Baby Doll (1956)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writer:

Tennessee Williams (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Her role is raw electricity! Her portrayal is a sensation! CARROLL BAKER

Plot:

Steamy tale of two Southern rivals and a sensuous 19-year-old virgin.

Plot Keywords:

Sicilian | Cotton | Cotton Gin | Marriage | Child Bride

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

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

Runtime:

114 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System) | Stereo

Certification:

USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:Unrated (video rating) | USA:R (re-rating 1969) | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Benoit, Mississippi, USA

Company:

Newtown Productions

Trivia:

When the film was released in 1956, it was enormously controversial for its extremely risqué subject matter. The Legion of Decency condemned the film for its "carnal suggestiveness". Francis Cardinal Spellman condemned the film in a stunning attack from the pulpit of St. Patrick's Cathedral two days before the film opened, saying that the film had been "responsibly judged to be evil in concept" and was certain that it would "exert an immoral and corrupting influence on those who see it", and exhorted all Catholics to refrain from patronizing the film "under pain of sin". Cardinal Spellman's condemnation of the film led to the Legion of Decency's first-ever nationwide boycott of an American-made film produced by a major studio. All over the country, almost 20 million Catholics protested the film and picketed theaters that showed it. The Catholic boycott nearly killed the film; it was cancelled by 77% of theaters scheduled to show it, and it only made a meager $600,000 at the box office. The film was also condemned by Time Magazine, which called it the dirtiest American-made motion picture that had ever been legally exhibited. Surprisingly, despite the film's sordid elements, the Production Code Administration gave it a seal of approval, but only after nearly a year of arguments. This was one of many examples of how the lax attitude of new Code official Geoffrey Shurlock, the successor at the PCA to the strict Catholic militant Joseph Breen, would lead to a schism with the Legon of Decency and the PCA's own downfall over the next few years. After this film, the PCA drifted farther and farther away from its traditional guidelines until it was replaced by the MPAA ratings system in 1968.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Silva bursts through the door in the attic, Baby Doll is shown running from him with her blanket wrapped around her. The instant before she falls on to the attic beam, she removes the blanket, and holds it in her left hand. In the very next shot, after she has fallen, the blanket is wrapped around her body once again.

Quotes:

Baby Doll: [after being told to make him comfortable] Ain't nobody comfortable in that house. Lucky if you can find a chair to sit down on. You want coffee?
Silva Vacarro: No, just a nice cool drink of water.
Baby Doll: Oh, well the house water runs warm. But if you've got the energy to run that old pump over there you can get yourself a nice cool drink from that there cistern.
Silva Vacarro: I've got energy to burn.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Shame, Shame, Shame

Fuzzy and Buzzy

The conventional wisdom on "Baby Doll" seems to be, "Oh, this movie may have been steamy in its time, but it's totally tame now." Oh, really? If the scene of Eli Wallach and Carroll Baker on the garden swing doesn't leave you feeling "fuzzy and buzzy," I suggest you get your pulse checked.