Thumb Tokes

The movie came out in 1956, but I must admit that the opening shots of "Baby Doll" are still shocking. The most well-known image is of Carroll Baker, who plays a child bride to Karl Malden, asleep in a crib sucking her thumb. This image isn't too shocking; it's the closeup that should earn this flick its controversial label. A sleepy Baker takes a few sucks off her thumb. Wow. The most surprising thing about this film, which was directd by Elia Kazan from a Tennessee Williams screenplay, is that it's really funny. Almost all the scenes with a sexually pent-up Malden are hilarious. Oddest casting choice: Eli Wallach as a suave Italian businessman. (Image via HarlowGold)