''The Bad Seed'' is a 1956 American

psychological thriller film Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and ...

, directed by

Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy (; October 15, 1900 – September 13, 1987) was an American film director and producer. In his youth he played juvenile roles in vaudeville and silent film comedies. During the 1930s, LeRoy was one of the two great practitioners of ...

and starring

Nancy Kelly Nancy Kelly (March 25, 1921 – January 2, 1995) was an American actress in film, theater and television. A child actress and model, she was a repertory cast member of CBS Radio's ''The March of Time'' and appeared in several films in the late 1 ...

Patty McCormack Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo in 1945) is an American actress with a career in theater, films, and television. McCormack began her career as a child actress. She is perhaps best known for her performance as Rhoda Penmark in Maxw ...

, Henry Jones, and

Eileen Heckart Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years. Early life Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), w ...

. The film is based upon the 1954 play of the same name by

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Background Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...

, which in turn is based upon

William March William March (September 18, 1893 – May 15, 1954) was an American writer of psychological fiction and a highly decorated United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine. The author of six novels and four short-story collections, March was praised by ...

's 1954 novel of the same name. The play was adapted by

John Lee Mahin John Lee Mahin (August 23, 1902, Evanston, Illinois – April 18, 1984, Los Angeles) was an American screenwriter and producer of films who was active in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was known as the favorite writer of Clark Gable a ...

for the screenplay of the film.

Plot

Kenneth and Christine Penmark dote on their eight-year-old daughter Rhoda. Kenneth leaves on military duty. Monica, the Penmarks' neighbor and landlady, visits. Rhoda, pristine and proper in her

pinafore dress A jumper or jumper dress (in American English), pinafore dress or informally pinafore or pinny (British English) is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt, T-shirt or sweater. Hemlines can be of different lengt ...

and blonde

pigtail A woman with long pigtails and braids. In the context of hairstyles, the usage of the term pigtail (or twin tail or twintail) shows considerable variation. The term may refer to a single braid, but is more frequently used in the plural ("pi ...

s, tells her about a

penmanship Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different implements. The various generic and formal hist ...

competition that she lost to her schoolmate, Claude Daigle. Rhoda then leaves for her school picnic at the lake. Christine is having lunch with friends when they hear a radio report that a child has drowned in the lake. The victim is the same Claude who had won the penmanship medal. Christine worries that her daughter might be traumatized, but Rhoda is unfazed by the incident and goes about her life. Rhoda's teacher, Miss Fern, visits Christine, revealing that Rhoda was the last person to see Claude alive and that she was seen grabbing at Claude's medal. She hints that Rhoda might have some connection to the boy's death and adds the girl will not be welcome at the school after the current term ends. Claude's parents barge in. Mrs. Daigle is distraught and drunk and accuses Rhoda's teacher of knowing something she is not telling. When Christine finds the medal in Rhoda's room, she demands an explanation. Rhoda lies that Claude let her have it. Christine's father visits. Haunted by confusing memories about her own childhood, Christine talks with him and he reveals that he is not her biological parent; she was adopted. Upset by this revelation, Christine is then horrified to learn that she is actually the daughter of a notorious

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. She worries that her origin is the cause of Rhoda's

sociopathy Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been ...

and that her behavior is genetic. Christine catches Rhoda trying to dispose of her

tap shoe Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perf ...

s in the household incinerator and realizes that Rhoda must have hit Claude with the shoes, which left odd crescent marks on his face that could not be identified. Alternately feigning tears and angrily blaming Claude, Rhoda admits that she killed the boy for his medal and confirms Christine's suspicion that, to acquire a keepsake, she had previously murdered an elderly neighbor when they lived in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

. Christine orders Rhoda to burn the shoes in the incinerator. The next day, the caretaker, Leroy, teasingly tells Rhoda that he believes she killed Claude. After Rhoda angrily tells him she burned her shoes, Leroy opens the incinerator and finds the remains. A drunk Mrs. Daigle returns and tells Christine that she believes Rhoda knows what happened to her son. Mr. Daigle calls and comes to pick up his wife. Realizing that Leroy knows she really did kill Claude, Rhoda sets his

excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...

bedding ablaze. After some men break open the basement hatch, Leroy runs into the yard aflame, ultimately burning to death. From the window, Christine and Monica see him die, which makes Christine hysterical. That night, a strangely calm Christine tells Rhoda that she dropped the medal into the lake, then gives her daughter a lethal dose of

sleeping pills Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

. She attempts to kill herself with a gunshot to the head. However, the gunshot alerts the neighbors and Rhoda and Christine are taken to the hospital. They both survive, although Christine is in a coma. Kenneth arrives and takes Rhoda home. At bedtime, Rhoda excitedly tells Kenneth that she will inherit Monica's pet

love bird Lovebird is the common name for the genus ''Agapornis'', a small group of parrots in the Old World parrot family Psittaculidae. Of the nine species in the genus, all are native to the African continent, with the grey-headed lovebird being native ...

. She also mentions that she and Monica plan to sunbathe on the roof soon. Christine regains consciousness and is expected to make a full recovery. She calls Kenneth and tells him that she must pay for her "dreadful sin" but Kenneth assures her that they will work on their problems together. Meanwhile Rhoda sneaks out during a rainstorm, determined to retrieve the medal from the bay. She uses a metal pole to probe the water. Suddenly a bolt of lightning strikes her, sending her into the water and to her death.

Cast

as Christine Penmark *

Rhoda Penmark Rhoda Penmark is a fictional character in William March's 1954 novel ''The Bad Seed'' and the stage play of the same name adapted from it by Maxwell Anderson. She is both the protagonist and antagonist of the story. Penmark is a child serial k ...

* Henry Jones as Leroy Jessup *

as Hortense Daigle *

Evelyn Varden Evelyn Varden (born Mae Evelyn Hall;"Girl Claims Oil La ...

as Monica Breedlove *

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor r ...

as Col. Kenneth Penmark *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career be ...

as Richard Bravo * Jesse White as Emory Wages *

Gage Clarke Gage Clarke (also credited as Gage Clark; March 3, 1900 – October 23, 1964) was an American stage, television, and film character actor."Gage Clarke, Actor, Dies", obituary, ''Los Angeles Times'', October 24, 1964, part 1, p. 16. ProQuest His ...

as Reginald 'Reggie' Tasker *

Joan Croydon Joan Croydon (May 15, 1908 – April 23, 1985) was an American stage actress. Early years Born as Vivian Giesen in Tarrytown, New York to a French mother and a father of German/French descent. She was trained as a dancer at Isadora Duncan ...

as Claudia Fern (as Joan Croyden) *

Frank Cady Frank Randolph Cady (September 8, 1915 – June 8, 2012) was an American actor best known for his role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three American television series during the 1960s – ''Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and ...

as Henry Daigle *

Don C. Harvey Don Carlos Harvey (December 12, 1911 – April 23, 1963) was an American television and film actor. Life Born in Council Grove in Morris County in east central Kansas, Harvey began his acting career by performing on radio and in tent shows and ...

as Guard in Hospital Corridor (uncredited)

Production

After the success of the book, Geoffrey Shurlock from

Production Code Administration The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the Major film studios#Present, five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Pic ...

(PCA) sent a letter to Jack Warner stating that “the property violated the spirit and letter of the Code.” Shurlock’s office wrote to

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

and

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

to caution them against the property although none had inquired about it. After a bidding war, Jack Warner bought the film rights for $300,000 (equivalent to $2.9 million in 2021). United States Pictures owned by

Milton Sperling Milton Sperling (July 6, 1912 – August 26, 1988) was an American film producer and screenwriter for 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros., where he had his own independent production unit, United States Pictures. Biography After leaving the City ...

stated that they would only produce the film for

Warner Brothers Pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

upon approval by PCA. Adler contacted Shurlock demanding to know why approval was given. Shurlock responded that director

was able to come up a treatment "that seemed to do what the office thought was impossible". Although the novel and play conclude with Christine dying and Rhoda surviving, the

Motion Picture Production Code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

did not allow for "crime to pay". The ending of the film thus reverses the deaths of the mother and daughter, with Christine's life being saved and Rhoda's ultimately being struck down by lightning. In another move to appease the censors, Warner Bros. added an "adults only" tag to the film's advertising."The Bad Seed"

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

; retrieved February 11, 2014. Finally, the film diffuses shock of the ending with a coda in which an announcer introduces the members of the cast. It concludes with Kelly lightheartedly

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...

McCormack for her character's misdeeds.

Reception

''The Bad Seed'' was one of the bigger hits of 1956 for Warner Bros., earning the company $4.1 million in theatrical rentals in the U.S. against a $1 million budget. The film was one of the year's top 20 at the box office in the United States and among the 10 most popular box-office draws in Britain in 1956. The film received favorable reviews from critics, and Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 64%, based on , with a rating average of 7.00/10.

Awards and nominations

Other honors

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

in these lists: * 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated

Influence and legacy

In 1995, McCormack starred in the low-budget movie '' Mommy'' in which she played a psychopathic mother. Critics hailed her performance and deemed the film as an "unofficial sequel". Act one of the 1992 Off-Broadway musical ''

Ruthless! ''Ruthless! The Musical'' is an all-female musical with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley that spoofs Broadway musicals, like '' Gypsy'' and ''Mame'', and movies such as '' The Bad Seed'' and ''All About Eve''. The musical ...

'' is inspired by ''The Bad Seed''. The 1993 film '' The Good Son'' is partly inspired by ''The Bad Seed''. The lifetime film ''House of Deadly Secrets'' has also been considered an unofficial sequel because of McCormack’s performance.

Remakes

''The Bad Seed'' was remade for television in 1985, adapted by George Eckstein and directed by Paul Wendkos. It starred Carrie Welles,

Blair Brown Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play '' Copenhagen'' on Broadway, the leading actress in the films ''Altered States'' ...

Lynn Redgrave Lynn Rachel Redgrave (8 March 1943 – 2 May 2010) was an English actress. She won two Golden Globe Awards throughout her career. A member of the Redgrave family of actors, Lynn trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962. By ...

David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series ''Kung Fu'', playi ...

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

, and Chad Allen. This version uses the original ending of the March novel and its stage production. This remake was panned by critics and poorly received by its television audience. In June 2015, it was announced that Lifetime would remake ''

The Bad Seed ''The Bad Seed'' is a 1954 novel by American writer William March, the last of his major works published before his death. Nominated for the 1955 National Book Award for Fiction, ''The Bad Seed'' tells the story of a mother's realization that h ...

''. In December 2017, Deadline.com reported that

Rob Lowe Robert Hepler Lowe (born March 17, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom ''A New Kind of Family'' (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in ...

was to direct and star in the remake with Mckenna Grace, Sarah Dugdale, Marci T. House,

Lorne Cardinal Lorne Cardinal (born 6 January 1964) is a Canadian stage, television and film actor, best known for portraying Davis Quinton on ''Corner Gas''. He is a former rugby union player. Early life Cardinal was born on a reserve of the Sucker Creek ...

, Chris Shields,

Cara Buono Cara Buono (born 1973/1974) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series ''Mad Men''; Kelli Moltisanti in the sixth season of ''The Sopranos''; Linda Salvo in the 200 ...

, and a special appearance by

as Dr. March. The film aired in September 2018.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Seed, 1956 1956 films 1950s psychological thriller films American black-and-white films American films based on plays American horror thriller films American psychological thriller films Film noir Films about juvenile delinquency Films about children Films about child death Films based on adaptations Films based on American novels Films based on thriller novels Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Films featuring a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe-winning performance Films scored by Alex North Warner Bros. films The Bad Seed 1956 horror films American serial killer films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films