The Bad Seed **** (1956, Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart) – Classic Movie Review 12,091

Producer-director Mervyn LeRoy’s 1956 American black and white psychological thriller film The Bad Seed stars Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, and Eileen Heckart.

The Bad Seed is a gripping, stylish and compellingly performed version of Maxwell Anderson’s 1954 hit play about an apparently sweet, cutely pigtailed, eight-year-old little girl Rhoda (Patty McCormack), who has some nasty surprises in store for her friends and family.

Her bloodline is pure evil, as she is the descendant of a cold-blooded murderess, and history is about to repeat itself when a little boy wins the writing medal she really covets. Her mother is forced to takes drastic action when she discovers that her daughter is a murderer.

Re-creating their theatre performances, Nancy Kelly (as mom Christine), Patty McCormack (as daughter Rhoda) and Eileen Heckart (as Hortense Daigle) were all Oscar nominated and their performances are spot on. McCormack gives a chilling portrayal of the bad seed. The play is adapted by John Lee Mahin.

Also in the cast are Jesse White, Evelyn Varden, William Hopper, Paul Fix, Gage Clarke, Joan Croydon, Frank Cady, Don C Harvey, Dayton Lummis, Kathy Garver, Shelley Fabares, Frances Bavier, and Pat Morrow.

Anderson’s play is based on the 1954 novel by William March.

There are four Oscar nominations: Nancy Kelly (Best Actress), Patty McCormack (Best Supporting Actress), Eileen Heckart (Best Supporting Actress) and Harold Rosson (Best Cinematography – Black-and-White).

Eileen Heckart won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and Patty McCormack was nominated for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.

It was a popular hit, earning Warner Bros $4.1 million at the US box office on a $1 million budget.

The heavy hand of the censors loomed over it. Geoffrey Shurlock of the Production Code Administration wrote to Jack Warner stating that ‘the property violated the spirit and letter of the Code’. He also wrote to Paramount, Columbia and Universal to advise against the property although no studio had inquired about it.

However, after a bidding war, Jack Warner bought the film rights for $300,000. Shurlock gave approval, saying that Mervyn LeRoy had come up a treatment ‘that seemed to do what the office thought was impossible’.

It was remade for TV in 1985, with Carrie Welles, Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine, Richard Kiley, and Chad Allen.

In September 2018, McCormack played Dr March, the child psychiatrist consulted, in the 2018 TV remake of The Bad Seed, directed for Lifetime by Rob Lowe, who is also executive producer and stars. A sequel, The Bad Seed Returns, is ready for 2022.

Patricia McCormack (born Patricia Ellen Russo; August 21, 1945).

The Bad Seed is directed by Mervyn LeRoy, runs 129 minutes, is made and released by Warner Bros, is written by John Lee Mahin, based on the 1954 play by Maxwell Anderson, based on the novel by William March, is shot in black and white by Harold Rosson, is produced by Mervyn LeRoy, is scored by Alex North, and is designed by John Beckman.

It was released on 12 September 1956.

Also in the cast are Nancy Kelly as Christine Penmark, Patty McCormack as Rhoda Penmark, Henry Jones as Leroy Jessup, Eileen Heckart as Hortense Daigle, Evelyn Varden as Monica Breedlove, William Hopper as Col. Kenneth Penmark, Paul Fix as Richard Bravo, Jesse White as Emory Wages, Gage Clarke as Reggie Tasker, Joan Croydon [Joan Croyden] as Claudia Fern, Frank Cady as Henry Daigle, Don C Harvey as Guard in Hospital Corridor, Dayton Lummis, Kathy Garver, Shelley Fabares, Frances Bavier, and Pat Morrow.

The Broadway production of The Bad Seed by Maxwell Anderson opened on 8 December 1954 and ran for 334 performances. Nancy Kelly won the 1955 Tony Award for Actress in a Drama.

Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden, Henry Jones and Joan Croydon all re-created their stage roles in the movie.

[Spoiler alert] The Motion Picture Production Code did not allow for crime to pay, so the ending of the film reverses the deaths of the mother and daughter.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 12,091

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