Carroll Baker
Encyclopedia
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol
. Despite being cast in a wide range of roles during her heyday, Baker's beautiful features, blonde hair, and distinctive drawl made her particularly memorable in roles as a brash, flamboyant woman.
, the daughter of Virginia (née
Duffy) and William Watson Baker, who was a traveling salesman. She spent a year at community college, and subsequently worked as a magician's assistant.
. After appearing in television commercials and training at New York's Actors Studio
, she took a role in the Broadway
production of All Summer Long
. That appearance brought her to the attention of director Elia Kazan
, who cast Baker as the title character in his controversial Baby Doll
. Her Tennessee Williams
-scripted role as a Mississippi
teenage bride to a failed middle-aged cotton gin owner brought Baker instant fame as well as a certain level of notoriety. Baby Doll would remain the film for which she is best remembered; she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
for her role. Two months prior to Baby Doll's release, she appeared in the supporting role of Luz Benedict II in Giant, opposite Elizabeth Taylor
, Rock Hudson
and James Dean
.
She would go on to work steadily in films throughout the late fifties and early sixties, appearing in a variety of genres: romances, such as The Miracle
co-starring a young Roger Moore
and But Not for Me
(both 1959); westerns, including The Big Country
(1958) and How the West Was Won
(1962); and steamy melodramas, including Something Wild
(1961), directed by her then-husband Jack Garfein
, and Station Six-Sahara (1962). While Baker was on location in Africa
for the 1965 movie Mister Moses, an apocryphal story has it that a Maasai chief offered 150 cows, 200 goats, sheep, and $750 for her hand in marriage. She subsequently appeared with Maasai warriors on the cover of Life
s 1964 issue. In addition to her film acting, she also found time to appear again on Broadway, starring in the 1962 production of Garson Kanin
's Come on Strong.
Baker's portrayal of a Jean Harlow
-like movie star in the 1964 hit The Carpetbaggers
brought her a second wave of notoriety. The film was the top moneymaker of that year, with domestic box-office receipts of $
13,000,000 and marked the beginning of a tumultuous relationship with the film's producer, Joseph E. Levine
. Based on her Carpetbaggers performance, Levine began to develop Baker as a movie sex symbol, casting her in the title roles of two 1965 potboiler
s, Sylvia
and Harlow
. Despite much pre-publicity, the latter film was not a success, and relations between Baker and Levine soured.
Following a protracted legal battle with Paramount Pictures
and divorce from her second husband, Jack Garfein, Baker moved to Europe
. Eventually settling in Italy
, she would spend the next several years starring in hard-edged giallo
thrillers, including Her Harem (1967), The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968), Paranoia (1969), and Baba Yaga (1973). During those years, film locations would take her all around the world, including Spain
, Germany
, the United Kingdom
, and Mexico
. A lead role in Andy Warhol's Bad
(1977) brought her back to American shores. The seventies also saw a return to the stage, where she appeared in productions of Lucy Crown and Motive.
By the eighties, Baker moved into character work, playing the mother of Dorothy Stratten
in Star 80
(1983) and Jack Nicholson
's wife in Ironweed
(1987). In 1990, she played a villainess in the Arnold Schwarzenegger
film Kindergarten Cop
. Her film and television work continued sporadically through the nineties, and the 2006 DVD release of Baby Doll
features a documentary with Baker reflecting on the impact the film had on her career.
Baker has also been featured in documentaries on several of her co-stars, including Clark Gable
, Roger Moore
, Sal Mineo
, and James Dean
, including the 1975 James Dean: The First American Teenager, and a 1985 BBC Radio 2 tribute marking the 30th anniversary of the actor's death. Also she appeared in the documentary Cinerama Adventure released along with the restored How the West was Won in 2008.
Baker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1725 Vine Street. She has written three books: Baby Doll, An Autobiography, published in 1983, plus A Roman Tale and To Africa, With Love, both in 1985.
in 1954. Her second marriage was to director Jack Garfein
, a Holocaust survivor she met at the Studio and for whom she converted to Judaism
(having been raised a Catholic). They had one daughter, Blanche Baker
, born in 1956, and a son, Herschel Garfein
, born in 1958. Garfein and Baker divorced in 1969.
Baker married her third husband, British
theater actor Donald Burton
, on March 10, 1978. The couple remained together until Burton's death from emphysema
at their home in Cathedral City, California
, on December 8, 2007.
Sex symbol
A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, supermodel, teen idol, or sports star, noted for their sex appeal. The term was first used in the mid 1950s in relation to the popularity of certain Hollywood stars, especially Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte...
. Despite being cast in a wide range of roles during her heyday, Baker's beautiful features, blonde hair, and distinctive drawl made her particularly memorable in roles as a brash, flamboyant woman.
Early life
Baker was born in Johnstown, PennsylvaniaJohnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, the daughter of Virginia (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Duffy) and William Watson Baker, who was a traveling salesman. She spent a year at community college, and subsequently worked as a magician's assistant.
Career
Baker began her film career in 1953, with a small part in Easy to LoveEasy to Love (film)
Easy to Love is a 1953 musical film directed by Charles Walters. It stars Esther Williams and Van Johnson.-Cast:*Esther Williams as Julie Hallerton*Van Johnson as Ray Lloyd*Tony Martin as Barry Gordton*John Bromfield as Hank...
. After appearing in television commercials and training at New York's Actors Studio
Actors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
, she took a role in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of All Summer Long
All Summer Long
All Summer Long is the sixth studio album by The Beach Boys and their second in 1964. Recorded in the aftermath of the British Invasion, spearheaded by The Beatles, the album marked a major turning point in The Beach Boys' career, and in leader/prime songwriter Brian Wilson as an artist.All Summer...
. That appearance brought her to the attention of director Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
, who cast Baker as the title character in his controversial Baby Doll
Baby Doll
Baby Doll is a 1956 black comedy /drama film directed by Elia Kazan. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from his own one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton...
. Her Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
-scripted role as a Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
teenage bride to a failed middle-aged cotton gin owner brought Baker instant fame as well as a certain level of notoriety. Baby Doll would remain the film for which she is best remembered; she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for her role. Two months prior to Baby Doll's release, she appeared in the supporting role of Luz Benedict II in Giant, opposite Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
and James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
.
She would go on to work steadily in films throughout the late fifties and early sixties, appearing in a variety of genres: romances, such as The Miracle
The Miracle (1959 film)
The Miracle is a 1959 remake of a 1912 German film Das Mirakel directed by Cherry Kearton and Max Reinhardt which in turn was based on a 1911 pantomime play of the same name by Karl Vollmöller.-Production history and reception:...
co-starring a young Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
and But Not for Me
But Not for Me (film)
But Not for Me is a 1959 Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Clark Gable and Carroll Baker. It is based on the play Accent on Youth written by Samson Raphaelson.-Cast:*Clark Gable ... Russell 'Russ' Ward*Carroll Baker ... Ellie Brown / Borden...
(both 1959); westerns, including The Big Country
The Big Country
Meanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958) and How the West Was Won
How the West Was Won (film)
How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962); and steamy melodramas, including Something Wild
Something Wild (1961 film)
Something Wild was a 1961 independent film, starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker and directed by Jack Garfein, who was Baker's husband at the time....
(1961), directed by her then-husband Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein, born July 2, 1930 in Mukacevo, Carpathian Ruthenia, Czechoslovakia, now Mukacheve, Ukraine, is an acting teacher and former motion picture and theater director....
, and Station Six-Sahara (1962). While Baker was on location in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
for the 1965 movie Mister Moses, an apocryphal story has it that a Maasai chief offered 150 cows, 200 goats, sheep, and $750 for her hand in marriage. She subsequently appeared with Maasai warriors on the cover of Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
s 1964 issue. In addition to her film acting, she also found time to appear again on Broadway, starring in the 1962 production of Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.-Film and stage career:...
's Come on Strong.
Baker's portrayal of a Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
-like movie star in the 1964 hit The Carpetbaggers
The Carpetbaggers (film)
The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film based upon the best selling novel The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins.The film stars George Peppard as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes, and Alan Ladd as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith, played...
brought her a second wave of notoriety. The film was the top moneymaker of that year, with domestic box-office receipts of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
13,000,000 and marked the beginning of a tumultuous relationship with the film's producer, Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine was an American film producer.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as Hercules , The Carpetbaggers, Harlow, The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far and The Lion in Winter.Levine is famous...
. Based on her Carpetbaggers performance, Levine began to develop Baker as a movie sex symbol, casting her in the title roles of two 1965 potboiler
Potboiler
Potboiler or pot-boiler is a term used to describe a poor quality novel, play, opera, or film, or other creative work that was created quickly to make money to pay for the creator's daily expenses . Authors who create potboiler novels or screenplays are sometimes called hack writers...
s, Sylvia
Sylvia (1965 film)
Sylvia is a drama film directed by Gordon Douglas, written by Sydney Boehm and starring George Maharis, Carroll Baker and Peter Lawford.Released by Paramount Pictures, it was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Plot:...
and Harlow
Harlow (film)
Harlow is a biographical film about the life of film star Jean Harlow. It stars Carroll Baker in the title role. It was released in 1965 by Paramount Pictures, shortly after another film with the same title and subject...
. Despite much pre-publicity, the latter film was not a success, and relations between Baker and Levine soured.
Following a protracted legal battle with Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and divorce from her second husband, Jack Garfein, Baker moved to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Eventually settling in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, she would spend the next several years starring in hard-edged giallo
Giallo
Giallo is an Italian 20th century genre of literature and film, which in Italian indicates crime fiction and mystery. In the English language it refers to a genre similar to the French fantastique genre and includes elements of horror fiction and eroticism...
thrillers, including Her Harem (1967), The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968), Paranoia (1969), and Baba Yaga (1973). During those years, film locations would take her all around the world, including Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. A lead role in Andy Warhol's Bad
Andy Warhol's Bad
Andy Warhol's Bad is a 1977 comedy film, directed by Jed Johnson, starring Carroll Baker, Perry King and Susan Tyrrell. It was written by Pat Hackett and George Abagnalo, and produced by Andy Warhol....
(1977) brought her back to American shores. The seventies also saw a return to the stage, where she appeared in productions of Lucy Crown and Motive.
By the eighties, Baker moved into character work, playing the mother of Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten
Dorothy Stratten was a Canadian model and actress. Stratten was the Playboy Playmate of the Month for August 1979, Playmate of the Year in 1980 and was the second Playmate born in the 1960s. Stratten appeared in three comedy films and at least two episodes of shows broadcast on US network...
in Star 80
Star 80
Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider in 1980...
(1983) and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
's wife in Ironweed
Ironweed (film)
Ironweed is a 1987 film directed by Argentine-born Brazilian Héctor Babenco.The picture is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by William Kennedy and concerns the relationship of a homeless couple: Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman during the Great...
(1987). In 1990, she played a villainess in the Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
film Kindergarten Cop
Kindergarten Cop
Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp , before Crisp can get to his...
. Her film and television work continued sporadically through the nineties, and the 2006 DVD release of Baby Doll
Baby Doll
Baby Doll is a 1956 black comedy /drama film directed by Elia Kazan. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from his own one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton...
features a documentary with Baker reflecting on the impact the film had on her career.
Baker has also been featured in documentaries on several of her co-stars, including Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Sal Mineo
Sal Mineo
Salvatore "Sal" Mineo, Jr. , was an American film and theatre actor, best known for his performance as John "Plato" Crawford opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause...
, and James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
, including the 1975 James Dean: The First American Teenager, and a 1985 BBC Radio 2 tribute marking the 30th anniversary of the actor's death. Also she appeared in the documentary Cinerama Adventure released along with the restored How the West was Won in 2008.
Baker has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1725 Vine Street. She has written three books: Baby Doll, An Autobiography, published in 1983, plus A Roman Tale and To Africa, With Love, both in 1985.
Personal life
Baker has been married three times. Her first, to furrier Louie Ritter, ended before she enrolled in the Actors StudioActors Studio
The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street in the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded October 5, 1947, by Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford, Robert Lewis and Anna Sokolow who provided...
in 1954. Her second marriage was to director Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein
Jack Garfein, born July 2, 1930 in Mukacevo, Carpathian Ruthenia, Czechoslovakia, now Mukacheve, Ukraine, is an acting teacher and former motion picture and theater director....
, a Holocaust survivor she met at the Studio and for whom she converted to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism
Conversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
(having been raised a Catholic). They had one daughter, Blanche Baker
Blanche Baker
-Personal life:Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress Carroll Baker and director Jack Garfein. She attended Wellesley College from 1974 until 1976.-Career:...
, born in 1956, and a son, Herschel Garfein
Herschel Garfein
Herschel Garfein is an American composer, librettist, stage director, and faculty member of the Steinhardt School of Music at New York University. He is widely known for his work on Robert Aldridge's Elmer Gantry. In his compositions for the musical Suenos he found an inspiration in Hispanic...
, born in 1958. Garfein and Baker divorced in 1969.
Baker married her third husband, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
theater actor Donald Burton
Donald Burton
Donald Burton was an English theatre and television actor. Burton was the husband of actress Carroll Baker....
, on March 10, 1978. The couple remained together until Burton's death from emphysema
Emphysema
Emphysema is a long-term, progressive disease of the lungs that primarily causes shortness of breath. In people with emphysema, the tissues necessary to support the physical shape and function of the lungs are destroyed. It is included in a group of diseases called chronic obstructive pulmonary...
at their home in Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 51,200 at the 2010 census. Sandwiched between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley of southern California...
, on December 8, 2007.
Features
- Easy to LoveEasy to Love (film)Easy to Love is a 1953 musical film directed by Charles Walters. It stars Esther Williams and Van Johnson.-Cast:*Esther Williams as Julie Hallerton*Van Johnson as Ray Lloyd*Tony Martin as Barry Gordton*John Bromfield as Hank...
(1953) - Giant (1956)
- Baby DollBaby DollBaby Doll is a 1956 black comedy /drama film directed by Elia Kazan. It was produced by Kazan and Tennessee Williams, and adapted by Williams from his own one-act play 27 Wagons Full of Cotton...
(1956) - The Big CountryThe Big CountryMeanwhile, Terrill insists on riding into the canyon. Initially, Leech refuses to accompany him, and the other men follow his lead. However, after Terrill rides out alone, Leech catches up with him. The remaining hands again align themselves with Leech by following. The group soon rides into a trap...
(1958) - But Not for MeBut Not for Me (film)But Not for Me is a 1959 Paramount Pictures comedy film starring Clark Gable and Carroll Baker. It is based on the play Accent on Youth written by Samson Raphaelson.-Cast:*Clark Gable ... Russell 'Russ' Ward*Carroll Baker ... Ellie Brown / Borden...
(1959) - The MiracleThe Miracle (1959 film)The Miracle is a 1959 remake of a 1912 German film Das Mirakel directed by Cherry Kearton and Max Reinhardt which in turn was based on a 1911 pantomime play of the same name by Karl Vollmöller.-Production history and reception:...
(1959) - Bridge to the SunBridge to the SunBridge to the Sun is a 1961 film, directed by Etienne Périer, starring Carroll Baker, James Shigeta, James Yagi and Tetzuro Tamba. It is based on the 1957 autobiography Bridge To The Sun by Gwendolen Terasaki, which detailed events in Gwen's life and marriage.The memoir narrates the life of Gwen...
(1961) - Something WildSomething Wild (1961 film)Something Wild was a 1961 independent film, starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker and directed by Jack Garfein, who was Baker's husband at the time....
(1961) - How the West Was WonHow the West Was Won (film)How the West Was Won is a 1962 American epic Western film. The picture was one of the last "old-fashioned" epic films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to enjoy great success. It follows four generations of a family as they move ever westward, from western New York state to the Pacific Ocean...
(1962) - Station Six-Sahara (1962)
- The CarpetbaggersThe Carpetbaggers (film)The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film based upon the best selling novel The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins.The film stars George Peppard as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes, and Alan Ladd as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith, played...
(1964) - Cheyenne AutumnCheyenne AutumnCheyenne Autumn is a 1964 western starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. Regarded as an epic film it tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878-9, although it is told in 'Hollywood style' using a great degree of artistic license...
(1964) - SylviaSylvia (1965 film)Sylvia is a drama film directed by Gordon Douglas, written by Sydney Boehm and starring George Maharis, Carroll Baker and Peter Lawford.Released by Paramount Pictures, it was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-Plot:...
(1965) - The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever Told is a 1965 American epic film produced and directed by George Stevens and distributed by United Artists. It is a retelling of the story of Jesus Christ, from the Nativity through the Resurrection. This film is notable for its large ensemble cast and for being the last...
(1965) - Mister MosesMister MosesMister Moses is an adventure film about a conman blackmailed into persuading an entire African village into relocating for their own safety. It stars Robert Mitchum and Carroll Baker. It was based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto...
(1965) - Harlow (1965)
- Her Harem (1967)
- Jack of DiamondsJack of Diamonds (1967 film)Jack of Diamonds is a 1967 film directed by Don Taylor filmed in Germany that was released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars George Hamilton in the lead role of an international cat burglar and jewel thief....
(1968) - The Sweet Body of Deborah (1968)
- ParanoiaOrgasmoOrgasmo is a 1969 movie starring Carroll Baker and Lou Castel, and directed by Umberto Lenzi. The movie casts Baker as an American heiress who moves to Italy and befriends a young man and his girlfriend, only to discover that they are not what they seem....
(1969) - So Sweet... So Perverse (1969)
- A Quiet Place to Kill (1970)
- The Fourth Mrs. Anderson (1971)
- Captain Apache (1971)
- The Devil Has Seven Faces (1971)
- Silent Horror (1972)
- Baba Yaga (1973)
- The Flower with the Deadly Sting (1974)
- The Body (1974)
- Valentina, The Virgin Wife (1975)
- Private Lessons (1975)
- As of Tomorrow (1976)
- My Father's Wife (1976)
- Bait (1976)
- Andy Warhol's BadAndy Warhol's BadAndy Warhol's Bad is a 1977 comedy film, directed by Jed Johnson, starring Carroll Baker, Perry King and Susan Tyrrell. It was written by Pat Hackett and George Abagnalo, and produced by Andy Warhol....
(1977) - Cyclone (1978)
- The World Is Full of Married MenThe World Is Full of Married MenThe World Is Full of Married Men is the debut novel of British author Jackie Collins, first published in 1968 by W. H. Allen.-Plot summary:...
(1979) - The Sky Is FallingThe Sky Is Falling (Bloodbath)The Sky Is Falling, also known as Bloodbath and Las Flores Del Vicio, is a 1979 film directed by Silvio Narizzano and written by Gonzalo Suarez...
(1979) - The Watcher in the WoodsThe Watcher in the WoodsThe Watcher in the Woods is a 1980 American-British mystery and horror film from Buena Vista Distribution Company. Based on the 1976 novel by Florence Engel Randall, it is a live action movie that, though predominantly a family oriented work, also contains elements of the mystery, thriller, horror,...
(1980) - Star 80Star 80Star 80 is a 1983 American film about the true story of Playboy Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her estranged husband Paul Snider in 1980...
(1983) - Red MonarchRed MonarchRed Monarch is a 1983 British TV film starring Colin Blakely as Joseph Stalin. It is directed by Jack Gold and features David Suchet as Lavrentiy Beria and David Threlfall as Stalin's son Vasily....
(1983) - The Secret Diary of Sigmund FreudThe Secret Diary of Sigmund FreudThe Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud is a 1984 comedy film directed by Danford B. Greene and starring Bud Cort.-Cast:* Bud Cort - Sigmund Freud* Carol Kane - Martha Bernays* Klaus Kinski - Dr. Max Bauer* Marisa Berenson - Emma Herrmann...
(1984) - Native SonNative SonNative Son is a novel by American author Richard Wright. The novel tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, an African American living in utter poverty. Bigger lived in Chicago's South Side ghetto in the 1930s...
(1986) - IronweedIronweed (film)Ironweed is a 1987 film directed by Argentine-born Brazilian Héctor Babenco.The picture is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by William Kennedy and concerns the relationship of a homeless couple: Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman during the Great...
(1987) - Kindergarten CopKindergarten CopKindergarten Cop is a 1990 American comedy thriller film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective, who must go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch drug dealer Cullen Crisp , before Crisp can get to his...
(1990) - Blonde FistBlonde FistBlonde Fist , is a 1991 film starring Margi Clarke as the protagonist Ronnie O'Dowd, who finds female boxing as an alternative to her domestic problems....
(1991) - Gipsy Angel (1992)
- Jackpot (1992)
- Deadly Measures (1995)
- Just Your Luck (1996)
- The GameThe Game (film)The Game is a 1997 neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, and produced by Polygram. It tells the story of an investment banker who is given a mysterious gift: participation in a game that integrates in strange ways with his life...
(1997) - Nowhere to Go (1998)
- Cinerama AdventureCinerama AdventureCinerama Adventure is a 2002 documentary about the history of the Cinerama widescreen film process. To simulate the Cinerama experience for The Cinerama Adventure, a special three-panel telecine process termed SmileBox Cinerama Adventure is a 2002 documentary about the history of the Cinerama...
(2002) (documentary)