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The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed (1956)

tomatometer

0

Average Rating: 4/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 5

No consensus yet.

audience

82

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 8,174

My Rating

Movie Info

Can evil be inherited? That's the question posed by Maxwell Anderson in his stage play The Bad Seed. This 1956 film adaptation stars many actors from the Broadway version, including Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones and Eileen Heckart. Young McCormack plays Rhoda, a too-good-to-be-true grade schooler who occasionally exhibits a vicious streak whenever things don't turn out her way. During a picnic, one of Rhoda's schoolmates is drowned; the victim is a boy who'd won a penmanship medal

Unrated,

Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

John Lee Mahin

Aug 10, 2004

WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES

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All Critics (25) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (19) | Rotten (9) | DVD (16)

Director LeRoy has been overly faithful to the play script.

July 18, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine
TIME Magazine
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This melodrama about a child with an inbred talent for homicide is pretty unpleasant stuff on its own.

October 23, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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Mervyn LeRoy, who produced and directed, has lost a great deal of the bite of the play.

March 25, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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1956 was way too soon for an unfettered treatment of the central premise.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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Overlong, stiff, and about as suspenseful as a detergent commercial.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A near perfect thriller...

July 12, 2012 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

The 'secret' villain is the missing father - or we should say, the mother for trying to child-rear by herself ... The bad seed is dead - but single parents, be warned.

October 31, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

The dark drama that launched a genre of evil-kid movies. [Blu-ray]

October 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews
Groucho Reviews

...the last few minutes of this movie are almost as criminal as any murderous act committed in the plot. (Blu-ray edition)

October 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

...it's hard now to see what all the fuss was about.

October 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis
Movie Metropolis

An erratic but compelling film that lingers long after the fade-out.

July 18, 2011 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Excellent, chilling classic with McCormack as perfect demon child.

August 14, 2007
Video-Reviewmaster.com

Scandalous, scary and popular, but extremely outdated , this well-acted melodrama was one of the first to deal with criminal conduct as biologically conditioned

June 29, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

A classic reason for getting your tubes tied.

April 11, 2005
PopcornQ

Wrung to the point of unwatchable by meandering monologues and slow reveals.

September 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | Comments (4)
Film Freak Central

...behind the blonde, pigtailed facade lurks a sinister and slippery sociopath.

August 12, 2004 Full Review Source: Horror.com
Horror.com

Audience Reviews for The Bad Seed

"Now there's a little ray of sunshine, that one."

An occasionally riveting movie from the 50's about a sunny, charming, sociopathic little girl and her mother's desperate attempts to protect her and hide her nature. The Bad Seed sometimes makes the mistake of focusing too much on the dull adults, but overall, it's a solid movie. Good acting all around, and unlike similar modern movies like Orphan, The Bad Seed gets better as it goes along instead of imploding into an absurd mess. It feels a lot like a play, which is natural due to its evolution from novel to stage-play to film.

I thought The Bad Seed was a sinister (and relatively timeless) gem of the 50's, and I'm sure it was quite controversial in its time. The ending was changed because of the Hays Code, in fact, and feels a bit like a cop-out as a result, but not to the extent of ruining what came before. Check it out if you're interested.
March 29, 2011
lewiskendell

Super Reviewer

The Bad Seed is second to only The Omen when it comes to evil child horror films. Patty McCormack is amazing as the evil but deceptively sweet little girl Rhoda. But my favorite performance of the movie came from Henry Jones as the janitor who sees through Rhoda's sweet demeanor. A great movie that deserves more exposure than it has. Don't stop watching when the movie is over. There is a very humorous scene during the cast of characters.
May 19, 2011
blkbomb
Melvin White

Super Reviewer

    1. Rhoda Penmark: What would you give me for a basket of kisses?
    – Submitted by Peggy O (3 months ago)
    1. Rhoda Penmark: You better give me those shoes. They're mine! Give them back to me!
    – Submitted by Daniella G (24 months ago)

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Latest News on The Bad Seed

April 20, 2006:
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Foreign Titles

  • The Bad Seed (1956) (DE)
  • The Bad Seed (1956) (UK)
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