I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to see a Tennessee Williams story about a young woman regarded as immature if not babyish. When I learned that it was controversial, I expected something along the lines of Lolita. Fortunately, I soon confirmed that the title character (Carroll Baker), who never uses her real first name, married as a virgin at 18 -- less than half the apparent age of her husband, Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden), but that wasn't the scandal.
The Meighans have had a deal not to do something unspecified until her upcoming 20th birthday; from his eagerness, it's not hard to guess what. Understandably, she doesn't share his eagerness, not least because he hasn't been the great businessman she was led to believe. In desperation for success, Archie secretly sabotages the industry of rival Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) and then tries to talk him into a merger, leaving Baby Doll to entertain him for a while. Things get mighty suggestive between her and Vacarro, tho it's not the conquest he chiefly has in mind....
Their line of work? Cotton. The Meighans live in a ramshackle Mississippi mansion for which they can no longer afford proper furniture, leading Baby Doll to sleep in a crib meant for her projected eventual baby. Most of the employees are Black -- and laid-back, watching the Whites' problems with detached amusement. I can only assume that Williams means to convey how Dixieland has fallen. Another possible sign of this is Baby Doll's semi-senile aunt, Rose Comfort (Mildred Dunnock), who never makes much of a difference to the plot but always lurks around the mansion. Before the film's release, would-be viewers expressed some concern about political incorrectness (more against the Southern Whites than the Blacks), but that died away with the actual viewing.
Don't get me wrong; while the depiction of the Black characters isn't my idea of insulting, there is still a fair potential to be offended today. In particular, Archie doesn't shy away from racial and ethnic slurs, altho, as in my previous review, the main target is Italian-Americans, at least where Vacarro is concerned.
If that's not enough reason to despise Archie, he's a consummate liar, he's too aggressive about a different kind of consummation, he gets mad easily, and occasionally his abusiveness turns physical. Probably the only reason Baby Doll has stayed with him for so long is that she hasn't cultivated an alternative: She doesn't have any promising job skills, and her father's no longer around to fall back on.
Baby Doll actually isn't half as infantile as I had expected. Much of the time, she bears an air of confidence in her womanhood. She rarely comes across like Billie in Born Yesterday. If not for her first scene sucking her thumb in the crib, I'd question the title. Her recognized "growing up" is pretty subtle to my eye.
About time I addressed the controversy of the period: the sheer steaminess. It's one thing to get a condemnation from the Catholic League of Decency (a cardinal threatened viewers with excommunication!) and another to have Time and Sweden act like it's the most pornographic picture they've ever seen. The filmmakers had no idea it'd shock anyone, tho to their comfort, neither did they have any idea it'd be nominated for awards. People suspect that the ad campaign got everyone's dirty minds in gear. Nowadays, I doubt the MPAA would give the film more than a PG. I don't even think Baby Doll commits adultery, except in her heart, so the modern Church probably wouldn't bother to say much about it.
Does this mean that BD hasn't, eheh, aged well? I dunno. While what Baby Doll and Vaccaro have between them is hardly romantic, I mostly like the story as a somewhat intense drama. The main thing that bothers me is that both Netflix and Wikipedia (not IMDb) label it as a black comedy-drama. This wouldn't be the first time that I completely failed to sense a comedy. Characters laugh at times, but I never felt like I was supposed to be laughing with or at them.
I don't know how many more Williams plays or adaptations thereof I'm up for. If this is the last I ever see, it's not a bad stopping point.
No comments:
Post a Comment