Baby Love

After her impoverished, cancer-ridden mother (Diana Dors) commits suicide, schoolgirl Luci (Linda Hayden) is adopted by her mother's ex-lover Robert (Keith Barron), now a wealthy, married doctor living the high-life in London. Once in her new home, the deeply-disturbed girl gradually spirals out of control, teasing teenage son Nick (Derek Lamden), flirting with sleazy family friend Harry (comedian Dick Emery), allowing herself to get felt up in a cinema, taunting local lads by the river (and risking being raped for her trouble), whilst driving a wedge between her adoptive parents by awakening latent lesbian urges in her new mother! Phew!

I found out about Baby Love while searching for films starring my favourite Hammer horror babe, the lovely Linda Hayden, and, boy, is it an eye-opener, the film undoubtedly exploiting the 15-year-old actress's burgeoning sexuality for all its worth, even having her stripping off for the part. But Baby Love is so much more than an opportunity to ogle jail-bait Linda in the altogether: part kitchen-sink drama, part psychological study, it's a skilfully told and ultimately tragic tale of an emotionally damaged, self-destructive soul who, due to her troubled upbringing, is unable to relate to kindness, instead exerting control the only way she knows how—through seduction; in doing so, she tears apart the already fractured lives of those who have tried to help her.

Made in the late 60s, when movies deliberately challenged the establishment, Baby Love is about as subversive as it gets—a controversial piece of film-making that dares to push the boundaries in all directions, while deliberately making the audience feel just a little uneasy about what they are watching. As such, I found it extremely compelling viewing, and highly recommend it to fans of intelligent, provocative drama, as well as to those who find the idea of Linda Hayden as a naughty nymphet simply too tempting to resist.

7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Essentially this is the British version of LOLITA, and just as moderately shocking as it must have been upon first release. I've always been a fan of Linda Hayden for her work in the horror field and she's every bit as good here, really investing her character with a sympathy that exists even in devilish turns like her one in BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW. The film explores burgeoning teenage sexuality in a stark and sometimes provocative way, also looking at trauma, marriage and lust at times; the focus on characte relationships is what makes it engrossing. It's well acted and well shot too. Seen today it's a fitting portrait of the predatory nature of the era.

Most of the films about "Swinging London' celebrated the joys and colors of the time. "Baby Love", while it was made during the heyday of "Swinging London", deals with the story of an adolescent girl called Luci, and London serves just a background for Luci and the other characters around her. The characters and their environment are portrayed with a documentary feel - they are shown in a realistic way.

Luci, one day, on returning home, finds her mother dead. A great shock! For Luci there are not many choices. Her future looms black. But her mother, before killing herself, had sent a letter to a doctor who in the past had been her lover, and where she asks him to take care of her daughter Luci. The doctor is now a married man with wife, son and maid - in short, a well-off family.

The doctor brings Luci (Linda Hayden, who was only 15 at the time) to his home. At first she seems just a bewildered, shy girl, but it won't take long till they discover other sides of Luci's personality.

Luci needs love and protection, and for her, love and sex are not very apart. She is manipulative (but not consciously so), yet she acts by instinct - she's a bundle of contradictions, a very complex character. She'll use her powers of seduction on all members of the family, everything is turned upside down and masks fall.

In some ways, "Baby Love" reminded me of "Teorema" by Pasolini, but while "Teorema" is a mystical-political parable, "Baby Love" has her feet on the ground.

The creativity linked to reality, the freedom of the camera, Luci's sensuality/sexuality (there are even some bits of nudity), the nonjudgemental way of showing the characters, make "Baby Love" a very interesting film. It's a pity though that (as far as I know) the only available copies have soft (a bit washed out) colors. Anyway the film is very watchable. Well worth checking out.

Luci, she is a slutty 15 year old English schoolgirl who comes home one day from school to find her Mum as dead as a door knob in the tub. You see her Mum has cut her wrists. Fortunately for Luci, her Mum's childhood friend is now a very successful upper-middle class doctor who has decided to take Luci home to his family (on a trial basis). And the seduction begins.

It's a very slow and boring movie, but apparently some reviewers really get off on seeing an underage girl involved in these shenanigans. -- including stripping. I don't.

I watched this mostly because I wanted to see Diana Dors who oddly is in the film for 2 seconds and has no lines!

The underage girl went on to doing some Hammer horror movies and sex romp films.

If you saw Pretty Poison, you know the plot of this movie. They are roughly the same film, only Dew Barrymore isn't as attractive.

Frankly, I would have rather seen Taste the Blood of Dracula than this one.

Would you believe that this very old movie, with little known stars (well, even back then, I suppose) has actually stood the test of time?

Okay, towards the end, it shoots itself in the foot when the movie turns violent. But aside from that...

I'm always on the look for controversial movies and when I read about this one, I was immediately intrigued. With something so old and with such an unknown cast and, on top of it, dealing with such a subject matter, I didn't even expect it to have been released on DVD, much less find it on my seller site, but I did.

First off, let me just voice an objection. The current (2017) summary here on INDb was written by somebody (anonymous) who doesn't like the movie, and that particular style is fine (and entertaining enough) for a review, but absolutely unsuitable for a summary. To each their own, if they don't like a movie, they don't have to be nice, but summaries should be factual and impartial.

The movie doesn't deserve to be derided. As for the deeply human characters, I have enjoyed watching, I was pleasantly surprised, it is a good movie. Yes, I'm into pretty actresses, we all know The Raven, but besides the obvious points of interest for me, it was surprisingly well done. The movie is almost fifty years old and I knew I was taking a big chance when I bought it sight unseen.

I'm glad I did.

Diana Dors is just way off-putting as the choice for Luci's Mom, and here's something else: Somebody who already knows pain (cancer) would choose being scalded by boiling water while bleeding to death because of razor slices as method of suicide? I think that nasty start should have been replaced with something more "sedate" like sleeping pills or so. That was just to shock! And the movie doesn't need it.

Anyway, loved Linda Hayden and appreciate her fine performance. I do appreciate that she is the real thing, only fifteen years old, imagine this being done today!!! Good choice with mature female lead Ann Lynn as well.