I had been curious about seeing this movie for quite some time, and the other night finally got my chance at 3:30AM on TCM. Many of the earlier posts on Baby Doll are pretty much right on the money regarding its on-location filming in the real-life hamlet of Benoit, Mississippi and the Tennessee Williams connection. Eli Wallach is the standout here in my opinion, in what, amazingly, is his film debut (according to Leonard Maltin). Karl Malden is solid, as always, as the half-crazed Archie who is always just a day or two away from bankruptcy and total ruination. Carroll Baker is, simply stated, stunningly beautiful. Her lengthy scenes with Wallach serve as the heart of the storyline. Overall, Baby Doll is a somewhat dated curio from the mid-1950's that Elia Kazan or Tennessee Williams fans shouldn't miss. I was bothered by the fact that none of the many extras in this film receive any credit or billing whatsoever, even if they had speaking roles. Was this because they were mostly African-American? What's the deal with that? The cast list here on IMDb is obviously incomplete.
Review of Baby Doll
