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Baby Love (1969 film)
Baby Love is a 1969 British drama film directed by Alastair Reid and starring Diana Dors, Linda Hayden, Keith Barron and Ann Lynn.[2] It was written by Reid, Guido Coen and Michael Klinger, based on the 1968 novel Baby Love by Tina Chad Christian. The film tells the story of a 15 year-old schoolgirl who seduces her adoptive family after her mother committed suicide. PlotLuci Thompson is a 15 year old school girl whose mother Liz, suffering from cancer, commits suicide. She goes to live with Robert Quayle, a childhood friend of Liz's, who is married to Amy and has a son, Nick. Luci’s arrival causes sexual and psychological tensions to surface, bringing the family close to destruction. Cast
ProductionThe film was based on the debut novel by Tina Chad Christian. Film rights were bought by producer Michael Klinger, who had just left Compton, a production company he had run with Tony Tenser. Baby Love would be his first movie as an independent producer. The first director attached was Henri Safran. Linda Hayden was cast after an extensive talent search.[1] She was only fifteen years old and had to do her screen test topless.[3] Safran was fired by Klinger and replaced by Alistair Reid. Linda Hayden said "Michael got rid of him because I don’t think he didn’t like what he saw, or something, but ...er... it was just that little bits of it were a bit tacky."[3] Most of the finance came from Star Cinemas in the UK. Klinger sold the film to Joseph Levine of Anglo-Embassy for over $1 million.[1] Hayden later said the film was "one of those projects that could so easily have gone wrong. It could have been a bit sleazy. Alastair made the film more grounded, so it wasn’t just done for sensationalism."[4] Hayden recalled Diana Dors "hadn’t had a resurgence then; she was still yesterday’s news. And then suddenly, as the film came out, she had a resurgence. She was terrific. They did use her name quite a lot to hang the film on and it certainly paid off. She was quite a coup, and a smashing lady. I loved her. Her character casts a long shadow over the film. It needed somebody like that to do it."[4] The film helped revive her career.[5] ReceptionBox OfficeThe film was the 11th most watched movie of the year in the UK in 1969.[6] The film took over half a million dollars in both the North America and the UK, and over $300,000 in other territories.[1] Critical receptionThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote:
Howard Thompson of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, praising the technical brilliance and writing: "Ugly as it is in flavor and content, the picture is a genuine pint-sized spellbinder in construction, mood and mounting tension."[8] References
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