Baby Doll (1956) User Reviews

Cotton picking

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 23 March 2005]

Elia Kazan took a big chance in directing "Baby Doll". His association with Tennessee Williams must have been the deciding factor in his coming on board. This was a film that caused quite a stir because of the direct intervention of Cardinal Spellman of New York in denouncing it for its suggestive billboard in the Times Square area and the content of the movie.

This film is a testament of how to film an erotic feature without having the actors running naked all over the place. Carroll Baker, as the Baby Doll of the title, generates a lot of heat every time we see her in the opening scenes through the "peeping tom" eyes of Archie Lee, the husband still awaiting to fulfill his duty as a husband.

The steamy scenes between Vaccaro and Baby Doll are incredible if one thinks of the era when it was filmed. Nothing like those torrid scenes were seen in an American film before! What is amazing is the fact this film was released at all.

Unfortunately, the copy that was shown on cable recently has the worst sound track imaginable. The Southern accents from the actors don't help things either.

Karl Malden adds to the character of Archie Lee by playing it as a dumb hick who is not too worldly in matters of the bedroom. Carroll Baker had a great role in her Baby Doll. She plays her as a typical small town from that part of the South, a real teaser. Eli Wallach's as Vaccaro brought virility and sensuality to his portrayal. Mildred Dunnock was good as Aunt Rose.

This film is an oddity that heralded the liberation of Hollywood from the hated Hays Code which will come much later on.

Whatever happened to Baby Doll

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 27 July 2019]

To me, Tennessee Williams was/is among the greatest playwrights of all time. His work is so entertaining and intelligently written with highly detailed characterisations that were often very personal and almost auto-biographical, also often bold thematically. Although not one of my favourites of his work, my personal favourite being 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' with equal love for 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'The Glass Menagerie', 'Baby Doll' has all of the above.

'Baby Doll' as a film was adapted by Williams himself, who also produced it along with director Elia Kazan, from his one act play '27 Wagons Full of Cotton'. While it won't work for everybody today, it was also controversial at the time in 1956 because of its themes which were very implicit and bold then, some finding it too sordid and distasteful although the high quality of the direction and acting weren't in doubt. 'Baby Doll' very much works for me, found it very interesting with so many high qualities that also make it a very good film.

Not quite great though. Part of me does wish that the supporting/secondary characters were more fleshed out and weren't limited to relatively small appearances, especially when the lead characters' writing was so meaty (perhaps close to being slightly too much so in the case of Archie). A bit of a big problem when that applies to most of the characters.

Do agree as well that the sound is poor.

Everything else though is very good to fantastic. Anybody expecting that a Kazan film would look great will not be disappointed, regardless of whether the film was a masterpiece, misfire or in between all his films were extremely well made visually. The photography especially is beautifully and effectively stark, which enhances the setting. The music is both haunting and sensual, totally in keeping with the atmosphere. Kazan's direction is never less than skillful throughout, it can be very wild (like the source material) and not very subtle (not inappropriate again), visually and dramatically but the visual style is perfect and the drama avoids over-heat and being static.

Williams' screenplay is unmistakable Williams, intelligent, witty, daring and rich in characterisation for the three leads, as well as wildly hilarious. He and Kazan, his favourite film-maker, also collaborated on 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and while this is not quite on the same level as that masterpiece one can recognise Williams' style clearly. One can say that it is talky, not a problem as Williams is talky and in a compelling way, dependent on of course whether it has a great cast delivering it well (which it usually is). On a story level, there are memorable scenes with the crib scene being especially unforgettable in every sense. With the scene on the swing being close behind. 'Baby Doll' is certainly not sordid or distasteful now, to me that is, but although toned down in comparison to back then (when it was very ahead of its time) it's hardly too tame, it's still very steamy.

All the lead performances are excellent, and also think the supporting/secondary cast do more than very well. Mildred Dunnock is a very powerful presence even when her screen time is not large, of the rest Williams regular Madeleine Sherwood fares best (debuting Rip Torn's, also became experienced in Williams, role is far too small to properly shine). Karl Malden has a ball in making Archie a wild character with a dark side. Even more so a chillingly calculated Eli Wallach in the most arresting debut performance in any film of any decade seen in a while. Then there's Carroll Baker who absolutely sizzles in the title role, even how hypnotic she looked drew me right in.

On the whole, very good. 8/10

Sexy Southern Sleaze

[deenariley-49870 · 8/10 · 25 July 2019]

It's hard to imagine that Baby Doll was released in the mid-50's. The film practically radiates sleaze and sexual energy from the first scene as Karl Malden creates a peephole to spy on his 19 year old wife Baby Doll (played by Carroll Baker) as she sleeps in a crib. Yes, Baby Doll sleeps in a crib for reasons that are never quite clear. You see, the thing is - they have an arrangement. On Baby Doll's 20th birthday, she's agreed to let her husband finally have sex with her for the first time and she's turning 20 in just a day or so.

In the meanwhile, Malden's character burns down a rival's cotton gin (played by Eli Wallach) and the rival decides to enact his own type of revenge by seducing Baby Doll away from him.

The fact that Baby Doll was made at all is a bit of a miracle. Tennessee Williams had a hell of a time getting Streetcar Named Desire to the screen at all just a few years prior and, even then, he had to make several cuts and changes for it to be deemed decent enough for audiences at the time. This was released only a few years later and the sexual heat radiates from every frame.

The chemistry between Baker and Wallach alone is worth seeing Baby Doll for. There's one scene on a swing that actually took my breath away.

My how views change!

[TC-4 · 29 May 2002]

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.

Woozy-headed, talkative, sensual and silly...

[moonspinner55 · 7/10 · 8 September 2007]

Karl Malden and Eli Wallach make terrific, prickly adversaries in this Tennessee Williams adaptation of two of his one-act plays, "27 Wagons Full of Cotton" and "The Unsatisfactory Supper". Williams incorporates all levels of dramatic material into this grand Southern stew, which doesn't appear to be very lofty or complicated at the outset, yet its deeper meanings eventually come to the surface (and are even more pronounced upon repeat viewings). Mississippi cotton-gin owner Malden lives with his virginal bride and her batty aunt in a dilapidated manor; he has agreed not to touch wife Baby Doll until her 20th birthday, which is nearing closer, but a rival cotton entrepreneur may get to her first. The film is loony-tunes nuttiness with a carnal edge, and frisky-yet-halting Carroll Baker is the perfect backwater tease. Elia Kazan directs with a straightforward simplicity that catches you off-guard (you don't know whose side he is on), and as Malden, playing the ultimate chump and buffoon, gets more and more crazed, one feels for him even though he's been made to seem pathetic. Once Wallach enters, striding up and down like a Sicilian Snidely Whiplash, Malden's character nearly becomes irrelevant, but there's an amazing last act where the three principals sit down to dinner--and an even more incredible tag wherein Baby Doll matures in a hurry. Baker's resolute defeat here is heartbreaking, yet Williams and Kazan are careful to put a wry spin on the whole thing. It's the ultimate dirty joke--and yet there's really nothing dirty in it. All the secondary actors are splendid (particularly Madeleine Sherwood as a doctor's assistant) and the atmosphere is vividly captured, with wind and leaves whistling about and flies in the air. Baker looks great curled up in her crib (with the slats down), but when it is Wallach's turn to bed down, it's the best sight gag in the movie. *** from ****

Eli Wallach shines

[Regi214 · 10/10 · 4 January 2004]

I've seen quite a few films in my life, but none such as this. Elia Kazan's quirky, off-the-wall romp about revenge and justice in 1950's Mississippi is truly remarkable. The first time I saw this movie I didn't know how to take it; I turned on my TV one day right at the scene where Eli Wallach and Carroll Baker are upstairs playing hide and seek... It seemed disturbing, but something about it held my interest.

A second viewing of this film was powerful. Karl Malden is right on the money as the loud-mouthed, frustrated, alcoholic husband; Carroll Baker, brilliant (and stunning) as Baby Doll; but I have to say, Eli Wallach SHINES as Silva Vacarro. He is so smooth, calculated, and mesmerizing as the one who "does his own justice". Hard to believe he didn't win an Oscar for his performance.

It is worth noting Kazan's use of the extras in this film (most of whom are African-American). Often you'll see a man or two in the background or off to the side, observing the story as it unfolds; they are the silent and wise observers to the craziness around them. Like the scene where Karl Malden is yelling "Babeee Dolllll!!!!" from his car, and the men just sit there and watch him--you wonder what they're thinking.

A superb film! The dining room scene at the end is choice.

Carroll Baker was hot in Tennessee Williams potboiler

[bill_golden · 7/10 · 8 December 2005]

I had been curious about seeing this movie for quite some time, and the other night finally got my chance at 3:30AM on TCM. Many of the earlier posts on Baby Doll are pretty much right on the money regarding its on-location filming in the real-life hamlet of Benoit, Mississippi and the Tennessee Williams connection. Eli Wallach is the standout here in my opinion, in what, amazingly, is his film debut (according to Leonard Maltin). Karl Malden is solid, as always, as the half-crazed Archie who is always just a day or two away from bankruptcy and total ruination. Carroll Baker is, simply stated, stunningly beautiful. Her lengthy scenes with Wallach serve as the heart of the storyline. Overall, Baby Doll is a somewhat dated curio from the mid-1950's that Elia Kazan or Tennessee Williams fans shouldn't miss. I was bothered by the fact that none of the many extras in this film receive any credit or billing whatsoever, even if they had speaking roles. Was this because they were mostly African-American? What's the deal with that? The cast list here on IMDb is obviously incomplete.

We're definitely not in Kansas anymore!

[zestygirl · 10/10 · 18 December 2003]

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.

Um, Not Sure What This Movie Is....But I Mostly Liked It

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 20 June 2018]

I don't know exactly what "Baby Doll" is. It's got all the Southern Gothic trappings of Tennessee Williams' darkest work, but it's not especially dark in story or themes. Nothing about it seems significant enough to raise it to the level of serious drama. So is it a comedy? Maybe, or at least Tennessee Williams' version of one. I did laugh, but I'm not sure whether that was because I found things truly funny or whether it was a defense mechanism in the absence of knowing what else to do.

A young married woman doesn't want to have sex with her husband because he's...well, kinda gross....but she's super turned on by her husband's more successful business rival, who spends the entire film chasing her around her dead father's giant, dilapidated mansion trying to get in her pants. And that's it. That's what "Baby Doll" is about. It seems to be mostly an exploration of middle age male failure and emasculation, but I'm not sure what it has to say about the topic.

Karl Malden plays the kinda gross husband who can't make a success of anything -- his business, his marriage, his sex life. He's a failure in pretty much every way traditionally thought to define a man. Eli Wallach, on the other hand, is successful in all the ways Malden is not, including but not limited to the ability to turn on his wife. And Carroll Baker is the eponymous Baby Doll, a woman child who seems not to understand the allure she has over men, and seems to both kind of like it and kind of not.

Baker received an Oscar nomination for her performance. Mildred Dunnock, who plays an addled aunt, was also nominated in the supporting actress category, but I have no idea why. She has 12 minutes or so of screen time (I timed it) and has very little to do other than look lost. A weak year for contenders, perhaps? The film also brought nominations to Williams for his adapted screenplay and to Boris Kaufman for the film's black and white cinematography.

Grade: A-

Buy Arkansas

[krorie · 9/10 · 17 July 2006]

This is a hilarious farce by Tennessee Williams, containing much self-parody. On one level, it can even be interpreted as a burlesque of his "A Streetcar Named Desire." "Stella!" becomes "Baby Doll!" If one cannot imagine the great dramatic playwright writing comedy, then this is the film to see.

Even the story is a mockery. A foolish old man, Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden), pretending to be a Southern gentleman, with a rundown plantation and a cotton gin, tricks another old man into letting him marry his comely teenage daughter, Baby Doll (Caroll Baker). He promises to renovate the old farm for Baby Doll and to buy her the world. She agrees if he swears not to touch her until her twentieth birthday. The foolish old man quickly becomes a laughing stock to both blacks and whites who live in the small community in the delta region (there's a sham sign posted in the general store that reads, "Buy Arkansas"). To insure his hold on the rather worldly, not so innocent Baby Doll, Archie Lee burns down his competitor's cotton gin. His competitor, a Sicilian named Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach), becomes Baby Doll's Latin lover to get back at Archie Lee.

There are several memorable scenes in Elia Kazan's direction of Tennessee William's screenplay. The one that is most remembered because it created such a moral outrage at the time (even Baby Doll pajamas were marketed) shows Baby Doll lying in a baby crib, scantly clad in, what else?, baby doll pajamas, sucking her thumb and arousing all sorts of erotic sensations in the male observer. Another scene is one of the most laughable ever put on the big screen. Picture if you will Eli Wallach riding a hobby horse like a wild stallion while slurping lemonade from a pitcher, listening to "Shame, Shame, Shame" by Smiley Lewis on the record player. This is part of the mad Sicilian's seduction of Baby Doll in the most childish way conceivable, ultimately falling asleep in her baby crib with Baby Doll intoning to him a lullaby.

In classical dramas, tragedies naturally had tragic endings and comedies had happy endings. Tennesee Williams' travesty doesn't exactly have a happy ending, but it's not a tragic ending either, more of a postponement of things to come.

A personal note: I was twelve when "Baby Doll" opened in my home town in Arkansas. The churches and other so-called decency groups attempted to have it banned. There were even pickets outside the theater. Because of all the hype with pictures of Baby Doll flooding the media, I had to finagle a way to see it. Those under thirteen had to be accompanied by an adult (this was before the MPAA ratings system was developed--the PCA was beginning to bend its strict rules as American mores were changing. I mislead my dad, who paid little attention to movie previews, into thinking it was suitable for the general public. My dad attended the film with me and seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. He never told my mother about either one of us watching it.

A slapstick tragedy...

[JasparLamarCrabb · 7/10 · 26 January 2013]

A no holds barred comedy from Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan. Karl Malden is Archie Lee, a down on his luck cotton gin owner married to nubile Carroll Baker. She's a virgin who's promised him her virtue on her 20th birthday. Unfortunately rival Eli Wallach enters the picture and, with Baker, proceeds to drive Malden (literally) crazy. This is not like any other Williams production. It's populated with absolutely zero sympathetic characters and while it's bleak as all get out, it's also, at times, hysterically funny. Kazan actually has the moxie to interject some slapstick into the proceedings. Wallach's seduction of Baker is classic. Baker, in what is probably her best role ever, gives a dynamite performance. She's a half wit white trash prima donna but never a joke. Wallach is a perfect villain dressed in all black. Malden, getting rare top billing, gives a tremendous performance as a man at the end of his rope and then some. The stunning cinematography is by Boris Kaufman and the jazz-infused score is by the great Kenyon Hopkins. Mildred Dunnock is the pathetic Aunt Rose Comfort. It's based on the Williams play "27 WAGONS FULL OF COTTON" written in 1946.

Uproariously funny black comedy about sexual frustration.

[manxman-1 · 9/10 · 29 September 2003]

Wonderfully original, even after all this time, due to the matchless dialog of Tennessee Williams and the superb performances of the three principals, Karl Malden, Carroll Baker and Eli Wallach. Wickedly funny, sly and loopy all at the same time. A view of Southern white trash which only Tennessee Williams could have penned. Carroll Baker in a first class performance as the still-virginal but sexually precocious Baby Doll, married for two years but refusing to consummate her marriage until her twentieth birthday, looming large. Karl Malden as the frustrated husband, panting to get his hands on her, and Eli Wallach as the neighbor, determined to seduce Baby Doll before Malden, in revenge for Malden's burning down his cotton gin. Totally off the wall characterization with rich, witty dialog that constantly takes one by surprise. Watching Malden and Baker's characters with their dumber than dumber take on things (that totally cracks one up at their sheer stupidity!) one wonders just how much in-breeding Williams had in mind when he invented these people. Even Mildred Dunnock, as the minor fourth character of the ensemble, a batty aunt, has a full share of crazy antics that almost has one falling on the floor. Eli Wallach turns in a sly, smoother than smooth performance as the potential seducer that is wonderfully nuanced. When the movie first appeared is was condemned by the Catholic Church. Apparently there are critics who still uphold those initial views and would prefer to return to the time of total censorship than adopt a more realistic view of life. Baby Doll is not an indecent movie and never was. What it is is a glorious black comedy that has a place amongst the best works that Williams ever produced. Last, but not least, kudos to director Elia Kazan, who passed away on the very evening that this viewer was privileged to finally get to see this movie. This is definitely one for the collection!

Not really that risqué

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 24 September 2014]

Older Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) is married to 19 year old Baby Doll (Carroll Baker) living in the old mansion Tiger Tail, Mississippi under constant renovation. They have an agreement to consummate their marriage on her 20th birthday which is coming in a few days. He's in dire financial straits when outsider Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) moves in with his own cotton gin and taking over all the business. He even loses the furniture. Then Silva's cotton gin burns down. Silva suspects Archie and tries to get back at him through Baby Doll.

Carroll Baker does a fine job and probably better than Marilyn Monroe could do. She's younger anyways and has an explosive quality that isn't in Monroe. In fact, she is very impressive holding her own against Karl Malden. She needs to get in touch more with her childish side. Eli Wallach is quite a find as a newcomer. However it's an interesting notion if Monroe's sexuality could have pushed the controversy even more or maybe her known sexuality could have been a shield for the movie. With director Elia Kazan and writer Tennessee Williams, this movie has some fun moments.

A nightie, all righty, but sho' 'nuff that's all.

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 4/10 · 17 October 2009]

Three years ago, I had a delightful dinner with Carroll Baker (star of "Baby Doll") at the Manhattan home of our mutual literary agent, Marianne Strong. About thirty years earlier, I once had lunch with Tennessee Williams (author of "Baby Doll") in Florida (I ate my lunch, he drank his). Ms Baker and Mr Williams were both very gracious to me, and they kindly answered my many questions about their respective careers ... but when I brought up "Baby Doll", both of them changed the subject. I understand why.

"Baby Doll" became instantly notorious when Archbishop Sheen (who hadn't seen it) denounced it as obscene before its release. This only persuaded people to go see it. For those seeking prurient thrills, this movie starts out promisingly: leering Karl Malden pokes a hole through the wall so he can spy on the infantilised (but very definitely nubile) Baker while she sleeps in a too-short nightie and a crib-like bed, sucking her thumb.

But that's as raunchy as it gets. From there on, we're firmly in Tennessee Williams's usual domain, where horny Eli Wallach tries to seduce sexy Baker by philosophising about good people and bad people.

"Baby Doll" takes place in the Mississippi Delta during segregation, so I was saddened that the only realistic parts of this movie were the all-too-real racial epithets, racist dialogue, and a shot of a black woman standing in front of a sign marked "Colored". Baker gives an excellent performance as a typical Tennessee Williams heroine: a ding-dong southern belle who would never exist in real life, and whose legal name is Baby Doll.

Speaking of names: why do American southerners insist on double forenames? In this movie, nobody ever addresses anyone else by a simple name like Archie or Rose: it has to be "Archie Lee" and "Rose Comfort".

Some actors have wide ranges, and some good actors are brilliant in a narrow range. Karl Malden has what I call a polarised range: he's very good at portraying incorruptible pillars of morality, and very good at playing complete scumballs with no redeeming traits, but far less effective at playing realistic human beings in the middle of the moral spectrum. Here he's in full scumball mode, drooling over Baker while burning down Eli Wallach's cotton mill. Malden's character is an alcoholic who could store his booze in a conventional liquor cabinet, but Williams has him stashing it in hiding places because this is more decadent. I was impressed when Malden shared his pint with a po' black man, but that could be for other reasons besides generosity: most alcoholics feel less guilt when someone else is drinking too.

Wallach, an actor I've admired elsewhere, gives an implausible performance here in a badly-written role. When his mill is torched, he goes to Malden's house (the standard southern Gothic mansion that's seen better days) seeking justice or revenge. But he takes one look at Baby Doll, and soon he's galumphing through the house blowing a trumpet, pursuing her in a live-action version of those cartoon chase sequences where two characters keep popping in and out of different doors. When Williams runs out of ways for Wallach to make a fool of himself, suddenly Wallach remembers that he's supposed to be angry about having his livelihood destroyed in a criminal act. Funny how these little things can slip one's mind.

Wallach's character is meant to be a sharpie, but he seems to believe that a note written by one person and signed under duress by someone else, with no witness nor notary, is an "affidavit". Nope.

Character actress Mildred Dunnock, usually brilliant, is here cast as one more ineffectual old southern ex-belle, losing her brains when she entered menopause. For most of "Baby Doll", Dunnock seems to be channelling Doro Merande and ZaSu Pitts, all adenoids and flutters ... but then she suddenly comes into her own, late in the film, when her character stands up for herself.

Rip Torn (seen only from the shoulders up) and Lonny Chapman are excellent in small roles. About 15 years after directing this movie, Elia Kazan wrote a novel, "The Arrangement", that affected to be a mature look at sexuality but which was all leering prurience. He directed this movie with that same attitude. Everyone here has done better work elsewhere, with the possible exception of a few genuine Mississippians cast in small roles in this film. My rating: 4 out of 10. Yew git awn back t' bed, Baby Doll, heah?

An early example of suggestive cinema

[soranno · 26 October 2002]

Warner Brothers initially took a huge gamble with this 1956 release. Some elements of its storyline were considered way too suggestive for films at the time (there was still no rating system yet) but the studio went ahead and released it anyway. What resulted was a huge box office hit and a star maker for Carroll Baker who has the title role of the child bride of a sometimes dense cotton gin operator (Karl Malden). Malden is a rival to another cotton gin operator (Eli Wallach) and his torching of Wallach's cotton gin inspires Wallach to get back at Malden by having a steamy love affair with Baker. Rip Torn made his film debut here with a small part. Film reunites director Elia Kazan and screenwriter/playwright Tennessee Williams who had previously collaborated on the box office smash "A Streetcar Named Desire." This film is also an interesting early example of what may have eventually inspired Hollywood's film rating system.

Special Performance By Carroll Baker In A Shockingly Gritty Drama. Sexy & Intense.

[Real_Review · 7/10 · 29 April 2019]

RealReview Posting Scoring Criteria: Acting - 1/1 Casting - 1/1 Directing - 1/1 Story - 1/1 Writing/Screenplay - 1/1

Total Base Score = 5

Modifiers (+ or -) Originality: 1 Standout Performances: 1 ( Carroll Baker )

Total RealReview Rating: 7

A Must See For Tennessee Williams Fans

[thejulies · 10/10 · 10 July 2006]

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!

Sizzling sensuality

[p-stepien · 6/10 · 19 September 2012]

Two years back middle-aged cotton gin owner Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Mulden), obviously none too attractive, entered into marriage with Baby Doll Meighan (Carroll Baker), a girl barely 18 and convinced to accept the proposal at her father's deathbed. Immersed into her name Baby Doll sleeps in a child's crib and states overwhelmingly how unready she is to consummate wedlock, hence entering into an agreement with the elder Archie Lee - she will be ready on her 20 birthday, but only if she is offered the luxuries of the world: life in a mansion and fulfilment of all material needs. However two days before the big game Archie Lee is on the verge of bankruptcy, as his competition, an uncompromising Sicilian immigrant Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) has monopolised both cotton production and the gin factory. Obsessed with his deflowering his wife Archie Lee commits arson. Silva is quick to point his finger as Silva and decides to instrumentally use Baby Doll for vengeful purposes...

With Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan (famed for family friendly film versions of controversial novels) "Baby Doll" seemed destined to achieve much at the box office. Although Oscar success was forthcoming the controversial sexual subtexts in the movie caused much furore amongst religious groups and even some drastic reviews in the "Time" or "Variety" demonizing the films confrontational story. Mainly due to the fact that "Baby Doll" was so ahead of its time in terms of context, the plot seems fresh, well defined and relatively up-to-date. Even after so many years Carroll Baker oozes sensuality, a naive vixen not fully aware of her delirious effect on men. Both Mulden and Wallach compliment the picture with equally forceful performances, making "Baby Doll" very much a timeless movie.

The biggest issue however seems the overreach by Elia Kazan. The director deals with a contemporarily controversial subject matter with infidelity and promiscuity a theme inclined, rather than presented - Archie Lee does dastardly deeds just to get the nookie, Silva meanwhile uses his charm to bewilder the innocent Baby Doll, who in turn falls into her role of an innocent, but sexual female to entice both men. Therefore in order to lighten the load Kazan uses various moments of the movie to introduce ill-timed humour or counterintuitive slapstick moments, which derail tension between characters and cause a certain lack of reliability on a psychological level. The overall effect is a tired story with limited coherence in dire need of a severe makeover.

There are also some dated elements, which albeit purposeful seem out of touch and a tad controversial for non-sexual reasons. This mainly concerns the portrayal of black community, often referred here are 'niggers' and serving a sole purpose as background props. Albeit probably not racist in essence (given Tennessee Williams stance on the matter) and an honest contextualisation of blacks who are treated as denigrated individuals, their diminished role in the movie can cause an uneasy tension. That said they play a key role as watchful observers of the shenanigans in the Meighan household, summarising the events with a meaningful laughter during the final act.

Times past the steamy interaction between Baker and Wallach has nowhere near the effect as back in the days - sex now commercialised and mainstream. That said the tension stills lingers, forceful and forbidden, making it one of the main reason to watch the movie.

Fantastic Screenplay and Film

[aimless-46 · 10/10 · 12 July 2010]

"Baby Doll" (1956) was not just way ahead of its time. Somehow Elia Kazan managed to make and release what is arguably the most erotic film of all time to a Hollywood and a country more uptight and restrictive than at any point in cinema history.

Even more remarkable is that this clichéd story, in the tried and true Southern Gothic genre, actually transcends its medium (film); visually fusing Tennessee Williams' literary themes and the lesions of southern history into an allegorical dramatization of Southern decadence and self-victimization.

Southerners whine endlessly about their historical victimization but rarely exhibit the insight to put it all into perspective. Putting this self-indulgence and self-destruction into perspective was what Williams was all about and he deliciously condenses his recurring themes into this screenplay. Kazan was more collaborator than director; he understood what Williams felt and he knew how to make viewers feel the same things.

The story is all about the invasion of personal space. In the south this meant foreigners (from the North and from Europe) coming into their land and out-competing them. The invaders were more lean and hungry than the natives. They were less self-indulgent and more willing to invest for the distant future. The natives were all about conspicuous consumption and short-term comfort.

Even when forced to take a longer term perspective; Archie Lee (Karl Malden) has promised to restrain himself and defer the deflowering of Baby Doll (Carroll Baker) until her 20th birthday; the southerner impatiently fritters away the opportunity to spend his time productively. Then he finds that when the fruit finally ripens it is snatched away by a hungry opportunist.

What to watch for in "Baby Doll" is the routine violation of personal space. In the claustrophobic mansion the characters have no personal privacy. It gets even worse with the invasion of Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach); the characters are routinely in each other's faces and the camera captures it all with increasingly tight shots. Baby Doll herself is not your standard movie nymphet coming onto an older man. Once Vacarro has taken her measure, he assaults her in almost every scene, aggressively moving into her personal space as he hungrily pursues his prize.

And like the aggressive Northern invaders, Vacarro's single-minded focus and pursuit of a goal soon overwhelms Archie; despite the fact that Archie enjoys the home field advantage and does not play fair, symbolized by the local Marshall who makes it clear to Vacarro that the law will not be applied equally.

One scene that I particularly liked was when Aunt Rose (Mildred Dunnock) gives it right back to Archie at the dinner table. She has been living precariously under his roof up to this point. When he attempts to snatch away her safety she summons the dignity to stand up to him; and the camera gets tight on her face as she claims a bit more of his space.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

"Is That From the Bible?" " No, It's From Mother Goose"

[davidcarniglia · 7/10 · 8 December 2018]

About the only Tennessee Williams drama that could be called fun. For Karl Malden's Archie, this is a tragedy; for his wife Baby Doll (Carroll Baker), it's mainly a comedy. It's mostly fun for Vacarro (Eli Wallach), Archie's personal and business rival. All three turn in very strong, distinct performances. Archie is an incredibly tormented character.

He's either panicky, frantic, exuberant, or some combination throughout. He's ready to drop dead of humiliation or excitement at any time. While wanting desperately to keep up appearances to maintain a veneer of status--"I've got position!" he insists--he's undermined and betrayed at every turn. Not only his wife, but the townspeople, his hired hands, even his doctor won't take him seriously. In an effort to jump-start his arrangement with Vacarro, he's nearly turned away by the shop that has a replacement part for his dilapidated gin, as he can't pay in cash. This is after he's driven a good distance for his trouble; only to discover that nobody cares. Vacarro already has another part at hand. Archie's one act that works is motivated by jealousy and entirely negative--burning down Vacarro's more prosperous gin.

But what of Vacarro? He's opportunistic, ruthless, and never lets up. The middle part of the movie shows his thorough exploitation of Baby Doll. First he's cool with her, in a Marlon Brando sort of way, then he harasses her, finally, he gets just plain nutty. His ulterior motive isn't seduction, though: he gets her to implicate Archie for arson. There's some nice lines and antics in those scenes, but there's way too much else going on; the tone is spun off in too many directions. Thankfully, once Archie shows up again, we're back to dramatic intensity in the dining room scene. When the action spills out into the rainy night, the black humor thread picks up smartly, a rude counterpoint to Archie's never-ending degradation.

Even though the constable lets on that Archie's arrest is pretty much a sham, it still looks bad. Vacarro happily drives off, free to return for more cotton-ginning and more Baby Doll; while Archie has to leave with the authorities, and has nothing promising awaiting him at home. Coincidently, the bell sounds, signaling that it's Baby Doll's 20th birthday, but Archie knows that, despite the 'agreement' they had, he'll still not consumate their marriage.

The run-down house mirrors Archie's run-down life. The vacant rooms, rotting roof and leaky refrigerator--just about every square foot of the once-fancy place--is, like Archie, now old and about to collapse. By extension, Mildred Dunnock (as Aunt Rose) is the embodiment of the house's ghostly irrelevance. It's sort of consumed her. In fact, both Baby Doll and Archie are living in the past (Baby Doll defiantly so). They're vulnerable to the stubbornly practical Vacarro, who has literally left his traditions behind.

Baby Doll is very entertaining, but is a sort of guilty pleasure; watching Archie and Baby Doll twist about like a couple of puppets is both funny and agonizing. 7/10.

Baby Doll still Sizzles

[jjcaron · 10/10 · 16 January 2001]

The #1 Reason why you should see this movie is....Karl Maldin? nah, Eli Wallach? maybe, Elia Kazan directed it? hmmm. No, the #1 Reason why you should see this movie is CARROLL BAKER!! This Extremely beautiful actress will hypnotize you with her looks. She delivers an incredible performance and is a true delight to the senses. I love this film. Time magazine described Baby Doll as "possibly the dirtiest American-made motion picture that has ever been legally exhibited." I think this may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but I found it very erotic. Rent this movie tonight!!!

"First as tragedy, then as farce"

[johnpetersca · 7/10 · 1 May 2015]

This is what Karl Marx said about history repeating itself in his 1852 essay, "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte." "Brumaire" is the second month of the French Republican calendar and refers to fog. I think the same concept can be applied to Baby Doll in relation to the 1953 movie that Tennessee Williams also wrote and Elia Kazan also directed, A Streetcar Named Desire. In Streetcar, we grow to identify with and even love the characters played by Vivian Leigh and Marlon Brando. In Baby Doll we are more likely to hold the protagonists in contempt.

This does not mean that Baby Doll is badly written, directed, or acted. It is just too much. Everything is extreme and exaggerated. It's hard to take seriously and sometimes appears as grotesque comedy. Yet Williams was intimately familiar with the American South. Maybe farce was a valid way to see it in 1955.

Freaking amazing!

[zetes · 9/10 · 19 July 2009]

Tennessee Williams wrote this for Elia Kazan. Williams imagined Marilyn Monroe in the lead. Kazan wisely disagreed, and went for newcomer Caroll Baker. I've seen Baker in a few films before, notably The Big Country, Giant and How the West Was Won. I honestly don't remember her in any of those films. She is introduced in Baby Doll sleeping sexily in a crib with her thumb in her mouth as her far-too-old husband (Karl Malden, in whose memory I watched this) peeps at her through a hole in the wall. It's hard to believe this was made in 1956! In fact, the film was almost instantly banned from most theaters a week after its release. Much of the beginning of the film plays like an exploitation flick as Baker teases her husband, and thus the audience, with her sweet, sweet goodies. As it moves into its actual plot, wherein a cotton processing competitor of Malden's, played by newcomer Eli Wallach, is forced to do business with Malden after Malden has screwed him over, plays out much like one of Williams' stage works. It may be more conventional, but, hey, one can't complain too much. Tennessee Williams plays don't generally disappoint, after all. It's Baker's movie. I mean, long after the memory of the film has faded, I'll still have the crib image in my head. But even aside from her beauty, she's just fantastic. Thank God Williams didn't get his way with the casting - Monroe was, at best, only a decent actress (though the fact that I can't remember Baker in the films I've seen her in may mean she only had one great performance in her; perhaps this could have changed Monroe's career). Malden and Wallach are also quite excellent. Baker received a much deserved Oscar nomination that year (and is by far my favorite of the four nominees I've seen, the fifth being Nancy Kelly from The Bad Seed). Neither of the men did, unfortunately. However, Mildred Dunnock did receive a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as Baker's doddering aunt. Dunnock is by far the least successful part of the film, so I don't know what they were thinking there.

Brer Rabbit's yung newbile bride

[onepotato2 · 6/10 · 16 March 2008]

This has been described as a comedy. But it's more like a tall-tale mixed with a Flannery O'Connor short-story. Carroll Baker stars as a dumb-as-a-post Southerner. She can't figure out when she's being seduced, and she's so genteel she can't call for help or run away from a shady figure pursuing her. She's utterly useless but pretty, and thus highly prized. Somehow, the notorious porch swing seduction scene remains scorching and gets to the heart of sexuality; and I'm not even interested in Baker.

Yung Newbile Bride: "I shore doan want you to see-dooce me, Mr Big Dark Stranger"

Mr Big Dark Stranger: (moving closer) "Oh, I'd hate to see-dooce yew, pritty yung thang!"

Really this is only a little sillier than the movies dialog. Though controversial in its day, it may be one of the more enjoyable Tennessee Williams movies. It has a distracting number of lines looped in post-production. Malden is loud and unsubtle. It's waaaaaaay too long. Nowadays about 30 percent of this movie would be found up in the extras section of a DVD. The scenario is reminiscent of Neighbors where Aykroyd is the interloper. And of course Black Snake Moan has a similarly over-the-top Southern idea.

Unpleasant and Boring Soap-Opera

[claudio_carvalho · 4/10 · 19 November 2011]

In Tiger Tail County, Mississippi, the decadent middle aged Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) has been married with the spoiled and stupid Baby Doll Meighan (Carroll Baker) for two years and has not consummated his marriage yet. Archie has promised to his father-in-law in the death bed to wait until Baby Doll is twenty years old to have sex with her and they live in a dilapidated mansion with Baby Doll's aunt. When the Sicilian Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) brings a new cotton-spinning machine to the county, Archie loses his business and is completely broken.

On the eve of Baby Doll's twentieth birthday, Archie Lee burns down Vacarro's machine. The Sicilian suspects that Archie is the responsible for the criminal fire and he heads to Archie's property to use his old machine. While Archie is buying a cylinder to replace a damaged one in the machine, Vacarro seduces the despicable Baby Doll and forces her to sign a confession that Archie has burnt his equipment. When Archie returns home, he gets crazy with the situation.

"Baby Doll" is an unpleasant and boring film and absolutely overrated in IMDb and mislead by the storyline telling that it is a "steamy tale" of two Southern rivals and a sensuous 19-year-old virgin. Actually it is a pointless soap-opera. When this film was released, the National Legion of Decency wanted to have the film banned. Once again the censorship promotes an average film to the status of cult. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Boneca de Carne" ("Flesh Doll")