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The Baby

  • 1973
  • PG
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.1/10
4.9K
YOUR RATING
The Baby (1973)
Trailer for The Baby
Play trailer2:46
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaHorrorThriller

A social worker, still reeling from the loss of her architect husband, investigates the eccentric, psychedelic Wadsworth Family, consisting of a mother, two daughters, and an adult son with ... Read allA social worker, still reeling from the loss of her architect husband, investigates the eccentric, psychedelic Wadsworth Family, consisting of a mother, two daughters, and an adult son with the apparent mental capacity of an infant.A social worker, still reeling from the loss of her architect husband, investigates the eccentric, psychedelic Wadsworth Family, consisting of a mother, two daughters, and an adult son with the apparent mental capacity of an infant.

  • Director
    • Ted Post
  • Writer
    • Abe Polsky
  • Stars
    • Anjanette Comer
    • Ruth Roman
    • Marianna Hill
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.1/10
    4.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Ted Post
    • Writer
      • Abe Polsky
    • Stars
      • Anjanette Comer
      • Ruth Roman
      • Marianna Hill
    • 92User reviews
    • 80Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Baby
    Trailer 2:46
    The Baby

    Photos128

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    Top cast13

    Edit
    Anjanette Comer
    Anjanette Comer
    • Ann Gentry
    Ruth Roman
    Ruth Roman
    • Mrs. Wadsworth
    Marianna Hill
    Marianna Hill
    • Germaine Wadsworth
    Susanne Zenor
    Susanne Zenor
    • Alba Wadsworth
    • (as Suzanne Zenor)
    Tod Andrews
    Tod Andrews
    • Doctor
    Michael Pataki
    Michael Pataki
    • Dennis
    Beatrice Manley
    • Judith
    • (as Beatrice Manley Blau)
    Erin O'Reilly
    Erin O'Reilly
    • Babysitter
    Don Mallon
    Joseph Bernard
    • Mr. Foley
    Virginia Vincent
    Virginia Vincent
    David Mooney
    David Mooney
    • Baby
    • (as David Manzy)
    Ted Post
    Ted Post
    • Dart player at birthday party
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ted Post
    • Writer
      • Abe Polsky
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews92

    6.14.9K
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    Featured reviews

    7zmarc

    Low budget but effectively creepy

    This is a low budget thriller about a bizarre family: a woman and her two grown daughters who are raising ?Baby,? a fully grown man in diapers. Supposedly he's mentally retarded, but a social worker who visits has her doubts. She starts to investigate the family. The film delivers some surprisingly good performances: the looks exchanged between the mom and her daughters and the social worker are terrific, and reveal a lot of creepy subtext. You begin to wonder about the motivations of everyone involved. The ending is a nice little twist that's unexpected and worth the wait. This not high caliber art, but it is fun, and delightfully twisted.
    8coldwaterpdh

    Bizarre to say the least.

    I went into this one totally blind- I was actually expecting a cheeseball, low budget ripoff of "Rosemary's Baby." Boy was I mistaken.

    This movie is totally strange and uniquely disturbing; and I mean that in a good way. The image of the baby playing ball and trying to stand up will be forever burned into my psyche. The day after viewing, I found myself thinking of his awkward movements and his upsetting cries.

    Nice little twist at the end- not on the level of some flicks today. but hey for '73, it definitely impressed me.

    Recommended for fans of early John Waters, 70's TV horror movies, etc. Would make a good double feature with "Bad Boy Bubby." 8 out of 10, kids.
    7rwint

    Bizarre Enough to Hold Your Attention

    Bizarre, truly twisted tale of a mother who keeps her grown son in a perpetual infant state. Conflict arises when a social worker tries to intervene. Very low budget and flatly photographed yet it's offbeat enough to keep you going all the way to it's twist ending. There are not too many roles requiring grown men to wear diapers, sleep in a crib, and cry, but if there were Manzy would most certainly win the award. Hill and Zenor, as the two daughters, are sexy enough to create some diversion. Roman and Comer make good adversaries, which they play to the hilt!!
    7jamiemiller-07611

    Scuzzy and Darkly Funny

    A social worker gets her most insane case to date when she checks in on a 20-something boy who's being kept to live like a baby by his insane mother and abusive sisters. It's the kind of movie that you can't imagine ever got made in the first place, but the sleaze is offset by the sense of humor and campy performances.
    acky

    Morbid, perverse and fascinating

    This is a bizarre piece of southern gothic. It's a movie full of bright primary colors and very over-the-top performances. I can't really figure out what it's really about but it's fascinating, morbid, perverse and has one of the most shocking twists at the end of it.

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby (1968)
    Horror
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The re-mastered edition of the audio track is not the original track from the film. The original track contained the actual sounds made by David Mooney during the filming. The baby sounds came from his performance and not canned baby sounds. The original track must have been lost and later baby sounds were added.
    • Goofs
      When Ann Gentry plays with baby, she gives the baby a plush lion but says it is a tiger.
    • Quotes

      Ann Gentry: What about the family income?

      Mrs. Wadsworth: Just what the county gives us for Baby.

      Ann Gentry: Your daughters, are they employed?

      Mrs. Wadsworth: Are my daughters... no, they help out the best they can, but it doesn't come to too much. Alba gives tennis lessons in the afternoon and Jermaine...

      Germaine Wadsworth: Once in a while I do a TV commercial.

      Mrs. Wadsworth: Sometimes I don't know how we make ends meet, but we always seem to manage.

      Ann Gentry: Isn't there any money from your husband's pension? Or his social security?

      Mrs. Wadsworth: Why no, how could there be?

      Germaine Wadsworth: [laughs] She thinks he's dead.

      Mrs. Wadsworth: [laughs] That man didn't die.

      Germaine Wadsworth: No such luck.

      Mrs. Wadsworth: It happened just before Baby was born. When I needed him most, he ran off and left us. But then all that's in the record.

      Ann Gentry: Oh I'm sure it is.

      Mrs. Wadsworth: My husband was a very weak man, Mrs. Gentry.

      Germaine Wadsworth: No character.

      Mrs. Wadsworth: None at all.

      Ann Gentry: And you've had no contact with him since he left?

      Mrs. Wadsworth: As far as I'm concerned, he might as WELL be dead.

    • Connections
      Featured in Elvira's Movie Macabre: The Baby (1982)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 1973 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Severin Films (United States)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Baby Dehşet Çocuğu
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles County, California, USA(Location)
    • Production company
      • Quintet Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $200,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 24m(84 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

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