steamy. There was so much controversy about this movie that no one dared mention that they saw it in mixed company as being branded as liking porno movies. I finally saw this movie on AMC about 15 years ago and I had to smile because this was such a mild movie by today's standards. This movie could be shown today on regular TV unedited with a PG rating. It had no nudity nor swearing. Karl Malden, Eli Walich and Carol Baker were outstanding. Still today Carol Baker is still being mentioned as Carol "Baby Doll" Baker, truly a role she will never live down. One more thing, the musical score throughout the movie is very moving. I bought the LP soundtrack long before I saw the movie and it was interesting to see how it fit. I have recorded it onto a cassette and still play it in my car. I think that it was the church and it's censorship that made this movie so popular.