THE
BABY (1973) Director: Ted Post
Image Entertainment
THE
BABY (1973) Image Entertainment's DVD of this title boasts the tagline, "The rarely seen 70s cult shocker" and boy they weren't kidding. Ruth Roman--once a respected Hollywood leading lady in the 50s--starred in a series of sleazy exploitation films in the 70s like THE KILLING KIND, IMPULSE and DAY OF THE ANIMALS, as well as this seldom seen offering. Along with 1971's BLOOD AND LACE, this has to be one of the nastiest films to get away with a PG rating.
Roman stars as Mrs. Wadsworth, an eccentric single mother with two attractive but very weird daughters (Mariana Hill and Susanne Zenor) and her full-grown, but mentally retarded son, Baby (David Manzy). Baby lives up to his name by crawling around the house in diapers or sucking on a bottle in his playpen. The family wants no part of trying to improve Baby's state of mind, they'd much rather see him as the infantile mess that he is. Without any success, social workers have come and gone to the Wadsworth house, one even disappeared altogether.
One sympathetic social worker, Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer, who also went south of the border to star in Rene Cardona Jr.'s NIGHT OF A THOUSAND CATS) arrives at the Wadsworth doorstep to investigate the situation. She soon becomes obsessed with Baby, seeing growth potential and wanting to take him to an outside clinic, but the family detests Ann's devotion to their backwards sibling. Mrs. Wadsworth deliberately declines Ann's suggestions to help Baby, and she forbids her to come around anymore.
After the bitter falling out, Mrs. Wadsworth makes mends and invites Ann to a birthday party for Baby. When she arrives, she is greeted to a house full of oddballs, not a suitable atmosphere for a "baby." In the midst of the celebration, the mother and the two daughters drug Ann and tie her up in the basement, scheming to do away with her once all the guests have left. Ann is able to set herself free and escapes with Baby. It turns out that Ann has a scheme of her own when Mrs. Wadsworth and her daughters break into her house to get back Baby.
I don't want to give too much more away of the plot, but if you're seeing this for the first time (as I was), you're in for a nice surprise. THE BABY has a unique, intelligent script by Abe Polsky (REBEL ROUSERS, THE GAY DECEIVERS), and competent direction by veteran Ted Post (BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, MAGNUM FORCE). Post is able to get great, over the top performances from his cast, especially Roman who is perfectly bitchy as Mrs. Wadsworth. Hill also starred in another obscure 70s horror film, MESSIAH OF EVIL, and Zenor often appears in dumb blonde roles. Exploitation favorite Michael Pataki (RETURN OF COUNT YORGA, GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE) plays a pot smoking womanizer in the party scene.
THE BABY exhibits some very morbid scenes. A babysitter goes to Baby's room to comfort the full-sized infant and he forcefully starts feasting on her breast. She doesn't reject him, and when the family bursts into the room, Mrs. Wadsworth starts whipping the hell out of the poor girl, leaving her with a kisser full of blood. Other sick scenes have Baby being punished with a long shock stick, and Hill is seen disrobing and getting into Baby's crib in the middle of the night.
Some of the scenes with Baby resemble a tasteless "Saturday Night Live" skit (they unconvincingly dub in the cries of a real baby) and due to its limited budget, at times the film comes off like an ABC Movie of the Week. But it's the tension between Comer's character and the trio of crazy females that make THE BABY interesting, as well as the unforgettable climax.
A title that probably dumbfounded a lot of fans when announced for DVD, THE BABY has suitably been presented on the format. There is some minor wear, and the audio is a bit scratchy sounding, but the full frame image looks fine and colors are rich and vibrant. A good example of this is the party scene, where some wild color lighting is utilized. There are no extras, but Gerald Fried's score, along with the film's sound effects, are isolated on a separate track. Another track is in Spanish, which is very unusual for an Image release of this sort. Well worth a look. (George R. Reis)