THE BABY

David Mooney (Manzy) and Ruth Roman

THE BABY (1973). Director: Ted Post.

Social worker Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer) is a widow who lives with her mother-in-law, Judith (Beatrice Manley). She asks to be assigned to the case of the Wadsworth family, who live in a big rundown house and live off the money given them by the state for the care of a member they call "Baby." Although he has the mind of an infant and sleeps in a crib, Baby (David Mooney/Manzy) is actually a grown man. Ann comes to believe that his problem isn't true retardation, but that for some reason his mother (Ruth Roman) is holding him back developmentally. In the meantime Baby is poked with an electric prod by his sadistic sister Alba (Suzanne Zenor); his other sister Germaine (Marianna Hill of The Astral Factor) takes off her clothes and climbs into the crib with him; and in an even more tasteless scene -- if that were possible --  his babysitter abuses him. But as awful as the Wadsworths may be, is it possible that Ann Gentry is even worse and has her own plans for Baby ...? The Baby is well-acted, especially by Mooney, but it is so exploitative of the mentally ill that it's rather hard to take at times. The movie gets points for originality, but little else. Even the plot twists are pretty sick. This is the kind of movie that does no one's career any good. Tod Andrews, who plays a doctor, was the star of From Hell It Came.

Verdict: Too repellent to be entertaining. For a more sensitive look at the mentally-challenged see A Child is Waiting. **.

I WAS FRAMED

I WAS FRAMED (1942). Director: D. Ross Lederman.

Ken Marshall (Tod Andrews) is a newspaper reporter out to get the goods on a corrupt politician when the object of his scrutiny neatly frames him for a murder. Marshall is sent up the river, but manages to escape by using an idea formulated by his cellmate (John Harmon). Circumstances dictate that the cellmate has to be left behind, but later when Marshall and his wife (Julie Bishop) and baby are established in a small town under assumed names, the cellmate shows up with blackmail in mind. There's a small town doctor (Aldrich Bowker) who's so kind and wise and warm that you figure he must have ulterior motives, but in this kind of simplistic movie he doesn't. The little Marshall girl, Penny, is played by the precocious Patty Hale, an undeniably talented child actress who nevertheless borders on the cloying. Pleasant, simple-minded pap with a pleasant, competent cast. Holds the attention if you're in a charitable frame of mind. Andrews also appeared in Outrage and From Hell It Came. Sam McDaniel scores as Uncle Kit, who does a number with Patty. It's all wrapped up very neatly -- too neatly.

Verdict: Eminently forgettable. **.

OUTRAGE (1950)

OUTRAGE (1950). Director: Ida Lupino.

Ann Walton (Mala Powers) is a happy young women who has just been proposed to by Jim Owens (Robert Clarke), the man she's in love with. She's looking forward to a happy future when her future is compromised by a run-in with a rapist who assaults her. The first half of Outrage realistically details the effects of rape on a young woman, as Ann withdraws from her friends and family, shuns her fiance, and feels guilt and shame over an incident that was certainly not her fault. She eventually suffers a breakdown and runs off, coming under the protection of a kindly, attractive priest (Tod Andrews). But then the movie descends into melodrama, and Powers, frankly, isn't up to the challenges of the role. What could have been a powerful film is simply deadly dull. Lupino's direction isn't bad, but it doesn't do much to make the script, weak as it is, come alive. Robert Clarke, who appeared in several genre items in the fifties such as The Hideous Sun Demon, makes a nice impression as the boyfriend (Clarke did a lot of work on nighttime soaps during the 70's.) Powers appeared in Unknown Terror and Andrews was in From Hell it Came.

Verdict: Not memorable but deserves an A for effort, and for tackling a controversial theme. *1/2.

FROM HELL IT CAME

FROM HELL IT CAME (1957). Director: Dan Milner. 

Scientists are testing the effects of radiation on the testy natives of a south seas island when a young man is put to death for political reasons after being accused of poisoning his own father. Innocent, he vows to come back from the grave and get vengeance. Before long, a strange tree trunk starts growing out of the spot where the man was buried. This weird tree has a knife sticking out of its trunk somewhat corresponding to the spot where the man was stabbed in the chest by his executioner. Our scientists dig up the trunk, take it to their lab, and medicate it intravenously, bringing it back to life. No one ever comments on the fact that the tree has a face with two eyes and a snarling mouth. Before long the tree is walking around the island clumsily murdering the ones who did him wrong and others who cross his path. The ridiculous looking monster by Paul Blaisdell has some of the charm of his creation for It Conquered the World and might have been moderately scary if it had been brought to life with some decent special effects. The basic idea of walking into a forest unaware that one of the trees is mobile, homicidal, and sentient is creepy, but rarely exploited by this time-waster of a movie. Richard Bernstein's screenplay has a couple of clever ideas in it (the tree trunk has a heartbeat and bleeds green “blood”) as well as a few quirky characters, such as the allegedly cockney widow who runs the trading post and is looking for a new husband. Most of the actors are barely competent, however, and the picture has little if any thrills. It's endearingly dopey in its own way, but not necessarily a lot of fun. Still fifties creature-feature completists will want to own it and may get a kick out of one or two scenes. [Available on video and DVD from Sinister Cinema.] 

Verdict: Too weird for its own good. **.