Do you want to see ‘The Bad Seed’?

The Bad Seed (1956)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.3/10
Reviews Counted: 24
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 8

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 0 | Rotten: 4

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 7,690

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

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, 2 hr. 9 min.

Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

Directed By: Mervyn LeRoy

Written By: John Lee Mahin

In Theaters: Sep 12, 1956 Wide

On DVD: Aug 10, 2004

Cast

Nancy Kelly
Mrs. Christine Penmark
Patty McCormack
Rhoda Penmark
Eileen Heckart
Mrs. Daigle
Evelyn Varden
Monica Breedlove
William Hopper
Col. Kenneth Penmark
Paul Fix
Richard Bravo
Jesse White
Emory
Gage Clarke
Reginald Tasker
Joan Croydon
Miss Fern
Frank Cady
Mr. Daigle
Henry Jones
LeRoy Handyman, Radio V...

Critic Reviews for The Bad Seed

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (9) | DVD (15)

Director LeRoy has been overly faithful to the play script.

July 18, 2011 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

| Comment

TIME Magazine

Top Critic

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

| Comment

Variety Staff

Variety

Top Critic

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

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

Overlong, stiff, and about as suspenseful as a detergent commercial.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

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

| Comment

Matthew Sorrento

Film Threat

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

October 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews

| Comment

Peter Canavese

Groucho Reviews Source: 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

| Comment

John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

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

October 1, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

John J. Puccio

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

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

Excellent, chilling classic with McCormack as perfect demon child.

August 14, 2007 Comment

Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

1956 was way too soon for an unfettered treatment of the central premise.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Time Out

Scandalous, scary and popular at the time, but extremely outdated , this well-acted melodrama was one of the first to deal with criminal conduct as biologically conditioned

June 29, 2005 Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

A classic reason for getting your tubes tied.

April 11, 2005 Comment

Brandon Judell

PopcornQ

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

September 6, 2004 Full Review Source: Film Freak Central

| Comment (1)

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

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

August 12, 2004 Full Review Source: Horror.com

| Comment

Staci Layne Wilson

Horror.com Source: Horror.com

The movie has influenced dozens of "evil children" flicks, from The Omen to Problem Child.

August 11, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Christopher Null

Filmcritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Bad Seed

View All

"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

March 29, 2011

Lewis C.

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

May 19, 2011