evanston_dad Before Valerie Harper created the character of Rhoda on television, Patty McCormack created a very different character with the same name in this trashy shocker from 1956. She's the bad seed of the film's title, a child who is born with a genetic predisposition to do evil. She gets those genes from her mother (Nancy Kelly), you see, who finds out over the course of the film that she was adopted and that her real mother was a notorious criminal. Now she has to make a decision about her own daughter -- does she have a responsibility to expose the girl for what she is, or will a mother's love trump all?This film was no doubt pretty shocking stuff for 1956 audiences, but I can't help but think that it missed a whole heap of opportunities to be even more lurid than it is. It could have gone to some dark places in exploring the psychology of Kelly's character and her relationship with her daughter once she finds out that her kid is a cold-blooded murderer, but it instead decides to give Kelly a fairly straightforward character arc. She never seems overly conflicted about what she should do; she just seems to struggle with how hard it is to actually do it. And the film's look could have been much darker and gothic. How cool it would have been if the film's visual style grew gradually more distorted as the secrets emerge and the characters' psyches become more confused, but no. The film disappointingly has that flat studio look so common to movies from this time period. Kelly acts up a storm as the mom, and McCormack doesn't have to do much but read her lines since her character is such a whack job to begin with, but it's Eileen Heckart in a smaller role as the mother of one of Rhoda's victims who steals the show. She gets two scenes and plays both of them as a drunk mess. She overacts to the high heavens but somehow manages to be mesmerizing and devastating.Kelly, Heckart, and McCormack all received Oscar nominations for their performances, and Harold Rosson received a nod for his black and white cinematography.Grade: B+

Sfmooreman97 There's not much I can say about his other then that horror movies of today don't make you feel as creeped out as this one did for me. The compelling acting of the leading girl as she goes from sweet and innocent to a cold blooded killer was convincing to the core. This psychological drama using almost nothing but its smart script and fantastic cast to tell a story of murder and guilt that'll make you second guess your ideas of having children in the future

s-gonyea The movie " The Bad Seed" of 1956 directed by Mervyn LeRoy is a quite a fascinating movie. It is a very original horror/drama. Patty Mc Cormack was most definitely one of the best characters. Her performance was really goods the villain in my opinion. I think this movie could be one of the best child performances I have ever encountered. I also thought that Nancy Kelly had a great role as mother in this film. Evelyn Warden fits perfectly in her role. Ellen Heckart as the murdered boys drunk mother stole the show. Her acting was also superb.This film was a little stagy in some aspect, however it really didn't effect the film in a bad way. If anything it actually kind of enhanced the atmosphere in my opinion.This film had great suspense towards the end of it. It thought it reached new depths of of oddity and lead up to a pretty predictable ended. every mystery was was revealed one after another. I could see this movie being re-made at some point. I think it would be interesting to watch with the effects we have in today's world.I would rate this movie as a 7/10 it wasn't too bad

Richard Dominguez Unlike The Many Remakes That Came After This Classic The 1956 Version Still Captures Horror And Fear Like None That Came After ... The Story Was Well Written And Had An Excellent Cast Of Actors For Support ... I Liked The Opposite Roles Played By The Two Mothers ... The Misery Of One Over Her Lose And The Misery Of The Other Over What She Knew ... Although Nancy Kelly (Christine Penmark) Was Nominated For An Oscar For Her Role (Which Was Phenomenal) I Was Taken By Patty McCormack (Rhoda Penmark) ... Her Role As "The Bad Seed" Was Startling To Say The Least ...