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ACTOR
Anjanette ComerRuth RomanMarianna HillSusanne Zenor
DIRECTOR
Ted Post
SYNOPSICS
The Baby (1973) is a English movie. Ted Post has directed this movie. Anjanette Comer,Ruth Roman,Marianna Hill,Susanne Zenor are the starring of this movie. It was released in 1973. The Baby (1973) is considered one of the best Drama,Horror,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
A social worker who recently lost her husband investigates the strange Wadsworth family. The Wadsworths might not seem too unusual to hear about them at first - consisting of the mother, two grown daughters and the diaper-clad, bottle-sucking baby. The problem is, the baby is twenty-one years old.
The Baby (1973) Reviews
Leave your jaw on the floor
A movie sure to have you staring at the screen in shock, The Baby is guaranteed to turn out to be one of the stranger things you will ever see. Here's the deal: Ann is a social worker who stops by the house of a Mrs. Wadsworth, played by Ruth Roman (who was also in one of my favorite little movies, The Killing Kind, though I don't remember who she was there). Mrs. Wadsworth lives with her two daughters, Germaine and Alba, and her son, whom they all refer to as Baby. Baby is a 21-year-old man who has been in an infantile state apparently since birth. He can neither walk nor speak, or really concentrate on anything. His sisters are also, uh, quite something: Germaine, played with wonderful zest by Marianna Hill, is an extremely strange woman with this massive mane of hair, and tiny, evil eyes. If anyone ever had to cast a woman who is revealed to be a real, evil witch at the end, here's your woman. I actually want to see a lot more of her. She was awesome, and she can preen and glare like nobody's business. Which obviously wins her big points with me. So Ann the social worker shows up for a case visit, and makes it clear that she is "quite intrigued" by the case. The mother and sisters don't want to let her see Baby, but she insists, and we see him for the first time. He is a fairly cute 21-year-old (looked a little younger to me) guy. Ann the social worker continues to visit, and one is surprised how quickly she adjusts to the fact of this adult acting like a baby, and we start to feel a little freaky when she is almost immediately saying things like "That's my baby! He's a good baby!" It soon becomes apparent that Ann is a little more than just interested in this case, and is actually quite obsessed with Baby. This point is driven home by a scene with her supervisor asking her why she is spending so much time at the Wadsworth home and so little time with her other cases. There is a little discussion about some terrible accident that befell Ann's husband, implying that she's all lonely and sexually frustrated now, and one begins to wonder if her obsession with Baby had somewhat of a sexual edge to it. This is further reinforced when we see Germaine take off her clothes and climb in bed with her infantile brother! The sexual thing gets a further boost from a scene in which one of the babysitters is having a bit of trouble with Baby, and soon enough he is sucking her breast! The movie continues to pile on some disturbing suggestions about female sexuality as the woman is clearly aroused by this and lets it go on-until the mother comes home and beats the living crapout of her! I tell you, this one's a shock a minute! One of the big strengths of this movie is that you REALLY don't know direction it's going to take. There is tension from every direction. On the one hand you know that this is a horror movie and bad things are going to happen. You have this domineering mother and her creepy and violent daughters-are they going to start killing everyone who threatens to come between them and Baby? And Baby himself is a grown man-is he going to get angry and really hurt someone? And that Ann, too, does not seem to have all her screws in place, and seem really, REALLY obsessed with Baby-is she going to try to kidnap him, or what? It keeps you guessing, and that successfully delivers a lot of tension throughout its running time. I truly did not know what was going to happenand did not expect what DID happen. And how many movies can you say that for nowadays? In the middle of the film, things progress without really going anywhere, and we have somewhat repetitive scenes in which Ann visits and is obviously not welcome, she plays with Baby in a creepy way, and Mrs. Wadsworth gets ever more bitchy. Still, it's all so interesting that it never gets boring or feels like it's wasting your time. There are quite a few good bitchy lines, like when Ann threatens to turn Mrs. Wadsworth in, and she says "You're a damn bitch!" Also, consider this exchage between Ann and a guy who's coming on to her: "Don't tell me you're a dermatologist?" "No, just a skin freak." This takes place during an awesome 70s party, footage of which, as surely you know, is always welcome. The other strength of this film is the complicated relationships of power and intricate series of compromises each character makes in order to stay close to baby or not get thrown in jail. Also, the score by Gerald Freed is, if not great, at least unusual. It contains a great deal of unusual instrumentation, including a lot of cello and acoustic guitar, and one long stalking scene seems to contain up to 10 minutes of pure music with no dialogue. There's no way I would even reveal part of the ending to you, but suffice to say that after the one hour mark there are twists and turns that will take you completely by surprise. As I said, it's unusual just for what the story itself is, and it's very unusual to really have no idea where the story is going to end up. If you like it weird, it's waiting right here for you. Hey, there are lot of other reviews of bad and cheesy movies on my website, Cinema de Merde, which you can find through the URL in my email address.
Just ... too demented for words, really!
What arguments do you use to recommend "The Baby" to any fan of peculiar cult & horror cinema who's convinced that she/he has already seen everything before? Well, let's try this: "The Baby" is horrific without reverting to gory massacres or nauseating make-up effects, it's extremely disturbing even though the premise is far-fetched and totally implausible and last but definitely not least there's an unpredictable twist at the end that you simply have to see in order to believe it! This is one of the most original low-budget exploitation movies of the 70's, and it's truly remarkable how writer/director Ted Post managed to make such a fascinating film out of such a demented basic premise! "The Baby" starts out as the portrait of a dysfunctional family, but it gradually transforms into an atypical and thematic horror film with an uncanny atmosphere and frighteningly insane characters. Ann Gentry, a professional social worker in her mid-30's, takes an interest in the odd family situation of the Wadsworths. The mother lives alone with her two adult daughters and Baby! Baby is a fully-grown 21-year-old male, but his mother and sisters treat him as an infant and claim that he's mentally unable to function as a mature human being. Ann is convinced that the crazy women deliberately prevent Baby from developing normally, presumably because they don't want him to grow like the careless and obnoxious men who abandoned them in the past. She quickly reverts to unorthodox methods in her attempts to rescue Baby and risks losing both her job and her life. Especially considering the cinematic era "The Baby" was made, and also the low-budget production values, the basic concept of the film easily could have resulted in a trashy and ultimately perverted B-movie. Imagine; a grown man in a diaper surrounded by overly protective and deranged women! In the hands of certain other directors, say, Doris Wishman or Russ Meyer, "The Baby" unquestionably would have been a non-stop series of sleazy images and shocking sex-rites, but Ted Post approaches the unusual subject matter very professionally and tasteful. There are only two controversially uncomfortable sequences, one involving a teenage babysitter and the other one being the fabulous climax. Ted Post maintains an ominous atmosphere, the Wadsworth women are downright creepy characters and the whole thing is just delightfully man-unfriendly! Fans of graphic bloodshed and gore may be a bit disappointed, but the horrific themes of the film are definitely unique enough to compensate. Literally ALL the acting performances are splendid, but David Mooney deserves extra praise for his credible and undoubtedly complex depiction of Baby. It may not be Citizen Kane, but I guarantee that The Baby will be one of the most unforgettable and curiously engaging films you'll ever see.
Oh Baby!
Worthwhile,off beat, modern Gothic tale centering on a dysfunctional family that emasculates the only male in the family by keeping him a baby:even though he is fully grown. And lucky "Baby", all the women in the film want him for their own reasons. An unusual premise, with effective performances, efficient direction, and good use of location makes for an enjoyably twisted B movie. The movie drags a bit toward the end, and begins to seem a bit thin, but it remains compelling. A real find on budget DVD. Comer is well-cast in the lead and Roman's performance is classic. As Roman's daughters, cult figure Marianna Hill (Red Line 7000,Medium Cool, High Plains Drifter,Dead People) and Suzanne Zenor are convincingly creepy. And did I mention Beatrice Manley Blau as Comer's mother-in-law? Now, she's scary! Slick and sick little film that ends with a nice twist. Shelved by the studio;than given a limited theatrical release. A bit difficult to categorize but, definitely worth seeking out. The DVD, regrettably, has no extras but, the transfer looks good.
God, I Love The 70s!
They could never make a film like this today. If they did, it would have an all-star cast, a loud, obtrusive score, and dizzying, roller-coaster camera effects. Back in the 70s they had to get by on talent, imagination and audacity alone. Luckily, they had plenty of that back then. This is not a 'twisted" film, at least anywhere nearly as twisted as say, "Bad Boy Bubby" or "Sonny Boy" (now those movies are reeeeally twisted!), but then what can one expect from Hollywood? This movie is like Diabolique made as a 1970s TV movie-of-the-week with a drive-in sleaze chaser. There's definitely a lack of credibility in this movie's plot - not that a woman couldn't keep her grown son in the mental state of a six-month infant. That's plausible and has happened before, but it's extremely unlikely that the authorities who knew about this kid all those years wouldn't have insisted on special schooling and therapy from day one. But who cares? Here we've got a film with two wicked Barbie Doll sisters who have venom in their veins and just looove to tease men. There's some great bad seventies fashion and a 'wild party' scene (well, wild for the suburbs. Ahh, Hollywood so out of touch!). And what can you say about Ruth Roman? She's Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Ernest Borgnine all rolled into one. They just don't make broads like that anymore! As mentioned by others, there are lots of twists and turns in the plot, but most anyone can figure them out very early on. But again, who cares? This movie works because of its audacity in the face of its conventionality and well, there is an intelligence at work somewhere in the midst of its drive-in movie formula. Take that whole scene with the babysitter for instance (for those who haven't seen this, you'll just have to see for yourself). I knew what was going to happen, but the way it built up so naturally seemed very honest and real. Which is why it freaked me out so much. Every now and then the film slips that comfort rug out from under you. Freak city! Then it relaxes safely in the realms of convention, but that's okay too because the whole movie has such charming camp appeal. Let's make that clear: this is a camp movie, NOT a horror movie! It's stupidly being marketed as horror, so it's understandable that the kiddies who are looking for lots of gore and boobies are feeling disappointed. Stick with Argento, kids! Oh yeah huge kudos to David Mooney (Manzy whatever) who played 'Baby'. He should have become a star.
Grade "A" gonzo flick! *spoiler-ish*
Ruth Roman, once major Hollywood lead and survivor of the ANDREA DORIA disaster, pulls all the stops in the role of Mrs. Wadsworth, a hardened menopausal bitch who has characteristically stultified her adult son into perpetual infancy through cruel behavioral modification practices(with significant help from her two insane, but very foxy, daughters). A young social worker enters the scene, convinced that "Baby" is not the childlike imbecile his family insists that he is, and that there may be an unsettling explanation for his behavior. The Wadsworths, however, are not about to give up their precious "baby" without a fight. This one's a minor classic of its kind, and with far better performances and production values than anyone would ever expect of such niggling material. Drive-in hyperweirdness with an appropriately bizarre final curtain that must be seen to be believed. 6/10. Recommended.