The Baby (1973)

A social worker (Anjanette Comer) is obsessed with one of her cases. A 21 year old man (David Mooney) who still behaves like an infant. This is encouraged by his hard bitten mother (Ruth Roman) who wants the money for "baby" that she gets from welfare. But the social worker just might have her own reasons for wanting to "help" the mentally challenged young man. Directed by Ted Post (MAGNUM FORCE), this is a hard film to categorize. Is it a horror movie? A thriller? A psychological suspense film? A black comedy? Whatever it is, I found this cult film rather silly. I dislike films where adults act like children (Ginger Rogers anyone?) and Mooney's baby act isn't convincing for a second. You never get the feeling he's a mentally challenged young adult, just an actor giving a bad baby impression (he's dubbed with real baby "sounds"). I think it's cult status derives from its kinky narrative and camp value. Other than Ruth Roman's good performance as the tough as nails mother, I found the whole enterprise more sick than fun. There's a good underscore by Gerald Fried (THE KILLING). With Marianna Hill, Suzanne Zenor and Tod Andrews.