Appearance
Baby Doll
Directed by Elia Kazan and written by Tennessee Williams, Baby Doll (1956) is a controversial black comedy and Southern Gothic drama. The plot centers on a feud between two rival cotton gin owners in rural Mississippi. Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) is frustrated by his unconsummated marriage to his 19-year-old "child bride," Baby Doll (Carroll Baker), who sleeps in a crib and sucks her thumb.
When Archie Lee burns down the cotton gin of his successful rival, Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach), Vacarro retaliates by attempting to seduce Baby Doll to force a confession of her husband's guilt. The film caused a massive scandal upon release due to its sexual themes and was famously condemned by the Catholic National Legion of Decency.
Locations
Elia Kazan insisted on filming on location in the South to capture an authentic atmosphere of decay and heat.
Burrus House in Benoit, Mississippi
The crumbling antebellum mansion known as "Fox Tail" in the film is the real-life J.C. Burrus house, built in 1848. At the time of filming, the house was in a state of extreme neglect, which perfectly suited the film's aesthetic. It has since been fully restored as a private home. Map Location
Greenville, Mississippi
Various street scenes and local interiors were filmed in the nearby city of Greenville. Kazan used many local residents as extras and bit players to ground the film in the reality of the Mississippi Delta. Map Location
New York City
While the majority of the film captures the rural South, some additional interiors and post-production work were completed in New York City, where the principal cast members were alumni of the famous Actors Studio. Map Location
Director
Elia Kazan
Cast
Carroll Baker
Karl Malden
Eli Wallach
IMDB
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