After a series of heavy dramas, Tennessee Williams and Elia Kazan kicked off their shoes and had a bit of fun with this twisted Southern comedy. There's no other film quite like it, with its combination of sexual frustration, seediness and jail bait sexual attraction.
Carroll Baker plays the title role, a 19 year old who still sleeps in a cot and sucks her thumb and is yet to be deflowered by hubby Karl Malden (in his most "yelling" performance yet, which is saying something for this actor). When Malden burns down a cotton gin owned by Eli Wallach, Wallach seeks for revenge by seducing Baby Doll.
It goes on too long - almost two hours - but there is plenty to enjoy once you get into the mindset of the filmmakers. While Elia Kazan later claimed he wondered what the fuss was about surely he must have known it was racy material - or maybe he was unaware of the whole tone of what he'd made until it was all cut together.
It's very well acted; Baker makes an impressive star debut as the evocative yet naive Baby Doll; Wallach has one of his best film roles as the outsider "wop" - hardly a lady killer (let's be honest) but it's not as though Karl Malden gave him much competition. Mildred Dunnock is very good and there's some terrific southern faces among the support cast. I would have enjoyed a little less ambiguity and more certainty over what happened.
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