{"id":2070,"date":"2007-01-08T19:20:24","date_gmt":"2007-01-09T02:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2070"},"modified":"2021-01-18T19:56:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T02:56:09","slug":"bad-seed-the-1956","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2070","title":{"rendered":"Bad Seed, The (1956)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;She can fool <em>some <\/em>people with that innocent look she can put on and put off &#8212; but not me!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Poster-197x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"197\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-23808\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Poster-197x300.jpg 197w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Poster-84x128.jpg 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Poster.jpg 381w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 197px) 100vw, 197px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe mother (Nancy Kelly) of a psychopathic child (Patty McCormack) is horrified to learn that her daughter feels no remorse about having killed her classmate.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Evil Kids<\/li>\n<li>Mervyn LeRoy Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<li>Psychological Horror<\/li>\n<li>Psychopaths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAlthough it&#8217;s undeniably campy and somewhat dated, <em>The Bad Seed<\/em> maintains its status as the most notorious movie ever made about &#8220;evil children&#8221;, and thus holds a special place in cinematic history. Moviegoers may be inured to watching cold-blooded murders committed by hardened criminals, but it&#8217;s something different altogether to contemplate them carried out blithely by a young girl (not a teen) in blonde pigtails and a pinafore &#8212; someone who is deeply loved by her family, and given every possible privilege. It is this disparity which remains the primary seduction of the controversial story (originally a novel, then a hit Broadway play), about the unpredictably hideous effects of heredity.<\/p>\n<p>When I first watched <em>The Bad Seed<\/em> years ago, I remember being deeply disturbed by the character of Rhoda, and unable to reconcile her spooky amorality with my rather idealized notion of childhood. Watching it again recently, however, I was primarily affected by the film&#8217;s true protagonist: not Rhoda, but her mother, a sympathetic character struggling to come to terms with what is essentially an impossible truth about her child. While many find Nancy Kelly&#8217;s performance to be campy and overblown, I was genuinely moved by her dilemma. <\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s impossible to review <em>The Bad Seed<\/em> without briefly discussing Patty McCormack, who pioneered the title role on Broadway before immortalizing it in celluloid. While her performance is uneven &#8212; she uses too many broad facial expressions which are more appropriate for the stage than cinematic close-ups &#8212; she nonetheless has a strong presence on-screen, and shows far more talent than we&#8217;ve come to expect from most child actors. Her portrayal as Rhoda is not easily forgotten, and will most likely remain this character&#8217;s definitive incarnation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Patty McCormack&#8217;s impressive (albeit unevenly directed) performance as pigtailed Rhoda<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-McCormack-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Nancy Kelly&#8217;s heartbreaking portrayal as Rhoda&#8217;s distraught, conflicted mother<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Kelly-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Eileen Heckart as an alcoholic mother mourning for her dead son<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-Heckart-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A marvelous skewering of the &#8220;ideal&#8221; 1950s family life<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-64328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s.jpg 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/01\/Bad-Seed-50s-360x270.jpg 360w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some highly memorable, ultra-campy lines:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;What would you give me for a basket of kisses?&#8221; &#8220;A basket of hugs!&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. This camp classic should be seen at least once by all film fanatics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0048977\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1956\/09\/13\/archives\/screen-the-bad-seed-members-of-broadway-cast-are-starred.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.reel.com\/movie.asp?MID=2303&#038;PID=10114246&#038;Tab=reviews&#038;CID=18#tabs\">Reel.com Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;She can fool some people with that innocent look she can put on and put off &#8212; but not me!&#8221; Synopsis: The mother (Nancy Kelly) of a psychopathic child (Patty McCormack) is horrified to learn that her daughter feels no remorse about having killed her classmate. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Evil Kids Mervyn LeRoy Films Play Adaptations Psychological Horror Psychopaths Review: Although it&#8217;s undeniably campy and somewhat dated, The Bad Seed maintains its status as the most notorious movie&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2070\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2070"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64333,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2070\/revisions\/64333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}