The Bad Seed

September. 12,1956      NR
Rating:
7.4
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.

Nancy Kelly as  Christine Penmark
Patty McCormack as  Rhoda Penmark
Henry Jones as  Leroy Jessup
Eileen Heckart as  Hortense Daigle
Evelyn Varden as  Monica Breedlove
William Hopper as  Col. Kenneth Penmark
Paul Fix as  Richard Bravo
Jesse White as  Emory Wages
Gage Clarke as  Reginald "Reggie" Tasker
Joan Croydon as  Claudia Fern

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Reviews

Linkshoch
1956/09/12

Wonderful Movie

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Diagonaldi
1956/09/13

Very well executed

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ChanFamous
1956/09/14

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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AnhartLinkin
1956/09/15

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

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ScottMovieClass287
1956/09/16

Wow...Just wow. Watch this film and you will see the origin of children psychopath films and it doesn't get better then this. Original fantastic creepy non-diegetic sounds and a female lead that knock the door down in terms of terrifying style. Had to watch this for a class and regret doing it late at night. Film utilized high key three point lighting throughout that really popped the characters faces and costumes. Excellent film would recommend.

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Jessie Blaze
1956/09/17

I really did want to like this film. As a fan of the horror genre and "evil kid" movies, I heard from someone much older than me that this film was a must. I can see why this film may have been shocking and provocative at the time it was released. I was upset that none of the child's evil doings were shown on screen. In a creepy essence, that's the whole fun of horror movies. The character development for Rhonda just seemed abrupt and unrealistic. It was way too dramatic and it didn't seem authentic. I'm not sure if its her fault as an actress or just poor screenplay. Nevertheless, I don't actually regret watching the film. I like to watch everything under the horror genre at least once.

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s-gonyea
1956/09/18

The movie " The Bad Seed" of 1956 directed by Mervyn LeRoy is a quite a fascinating movie. It is a very original horror/drama. Patty Mc Cormack was most definitely one of the best characters. Her performance was really goods the villain in my opinion. I think this movie could be one of the best child performances I have ever encountered. I also thought that Nancy Kelly had a great role as mother in this film. Evelyn Warden fits perfectly in her role. Ellen Heckart as the murdered boys drunk mother stole the show. Her acting was also superb.This film was a little stagy in some aspect, however it really didn't effect the film in a bad way. If anything it actually kind of enhanced the atmosphere in my opinion.This film had great suspense towards the end of it. It thought it reached new depths of of oddity and lead up to a pretty predictable ended. every mystery was was revealed one after another. I could see this movie being re-made at some point. I think it would be interesting to watch with the effects we have in today's world.I would rate this movie as a 7/10 it wasn't too bad

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s_ano
1956/09/19

Overall this was a pretty great movie. I thought there were a lot of areas where they could have just done away with a scene or two..... or three. Creepy kid movies like this one are the reason why I don't want kids. Rhoda was amazing. For being so young I thought she had the best performance out of all actors in this film. McCormack did an amazing job at playing this adorable little psychopath, I was genuinely freaked out and I couldn't stand the girl. I do wish that Christine wasn't such a weak character, I think the story would have been even more interesting if her and Rhoda were on opposing sides instead of working together. The ending was absolutely insane. Just when I thought it was over, the story turned another corner. As for the final scene all I can say is.... Karma.

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