The Bad Seed (film)
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| The Bad Seed | |
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 Movie poster for The Bad Seed (1956) |
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| Directed by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Produced by | Mervyn LeRoy |
| Written by | William March (novel) Maxwell Anderson (play) John Lee Mahin (screenplay) |
| Starring | Nancy Kelly Patty McCormack Henry Jones Eileen Heckart Norma Varden |
| Music by | Alex North |
| Cinematography | Harold Rosson |
| Editing by | Warren Low |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | 12 September 1956 |
| Running time | 129 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Bad Seed is a 1956 Academy award nominated Thriller film.
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[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 1954 novel The Bad Seed. The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of a 1956 film 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.
This deus ex machina climax brought groans from film audiences in 1956, as did the "curtain call" credits in which Nancy Kelly pulls 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 in the March novel.
There is also a reported second remake in the works for 2007. Eli Roth has been announced to direct. (Source: IMDB)
