The Baby (1973)

Really Surprised!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Baby is a very misunderstood movie. To the superficial mind, they are going to see this as creepy, disgusting, offensive trash from the 70's. As an open minded guy in his 40's without any children whatsoever, I see the underlying message the film tries to get out to the viewer. Weather it was done by trial or error doesn't matter, this movie works on many levels, as long as you are not superficial. Meaning, you only see what's on the surface. This is actually a very deep film, trying to reach out to you at a serious, emotional manner, but can you be open minded enough to give it a chance? Straight and to the point, a social worker shows up to the Wadesworth home, and becomes directly involved with the family, after growing a quick bond with the baby. The baby is actually a full grown man in his 20's, with the mental state of an infant. It seems in this family, the only one that really loves and wants to protect the baby, is the social worker, but the mother seems to have a different plan in play...trying to keep her out of their lives as much as possible. The underlying message here, clearly, is child abuse. What do you do when the family is more of a threat then the public? As a baby, completely defenseless, who will come to your aide? Will there be a hero? And how will this all end for everyone? Again, this is not a movie for everyone, but it reached out to me on a very emotional level, which means that it does work. Those who wish to see perverse in the film, they just aren't getting the picture. I wish they would. 6 out of 10 stars.

The Baby (1973) is a psychological horror/thriller directed by the late Ted "Magnum Force" Post and it stars Ruth Roman, Michael Pataki, Anjanette Comer and David Mooney as Baby. Ann Gentry is a social worker who is given a strange case dealing with a grown man named Baby whose overbearing mother Mrs. Wadsworth and two sister Germaine and Alba keep him in diapers and a giant crib. Getting a babysitter for Baby and trying to keep him happy can be a real trial for Mom and his hot-to-trot siblings. Will Miss Gentry be able to rescue the him from the wrath of his family or will she end up like the previous social worker?A weird movie that was the inspiration for MadTv's character Stuart and it's just as twisted and bizarre. The movie has many underlying themes that would give a film lover a field day in trying to resolve. Ted Post's direction was often overlooked because of the films he's worked on but know's how to keep his audience in checked. The Baby's ending not only comes out of left field but it's a bitter sweet finale.Fans of B-movies and psychological horror flicks will enjoy this one.

The early to mid-1970s were not a good period in the career of Ruth Roman. Although she'd been in some prestige films over the years (such as Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train"), by the 70s she started appearing in schlock pictures--such as "The Baby" and the supremely awful "Impulse". Her TV work at the time on shows like "Police Woman" and "Kung Fu" was vastly superior to her roles in films--though this really isn't saying much. It's a shame, as she was a decent actress--but one whose career had fallen on hard times.The film is rather embarrassing to watch---but it's also like a train wreck. You just can't stop watching and the film is clever despite its awfulness. It begins with an eager social worker stopping by a STRANGE household. It seems the mother (Roman) has three adult children--the youngest of which (age 20) acts exactly like a 6 month-old child! It's very creepy and only gets creepier when the caseworker begins to dig deeper. At first the family seems cooperative but as the film progresses it gets crazier and crazier--so crazy that you need to see this to believe it.Overall, it's a bit uneven--ranging from very creative to a bit clichéd. The most serious is when the family threatens the social worker and behaves horribly (having made allegations of impropriety by the caseworker). The caseworker then goes to a party at their home and brings along no escort for protection nor does she tell her superiors where she is going! Can anyone be THAT stupid?! I hate horror films with such huge and obvious plot problems that SHOULD have been worked out before the film was shot. Also, the family's about-face from VERY threatening and inappropriate to sweet as sugar is just too fast and only an idiot would fall for this! Weak...very, very weak. But, one thing that DID impress me was something no one ever does in this sort of film--when she escapes their clutches, she stops to puncture the clan's tires--now THAT'S good writing! But what happens next....that I didn't expect!! Again, it's uneven and seldom makes sense....but it IS compelling to watch.So is "The Baby" worth seeing? Well, it's NOT the sort of film to watch with your kids, your mother or anyone you want to impress. It's a guilty pleasure and is amazingly sick and twisted--and folks' opinions of you might drop a bit if they know you watch this sort of movie! Subtle? No way...but also entertaining providing you can stand to watch it! And definitely one of a kind!! By the way, I was just thinking that if the caseworker lived in such a HUGE and luxurious house, why did she drive a crappy old Dodge Dart? I used to drive one and it's certainly NOT something I'd drive unless I had few other options!

A social worker investigates the strange Wadsworth family. The Wadsworths consist of the mother, two grown daughters and the diaper-clad, bottle-sucking baby. The problem is, the baby is twenty-one years old.I think the plot probably gives this away, but this is a very strange film. While the "baby" is clearly the strangest, the sisters and mother are odd, and the babysitter may be oddest of all (one scene in particular defies explaining). Throw in kidnapping, threats, a cattle prod and more... you have an odd film, and that is before things get really weird.Watching this as a "horror" film was an interesting approach, because it has to be among the most subtle horror films out there. Things pick up in the third act, but until then it seems more like a very strange comedy than horror. Is it comedy, though? I think not, but maybe your sense of humor is different.The actor playing Baby deserves credit. While he did not come across as a grown baby so much as a man acting like a baby, what more could he have done? That, and you have to assume that by the time a person is twenty-one, they must have developed in at least some way.