The Bad Seed (film)

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The Bad Seed
Movie poster for the 1956 release of The Bad Seed
Directed by	Mervyn LeRoy
Produced by	Mervyn LeRoy
Written by	William March (novel), Maxwell Anderson (play), John Lee Mahin (screenplay)
Starring	Nancy Kelly, Patricia McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart
Music by	Alex North
Cinematography	Harold Rosson
Editing by	Warren Low
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	1956 in film
Running time	129 min
Country	USA
Language	English
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Contents 1 Plot 2 Details 3 Remakes 4 External links

[edit] Plot

Christine Penmark begins to suspect that her picture-perfect daughter, Rhoda, may not be what she seems.

[edit] Details

This film is based upon a play (of the same name) by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn is based upon William March's novel "The Bad Seed". The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of a 1956 movie directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden, William Hopper, Paul Fix, Joan Croydon, and Jesse White.

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Nancy Kelly), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Eileen Heckart and Patty McCormack, separately) and Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

Although the novel and play had the mother dying and the evil child surviving, the Hays Code did not allow for "crime to pay." The ending of the film thus has it the other way around, with Christine's life being saved by the local hospital and Rhoda being struck down by lightning while trying to retrieve the penmanship medal from a lake. (As a topper, during the "curtain call" credits, Nancy Kelly (in character) hauls Patty McCormack over her lap and gives her a sound spanking for her misdeeds.)

[edit] Remakes

The Bad Seed was remade for television in 1985, adapted by George Eckstein and directed by Paul Wendkos. It starred Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine, Carrie Wells, Richard Kiley, Chad Allen and Christa Denton. This version used the original ending as set in the book.

There is also a reported second remake in the works for 2007. Eli Roth has been announced to direct.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] External links

• 1956 film/ The Bad Seed (film) at the Internet Movie Database
• 1985 remake at the Internet Movie Database
• 2007 remake at the Internet Movie Database
• Full synopsis at MovieCheat.com