The Babysitter

Just watched this little piece of exploitation and somewhat enjoyed it. Obviously, its a cynical take on the free love era. The idea that a eighteen year old baby sitter would be able to sneak her friends into her employer's house for a groovy band practice while they're away is ludicrous yet pretty damn funny. That she turns out to be a tramp is believable but her vicious side toward the end seems a bit too much. I don't feel like I'm giving too much away by saying this seems almost like the fantasy of a square henpecked lawyer who wants to take advantage of the freedoms of sexual liberation without facing any of the consequences. For some that's the American dream: flouting laws and societal conventions and still getting to keep your job and social standing. For someone like myself who didn't grow up in that era, a lot of its seems alien and laughable at times. Even those riding the crest of the sexual liberation movement were quick to see its downside though. I guess i would prefer this movie too some rosy glasses colored film that really thought peace and love would conquer the world's overwhelming problems. A star rating seems really hard to do with something like this. It has a plot. It has some twists and turns. Overall, its trash but I didn't feel like I'd completely squandered my time.

This familiar story of an older man/younger woman is surprisingly hard-edged. Bikers, hippies, free love and jail bait mix surprisingly well in this forgotten black-and-white indie effort. Lead actress Patricia Wymer, as the titular "Candy," gives the finest performance of her career (spanning all of 3 drive-in epics). Wymer was precocious and fetching in THE YOUNG GRADUATES (1971), but gives a more serious performance in THE BABYSITTER. The occasional violence and periodic nudity are somewhat surprising, but well-handled by the director. Leads Wymer and George E. Carey sell the May/December romance believably. There are enough similarities between THE BABYSITTER and THE YOUNG GRADUATES to make one wonder if the same director helmed the latter film as well. Patricia Wymer, where are you?

Hailing from Seattle, WA, Miss Wymer had appeared as a dancer on the TV rock and roll show MALIBU U, before gracing the cover (as well as appearing in an eight-page spread) of the August, 1968 issue of "Best For Men," a tasteful adults-only magazine. She also appeared as a coven witch in the popular 1969 cult drive-in shocker THE WITCHMAKER.

THE BABYSITTER has finally made its home video debut, as part of the eight-film BCI box set DRIVE-IN CULT CLASSICS vol. 3, which is available from Amazon.com and some retail stores such as Best Buy.

Late 2011 update: the original camera negatives for THE BABYSITTER were found! Code Red released a far superior DVD of the film, mastered from the uncut negatives. It was available via direct mail order with Code Red, and occasionally on Amazon.com.

This Crown-International release was in one aspect out of date when released, since it was in black and white, when that format, even in the B movie world, had pretty much passed on. Though despite the dated appearance of the movie, the filmmakers did manage to pack in a respectable amount of sleaze, including (but not limited to) lesbianism (the movie's two lesbian seduction sequences are unintentionally funny), nudity, sex, and a middle-aged man having an affair with a very young woman. This stuff is kind of fun, but the enjoyment from it is deflated by a very slow moving story that seems VERY padded, even though the running time is only 75 minutes. I personally don't think the movie quite makes it to a recommendation, but others here on the IMDb liked it, so I think this is one case where you'll have to watch the movie and decide for yourself.

THE BABYSITTER is a better movie than the title might suggest. Is it a low-budget, drive-in movie from the late 1960's? Yes. Does it feature bikers, nudity, and -egad!- "go-go dancing"? Indeed. However, it's the story that rises above the usual muck.

It's about George and Edith Maxwell (George E. Carey and Anne Bellamy) a middle aged couple who find themselves on the rocks, ever since their new, unexpected child was born. The marital tension is intense, with the wife blaming the husband, who shuts himself off completely.

Enter Candy Wilson (Patricia Wymer), the title character. She's young, pretty, and a very free spirit! In fact, she represents everything that has drained out of the Maxwells' marriage. She also has quite an effect on George.

Of course the aforementioned elements enter the picture, with lurid results. There's revenge, blackmail, and murder.

Still, the movie is solid enough to include the madness and remain watchable...

A teenage babysitter seduces a middle-age assistant DA, causing trouble with his wife, and also causing him to be blackmailed by a biker's girl who wants her guy acquitted of murder charges.

Sure, the flick never rises above cheap exploitation. And I could have done without hints of masochistic sex. Still, the 70-minutes is rather competently made considering its campy genre. The editing is smoothly done, the settings well-chosen, while Carey and Bellamy do well as the quarreling married couple. Even the plot manages a few wrinkles beyond the clichéd teen-age temptress and older man. Too bad Wymer (Candy) looks the part, but has trouble with her lines. There's also a 60's counter-culture subtext where Candy tempts middle-age George with the hippie credo of "free love". George finds this seductive, as did many of his buttoned-down generation. Anyway, for fans of 36-C and 38-D, there's ample exposure. Otherwise, it's drive-in forgettable.