Search form

THE BAD SEED (1956) (**1/2)

This stagy 1950s thriller talks a lot about blood and murder, but shows very little of it. To clarify that statement, the screenplay tells more than it shows, which keeps the viewer at a distance emotionally. Many of the key events take place off screen. For the screenplay, John Lee Mahin (CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS) based it on a play by Maxwell Anderson, which was based on a book by William March. Mahin retains too much of the play’s structure for the film’s good.

The story follows Christine Penmark (Nancy Kelly) as she slowly comes to realize that her “perfect” blonde-haired daughter, Rhoda (Patty McCormack, TV’s THE SOPRANOS), was born to kill. While her husband, Kenneth (William Hopper, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE) is gone on duty in the military, Christine receives help with Rhoda from her landlord Monica Breedlove (Evelyn Varden, THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER), who is an amateur psychologist. Right from the start, the oily apartment caretaker Leroy Jessup (Henry Jones, SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF!) suspects Rhoda of evil intentions. When a young boy, who Rhoda was envious of for beating her out for a penmanship metal, drowns at a picnic, Christine really starts to worry, especially when the boy’s drunken mother Hortense (Eileen Heckart, THE FIRST WIVES CLUB) keeps coming over and wanting to talk to Rhoda. And when Christine’s father Richard Bravo (Paul Fix, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) shows up there are more secrets to be revealed.

The opening establishing scenes of the Penmarks as the perfect family are forced and corny. A very ideal ‘50s version of what a perfect family is like. The acting is especially stiff and theatrical in the early goings as well. The film tries to address the issues of heredity versus environment as causes for violence, but does so in a very melodramatic and simplified fashion.

McCormack’s performance is iconic, but in a campy way. The best moments are between her and Jones as the handyman tries to make the prissy little girl snap. It’s the snapping points in the characters that make the story interesting. As Christine starts to fold under stress, the film takes on a rawness that the early 2/3s really lacked.

However, the visceral ending that seems to be building never materializes. The conclusion takes the easy way out right before the end titles rise. And because of such a “shocking” ending for a film of the 1950s, the filmmakers decide to tack on an upbeat parade of the stars before the credits that just kills the film’s mood.

The core dilemma that Christine faces is intriguing, but the film never makes it real. The melodrama and theatrical direction from Mervyn LeRoy (I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG) suck the emotion right out of it. This film most certainly played different in 1956, but today it feels dated and stiff. However, some of its ideas hold up, even if its psychology seems shaky. Some will find the thin line it walks between campiness and sincerity entertaining, but others might become restless with a film about evil actions that we never get to witness.

Rick DeMott's picture

Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks