Boneca Amorosa

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.

Even at only 15 years old, Linda Hayden ably illustrated her skills as an actress in 'Baby love.' Luci is roundly conniving and manipulative - and troubled - and Hayden possesses the poise, nuance, and intensity to portray her most ably, but also the capable range to reflect the character's garbled emotional state. This is hardly to count out her costars, though, particularly Ann Lynn and Keith Barron - steady and believable as adoptive parents Amy and Robert, responding to the turmoil of Luci's coming with their own strong feelings.

The movie is by all means a portrait of Luci, with her compartmentalized vulnerabilities and deviousness. But to the same extent it's a depiction of the widening fractures her behavior exposes and deepens in the Quayle's - and the iniquities she brings out in all those around her. There is definite plot, tracing the progression of the tumult, yet the way the film is structured quite centers Luci as more than just a character. In the same way that, for example, Michael Myers in the 'Halloween' franchise comes across as a brutal force of nature, Luci seems to be the unfettered embodiment of discord, bringing strife with her wherever she goes. And even still, Luci is only human - struggling with the trauma she has experienced, and the unwelcome overtures from those she unwittingly summons to her, set against the willfulness she represents. Though never fully engaging, it's a tack that certainly kept my attention.

On the other hand - that's the movie we get, but even without being familiar with the novel of the same name by Tina Chad Christian, I kind of get the impression that this wasn't necessarily the intention of the screenplay. Luci, in the film, also somewhat reflects a diluted interpretation of the vamp archetype, seen in her carefree flirtations amidst a disordered mentality that sows still greater chaos. But the narrative and scene writing never truly brings this aspect of the character to fruition, and with this notion lodged in our minds, the entertainment factor is weakened with a hodgepodge of half-realized tableaus. I'm of the mind that if one approaches 'Baby love' with the expectation borne out in common synopses, of a young seductress rending a family atwain, you're primed for disappointment. Why, given the varied ways that characters respond to Luci over time, the loftier assessment is the one that makes the movie work, and in general, only in broadening one's horizons to encompass a more esoteric reading does the movie become more engrossing, and satisfying.

With all that said, I think 'Baby love' is an imperfect happy accident. We've all seen movies that were so regrettably untidy in their execution that their purpose is subverted, becoming a delightful outright comedy instead of a drama or serious thriller. 'Baby love' also suffers a similar difficulty, except instead of totally upending the picture as we see it, the perspective is simply altered, like a different filter used in capturing an image. The writing isn't strong enough to cement the cinematic telling of a story, but in its faults it gives way to something even better. Other details in the feature are quite fine - I love the care given to wardrobe, hair, and makeup, and the filmmakers put together a solid soundtrack. Instances of camerawork emphasizing small details in a scene, or subtleties of a performance, are most appreciated. Again keeping in mind the dependence on one's analysis, I think scenes are put together quite well.

'Baby love' is a bit of an oddity. The suggested subject matter is lurid, and the story as written is direct. But the execution is a little less unseemly than we'd anticipate, and the plot becomes something more amorphous. There are a lot of points here that may be a turn-off for some viewers, including not least of all how rough it is around the edges - again, that I think the movie comes off well appears to be lucky happenstance. Of course it also goes without saying that there's a content warning for sexual content involving a minor. But the performances are great, and there's a lot of value here if you can pick up on the more illustrious overarching ideas that the incomplete writing fortuitously conjured in its wake. Recommended most of all for fans of Linda Hayden, one needn't necessarily go out of their way for 'Baby love,' but it's peculiarly enjoyable if you come across it.

Surprisingly good and whilst not a major work, a most interesting and involving film from that sunny 1968 with appropriately colourful and short skirts and dresses. Basically exploitation this is not, however, without thought but now is it steeped in moralising as the British film of the time tended to be. Indeed, although the plot here concerns the dropping of a highly sexed and vulnerable 15 year old into a well off family situation where the father once went out with the girl's mother it is dealt with in a refreshingly reasonable manner. Nevertheless there are various hints and incidents of rape and incest along the way as this goes from bad to bad but always with a smile. Not much smiling from Keith Barron who seems to not be enjoying his part here at all. For the rest it is a different story and Linda Hayden excels as the British Lolita with more than an eye for the men, and women. It is an impressive and nuanced performance and no wonder at all that she went on to further movies. It is also a credit to all involved that it was possible to get such a performance out of the youngster. Dick Emery just about controls himself in a small but exuberant role and overall this is a most watchable film very much of the moment that certainly could not be made today.

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.

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.