 |  | "My head is swingin' round. Must have been that swingin' that done it." |  |
Elia Kazan directed two movies based on the works of Tennessee Williams - "Baby Doll" (1956) and the brilliant "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951). Although "Baby Doll" is not up to the standards of "Streetcar," it's an interesting film. Carroll Baker stars as the titular Baby Doll Meighan, a 19-year-old child-woman who sleeps in a crib. She married the much older Archie Lee (Karl Malden) with the caveat that they wouldn't consummate the marriage until she turned 20 years old. The couple lives in small-town Mississippi in a huge old mansion in great disrepair. Archie Lee runs a cotton gin that has seen better days and spends his days chasing after Baby Doll, who will turn 20 in a few days. Archie Lee doesn't have much work because a newcomer to the community, Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach), has taken most of the business. When Vacarro's gin mysteriously burns down, he turns to Archie Lee for help ginning his cotton. While Archie Lee is out of the house, Vacarro also seeks comfort from the sexy Baby Doll. What follows is overheated southern gothic tripe mixed with some brazenly sexual scenes for the times.
"Baby Doll" is wildly uneven in tone and quality; some truly great scenes (Baby Doll and Vacarro on the swing) are undercut by confusing character motivation and occasional over-acting. In addition, several racial epithets are used in the film, although in a seemingly satirical manner. However, ultimately any debits are more than outweighed by the film's strengths. Specifically, the script is filled with great writing and some genuinely funny scenes - Williams described it as a "Delta comedy." The score by Kenyon Hopkins adds the perfect atmosphere, especially the jazzy yet menacing opening theme. Carroll Baker steals the show by perfectly balancing the naive and flirtatious aspects of her character; Mildred Dunnock also scores as the clueless, chocolate-loving Aunt Rose Comfort. They received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. Eli Wallach is also surprisingly magnetic in his movie debut. The scenes between Baby Doll and Vacarro really sizzle, so much so that the movie was condemned by the Catholic Church and taken out of most theaters. Overall, "Baby Doll" is well worth a watch - an idiosyncratic and intriguing movie.
August 31, 2008Baby Doll is definitely a classic. Tennessee Williams was famous for his grittiness and slightly-exaggerated reality; Baby Doll is one of the best of its genre. The acting is excellent and the ambiance is perfect for what Williams was trying to create. I like color, but black-and-white fits the mood of this movie, which is almost film noir. It's a must-see.
May 8, 2008 | | They do not make movies like this any more | |
Often times when people think of director Elia Kazan, they think of his professional movie greats and his personal blunders during McCarthy era. This is the first film of his I saw on DVD and I was smitten by it from the start. Everything about this film is perfection: sceenplay prepared after Tennessee Williams' play, cast, direction. I remember seeing actor Karl Malden as older man in a movies of my childhood and it is just amazing to see him in a fine role of Archie in this film during her younger years as an actor. And then, of course, the infamous part of the film on the swing. I recall reading about it year after year before Oscar nominations, when film critics bring up the most scandalous moments in the american film and this one inevitably shows up repeatedly in their honorable mentions. I will not re-tell the story in this film. What I will say is that story is unique and things that are not said, done or seen on the screen is what drives viewers to this film. Although this film is made after a play, this kind of production could never be produced in the theatre - and that is the best thing about the movie. While people are fascnated about the actrss portraying character of a Baby Doll, I was fascinated by the actor Eli Wallach who gave his performance of a lifetime in this film. From reading other reviews, it is a thrill to learn that Mr. Wallach considers this film to be one of his favorite ones in his career. You MUST see this movie. It has smartness, humor and beauty of language in it and the sexual tension like the one portrayed in this film, has never been filmed before or since. This film is Elia Kazan's masterpiece.
February 20, 2008Notorious in its time as the filthiest picture ever made, this steamy, depraved black comedy from the poison pen of Southern playwright Tennessee Williams was helmed by Elia Kazan ("A Streetcar Named Desire") and photographed in crisp, stark black-and-white by lensman Boris Kaufman. Malden's disturbing portrayal of cuckold-to-be Archie is a far cry from his later TV stint on "Streets of San Francisco." But see it for a wonderfully sleazy Wallach (in his film debut) and the Oscar-nominated Baker, who couldn't be better as manipulative coquette Baby Doll, especially in a porch-swing scene with the lusty Silva. One of Kazan's trashiest efforts--in the best sense.
June 25, 2007This film is more notable for it's notoriety at the time of it's release than any aesthetic qualities. Tennessee William's story is meandering and unbelievably talky. The film's so-called eroticism isn't likely to give you goose pimples. Carroll Baker's performance in the title role can be compared to wood. The film's virtues would be some good camera-work and Southern ambience as well as outstanding performances by Karl Malden as Baby Doll's cuckolded husband and Eli Wallach as Malden's business rival. Not a complete waste of time but not worthy of it's reputation.
February 25, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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