Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Social worker Anjanette Comer (as Ann Gentry) has a new case. She is to oversee government assistance going to the weird "Wadsworth" family. The client receiving checks is a young adult man called "Baby" (played by David Mooney aka David Manzy). Baby is well-named as he has remained intellectually a baby for 20-some-odd years. Baby's mother is deep-voiced Ruth Roman. She has two sexy grown-up daughters who have aged normally – relatively speaking... Meeting Baby on a "routine" visit isn't enough for Ms. Comer. She becomes unusually attached to Baby and begins visiting him frequently. Her boss worries about the time Comer spends with Baby and thinks about changing his social worker. Comer responds by telling him she has some suspicions about the case and begins investigating. Presumably, Comer suspects the wacky Wadsworth family has kept Baby infantile on purpose...This is a very strange film. The adult Baby wears diapers and speaks in genuine baby gibberish. He is so strange you're wondering what went wrong and where the story is headed. It sure fooled me. The other characters are interesting, too. Filmmakers and director Ted Post give it a naughty Gothic TV Movie atmosphere that works like a charm.******* The Baby (3/73) Ted Post ~ Anjanette Comer, Ruth Roman, David Mooney, Marianna Hill

At First this one seems like a Grindhouse Perversion Exploitation Oddity Marketed for the Raincoat Crowd and Sexual Deviants who Haunted Grimy, Sticky-Floored Theatres in an Era of Anything Goes Cinema.But it is Decidedly Not that. On Further Examination it is a Professionally done, well Acted, Sincere Film with an Honest Social-Commentary Concern. Yes, it has a Horror-Movie Ending and is Disturbing Beyond Anything Explainable. There are a Few Scenes that are Certainly Socially Unacceptable and have Hidden Sexual Fantasy Quirks that are not Discussed Openly, but these are done as Tasteful as Possible. The Heart of the Film is Shining a Light on Family Abuse and Regard for the Handicapped.It is a Film not Easily Forgotten and one that is so Politically Incorrect it would Never even be Hinted at Today as Filmable. It can be Embarrassing to Watch on Occasion but not Completely without Merit and it is so Well Done that it Rises Above the Cheap Soft-Porn Gimmickry so Prevalent in its Day.Approach with Caution and be Warned that there may be Things here that Almost Cross the Line into Indecency, but it Never Goes There and in the End it is a Different Distraction and Stands Apart from just about Anything that was Attempted in an Age when just about Everything was.

The Baby (1973) * 1/2 (out of 4) THE BABY certainly lives up to its reputation as being one of the weirdest films to come out of the horror genre during this decade. Social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer) comes to the home Mrs. Wadsworth (Ruth Roman), her two daughters and the "baby" of the family who just happens to be a grown adult still wearing diapers and acting like a baby. The social worker senses something is quite right so she tries to get to the bottom of it. You know, I can completely understand the appeal of this movie to some because there's no question that it ranks right up there with some of the strangest movies that the decade had to offer. With that said, just because it's weird doesn't mean its any good and sadly this film was pretty pathetic. I say that because the story itself is just too far-fetched to ever work and the majority of the running time I was simply laughing at everything that was going on. I mean, not for a single second did I believe the situation and there's certainly no way to keep a straight face when you see an adult crawling around like a baby. Some of the funniest scenes, I think, were meant to be dark and serious. One example is when mommy catches her baby sucking on the breast of his babysitter who ends up getting a major beating. Another such example happens during the twist at the end but I won't spoil this for people. I actually thought both Comer and Roman were good in their parts as were Marianna Hill and Susanne Zenor as the daughters. David Mooney plays "Baby" and is pretty good in the part as well. THE BABY is still a must see simply because of how weird it in but in the end it really doesn't pay off.

The Baby is a fairly audacious exploitation movie covering one of the more obscure areas of sexual fetishism. That is to say male infantilism. It is not particularly pornographic but is certainly designed to appeal to the fantasies of the fem-dom enthusiast. The production qualities are high enough to take it out of the schlocky, Ed-Wood, B-movie genre. But the overall feel is of a sad, lonely man in a raincoat, thumbing his way through the pages of a paperback in a Soho basement.If we accept that then we can celebrate this curious little film for it's triumph. It has managed to transcend the limitations of bourgeois taste and provokes us into a new paradigm. If it had been directed by Peter Greenaway it would have been showered with awards. God rot it!!