This is a movie that stands the test of time because of the period in which it was filmed, its methods of filming and acting, and the level of knowledge of the subject matter at that time. It is truly a period piece and as such, it is a powerful chiller-thriller.
A hit on Broadway, 'The Bad Seed' was translated into film as though it were a play; hence various commentators speak of its staginess and sometimes overwrought acting as if they were serious objections to the enjoyability of the movie. But does anyone complain that 'Dracula' was stagy and overwrought? No, because the movie is classic in and of itself, and so is 'The Bad Seed'.
Translate your mind back to the early nineteen-fifties and 'The Bad Seed' takes on new levels of meaning and challenge. Christine Penrose, whose military husband is called away from home, is raising her darling daughter Rhoda on her own when things start slowly coming apart. Rhoda is the perfect eight-year-old, a pretty, intelligent and very affectionate child, in crinoline dresses and blonde braids, to whom everyone around gives praise and, often, gifts. She is always grateful and loving in her delight with what she gets.
What is wrong with this picture? Rhoda wants something very badly, something she feels she won and has been unjustly denied, something that disappeared when its owner died a sudden, tragic death. So why does it turn up in Rhoda's possessions?
Christine Penmark has no idea what is going on. Children were not believed to have mature personalities according to the psychology of the day, and the case of Leopold and Loeb was brutal and startling, and apparently a singular aberration, just a few years before the play debuted. There was then no way to explain what Christine begins to perceive: that Rhoda takes what she wants if she can't charm her way to it, and anyone who gets in her way she simply 'removes'.
This wasn't supposed to happen in the 1950's. Today we may be more reliably informed, especially to the statistics that point clearly to the 'nurture rather than nature' explanation, but Christine is alone with her manipulative little murderess with no world-view to encompass what she faces. Her confusion and denial aren't weaknesses of character but the product of the general understanding of the day.
It is not until she has a chance encounter with a criminal psychologist who posits the 'nature, not nurture' theory of criminality, and then digs more deeply into the dark secret of her own childhood that things begin to add up, and Christine Penmark herself unravels in as ghastly a manner as her life has done.
The play is in black and white, and so are the performances and the ethics and morality of its message. Rhoda has only two sides to her: the apparently good, affectionate, perfect angel and the manifestly evil, selfish, deadly crocodile-brained killer. Patty MacCormack is excellent in the dual portrayal, and her performance as a child actress is an achievement seldom rivaled and never bettered.
Nancy Kelly's utter devastation, step by step, is carefully crafted and touched with a dread terror that recognizes, though never states, that Christine knows that she herself is not safe around Rhoda, let alone anyone else. Her response to that knowledge is telling; she is the mother of a murderess, after all.
The performances of Henry Jones as the unsavory handyman the audience ends up wanting Rhoda to put out of our misery and Eileen Heckart as the bereft and alcoholic mother of Rhoda's dead schoolmate are both stand-outs. Again, look to the time of the filming. People had no access to the psychiatric and sociological services both of these two characters needed in spades. People like them were out there in the 50's, more of them than we -- five decades or so later -- want to think, and without help or restraints we expect to come naturally now. Terrifying or pitiable, they were there when the movie was made.
I read the book before I saw the movie, so I expected the original ending and was somewhat disappointed that it was changed. But the add-on tag is yet another level of good v. evil, one the audience might embrace emotionally if not intellectually, and perhaps more reflective of other beliefs of the 1950's, also.
Beware if the Penmarks move in next door. They may not be good neighbors, no matter how much they smile and compliment you. After all, it runs in the family. Oh, and as Christine Penmark had to do, take a long look at your own....
A hit on Broadway, 'The Bad Seed' was translated into film as though it were a play; hence various commentators speak of its staginess and sometimes overwrought acting as if they were serious objections to the enjoyability of the movie. But does anyone complain that 'Dracula' was stagy and overwrought? No, because the movie is classic in and of itself, and so is 'The Bad Seed'.
Translate your mind back to the early nineteen-fifties and 'The Bad Seed' takes on new levels of meaning and challenge. Christine Penrose, whose military husband is called away from home, is raising her darling daughter Rhoda on her own when things start slowly coming apart. Rhoda is the perfect eight-year-old, a pretty, intelligent and very affectionate child, in crinoline dresses and blonde braids, to whom everyone around gives praise and, often, gifts. She is always grateful and loving in her delight with what she gets.
What is wrong with this picture? Rhoda wants something very badly, something she feels she won and has been unjustly denied, something that disappeared when its owner died a sudden, tragic death. So why does it turn up in Rhoda's possessions?
Christine Penmark has no idea what is going on. Children were not believed to have mature personalities according to the psychology of the day, and the case of Leopold and Loeb was brutal and startling, and apparently a singular aberration, just a few years before the play debuted. There was then no way to explain what Christine begins to perceive: that Rhoda takes what she wants if she can't charm her way to it, and anyone who gets in her way she simply 'removes'.
This wasn't supposed to happen in the 1950's. Today we may be more reliably informed, especially to the statistics that point clearly to the 'nurture rather than nature' explanation, but Christine is alone with her manipulative little murderess with no world-view to encompass what she faces. Her confusion and denial aren't weaknesses of character but the product of the general understanding of the day.
It is not until she has a chance encounter with a criminal psychologist who posits the 'nature, not nurture' theory of criminality, and then digs more deeply into the dark secret of her own childhood that things begin to add up, and Christine Penmark herself unravels in as ghastly a manner as her life has done.
The play is in black and white, and so are the performances and the ethics and morality of its message. Rhoda has only two sides to her: the apparently good, affectionate, perfect angel and the manifestly evil, selfish, deadly crocodile-brained killer. Patty MacCormack is excellent in the dual portrayal, and her performance as a child actress is an achievement seldom rivaled and never bettered.
Nancy Kelly's utter devastation, step by step, is carefully crafted and touched with a dread terror that recognizes, though never states, that Christine knows that she herself is not safe around Rhoda, let alone anyone else. Her response to that knowledge is telling; she is the mother of a murderess, after all.
The performances of Henry Jones as the unsavory handyman the audience ends up wanting Rhoda to put out of our misery and Eileen Heckart as the bereft and alcoholic mother of Rhoda's dead schoolmate are both stand-outs. Again, look to the time of the filming. People had no access to the psychiatric and sociological services both of these two characters needed in spades. People like them were out there in the 50's, more of them than we -- five decades or so later -- want to think, and without help or restraints we expect to come naturally now. Terrifying or pitiable, they were there when the movie was made.
I read the book before I saw the movie, so I expected the original ending and was somewhat disappointed that it was changed. But the add-on tag is yet another level of good v. evil, one the audience might embrace emotionally if not intellectually, and perhaps more reflective of other beliefs of the 1950's, also.
Beware if the Penmarks move in next door. They may not be good neighbors, no matter how much they smile and compliment you. After all, it runs in the family. Oh, and as Christine Penmark had to do, take a long look at your own....