Makes me quite upset that Karl Malden passed away. Maybe his best work. Kazan truly knows how to make Tennesse Williams come alive.

# 531

For this movie to be from the 50's, it's packed with sexual tension.

Elia Kazan and an original screenplay from Tennessee Williams. That makes it worthwhile right there. As you'd expect, it's about as perverse as a '50s Hollywood film could hope to be

terrible

The summary from IMDb pitches this as a "steamy tale". Needless to say, that is by 1956 standards. This should come as no surprise. What does, though, is how slow and uneventful the movie is. That said, Malden is positively great, as always.

NOTHING HAPPENS! EVER!

Sexy melodrama.

This isn't anywhere near as risqué as I expected but it's still a damn fine film thanks to the performances. Malden is appropriately unlikable and Baker exudes innocent sensuality, but it's Eli Wallach who steals the show with a superb performance. There are some nice bits of comedy and drama strewn about, but the film is mostly about the tension between the characters. The first half is rather slow but the second half is great.

Hugely enjoyable feast of character and mood from Tennessee Williams, as the titular Baby (Carroll Baker) contends with her loutish husband (Karl Malden) and his suave rival (Eli Wallach) in a crumbling bayou mansion. Not much story, but the acting is so good--the lead trio are all sublime--and Elia Kazan's strange, slightly crude direction adds so much flavor, that it seems positively irrelevant. Boris Kaufman's cinematography and Kenyon Hopkins' score ice the cake.

Actually a little more innocent than what the imdb summary suggests, but nevertheless subversive. It is funny and sexy. Most of the film is all build-up.

I tried to like it but even with the strong performances i just couldn't do it.

Y'all are crazy, this is even better than Streetcar. Walden is flustered impotent rage personified, a great counterpoint to Wallach's suave but chilling instrumentality. But Baker's the heart of the piece: As the film progresses, she drops her temperamental entitlement and childish play-acting for a sober conviction that retains an essential naivete -- and is all the more heartbreaking for it.

Not as riveting or powerful as Streetcar Named Desire but watchable and entertaining. It's very raunchy and suggestive for its time... though not quite as daring as its reputation. The comedy is well executed, particularly due to Wallach's charming performance, and I found Archie Lee to be a fascinating character. The brutishness and rage of Stanley Kowalski, but with a heaping dose of frustration and ineffectual uselessness thrown into the mix. He's a born loser and he doesn't know it.

One of Kazan's finest moments is that tight close-up of Baby Doll and Silva sitting in the swing, Silva caressing Baby Doll's neck, Baby Doll on the line between complete fear and total seduction. Wallach is insane in this film, playing a seductive lunatic. Malden is great too, unleashing all of the pent-up energy Archie has built over two years. And Carroll Baker is the superb center of it all. 100% better than Streetcar.

The film is very watchable, pretty good fun and the main character Archie Lee is repulsive though all the more interesting because of it, the performances are great and even I noticed the sexual tension in this film (something which usually flies right over my head). I have a couple problems here and there (was the hide and seek scene meant to be wild fun or a nasty harrasment of a woman?) and I don't think it was anything special but it was very good.

Ppretty good fun and the main character Archie Lee is repulsive though all the more interesting because of it, the performances are great and even I noticed the sexual tension in this film (something which usually flies right over my head). I have a couple problems here and there (was the hide and seek scene meant to be wild fun or the nasty harassment of a woman?) and I don't think it was anything special but it was good.

despite of some dramatic weaknesses, i like it.

Really strong writing and acting from all involved. A fairly bland but controversial (for its time) story made more interesting by the writing.