The Bad Seed (1956)

67% of critics liked it
(24 reviews)
82% of users liked it
(7,880 ratings)

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… More 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 that Rhoda had coveted. Nancy Kelly, the girl's mother, slowly comes to the horrible conclusion that Rhoda was responsible for the boy's death--a suspicion fueled by the discovery that Kelly, who was adopted as an infant, is the daughter of a convicted murderess. Meanwhile, a moronic handyman (Henry Jones) accidentally tumbles to Rhoda's secret, whereupon he is "accidentally" burned to death. Realizing that Rhoda must be stopped before she can kill again, and reasoning that the authorities would never believe the truth, Kelly tries to put the girl to sleep permanently with barbituates, then shoots herself. The play's ironic ending--the mother dies, while the unsuspected Rhoda lives on--is sacrificed for a "divine retribution" finale in the film, with Rhoda being punished by a convenient bolt of lightning. This alteration is acceptable, but director Mervin LeRoy further gilds the lily with an asinine closing-credits sequence wherein Nancy Kelly throws Patty McCormack over her knee and administers a spanking! The 1985 TV movie remake of The Bad Seed retains the play's original ending, but all in all is not half as entertaining as the 1956 version (its hokey denouement notwithstanding). McCormack later starred in Max Allan Collins' unofficial 1995 sequel Mommy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 9 min.
Directed By: Mervyn LeRoy
Written By: John Lee Mahin
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Sep 12, 1956 Wide
On DVD: Aug 10, 2004

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
Director LeRoy has been overly faithful to the play script.
Variety Staff, Variety
This melodrama about a child with an inbred talent for homicide is pretty unpleasant stuff on its own.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Mervyn LeRoy, who produced and directed, has lost a great deal of the bite of the play.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Overlong, stiff, and about as suspenseful as a detergent commercial.
Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat
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.
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews
The dark drama that launched a genre of evil-kid movies. [Blu-ray]
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...the last few minutes of this movie are almost as criminal as any murderous act committed in the plot. (Blu-ray edition)
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...it's hard now to see what all the fuss was about.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An erratic but compelling film that lingers long after the fade-out.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Excellent, chilling classic with McCormack as perfect demon child.
, Time Out
1956 was way too soon for an unfettered treatment of the central premise.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
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
Brandon Judell, PopcornQ
A classic reason for getting your tubes tied.
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
Wrung to the point of unwatchable by meandering monologues and slow reveals.
Staci Layne Wilson, Horror.com
...behind the blonde, pigtailed facade lurks a sinister and slippery sociopath.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
The movie has influenced dozens of "evil children" flicks, from The Omen to Problem Child.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lewis C

"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… More
"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.
Melvin W

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.… More
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.
AJ V

I love this movie it's a dark comedy and a horror movie based on a play. It's very interesting.
Tim S

Fantastic little film.
Randy T

Considering Mervyn LeRoy was handed a small budget, a mediocre cast and an uninspired screenplay, this isn't a bad film. Not much here that's 'scary' but Patty McCormack's rendition of the psychopathic little girl rates about a 7 on the creep-o-meter.
Bruce B

A True Masterpiece. The Very Best Evil Child Movie ever mad, far better them Oman or anything else that has evil kids in it. Hard to believe that somewhere deep behind the scenes that Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a hand in making this movie. The little girl Rhoda who is played by… More
A True Masterpiece. The Very Best Evil Child Movie ever mad, far better them Oman or anything else that has evil kids in it. Hard to believe that somewhere deep behind the scenes that Alfred Hitchcock didn't have a hand in making this movie. The little girl Rhoda who is played by Patty McCormick was only 8 years old when she made this movie, In look at this film then show Hollywood that this young lady could handle anything put in front of her. The father was played by William Hopper who was also Perry Mason's P.I. Others who played in this were Henry Jones who played Leroy, and he often played this part, I remember seeing him in a lot of Black & White Movies. Rhoda is a spoiled little child who gets what she wants and when a class mate wins the penmanship award and gets a medal for it, well Rhoda is going to get that Medal one way or another. Soon the class mate turns up dead, and Rhoda isn't bothered by it. This is just the start of many twist of events. If you pass this one up, you are passing one of the greatest B&W movies made for suspense. Oh yea 5 stars, that tell you anything. 35 years later Patty McCormick when on to make an unofficial sequel to Bad Seed called Mommy, I would recommend you seeing that one also. In Mommy the roles are reversed she is the Mommy and the girl that plays the evil daughter is just as bad.
Ginny

Relased 1956? But I remember watching this on the Hallmark Channel and it didnt seem that old, and as far as I can remember she wasnt the girl in the movie but it had the same plot. WIKI: Film versions The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of a 1956 movie… More
Relased 1956? But I remember watching this on the Hallmark Channel and it didnt seem that old, and as far as I can remember she wasnt the girl in the movie but it had the same plot. WIKI: Film versions The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of a 1956 movie directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Paul Wendkos directed the 1985 television adaptation of The Bad Seed. The 1985 television movie kept the novel's original ending. --- Just saw the 1956 movie on youtube. Liked the TV version better. Still, if youre slightly without anything to do (at work or in College) look it up. I think its a fascinating study of human behavior, or something like that.
jay n

Stage bound and some of the acting is very florid but still a fascinating examination of evil.
Dr Blood

If you ever needed proof that to spare the rod spoils the child, this is it! Based on Maxwell Anderson's play, this picture was the inspiration for 1994's "The Good Son".
Drew S

Why do they remake classics like this? There's the horrific 1985 TV remake, and then another one in the pipes for 2007. Seriously, why bother? People are just going to laugh at you. Look at The Omen. Anyway...Patty McCormick. 'Nuff said.
Dannielle A

WOW! They just don't make movies like this anymore...
Chris B

A great early Horror film that raises serious questions of the human condition and genetics. The film itself is one of tension and suspense and the ending, while changed from the play's original ending, is still good. As the ending says, I won't spoil it for anyone but… More
A great early Horror film that raises serious questions of the human condition and genetics. The film itself is one of tension and suspense and the ending, while changed from the play's original ending, is still good. As the ending says, I won't spoil it for anyone but this is a great film worth checking out!
Lord N

Well, I just saw this one and I must say that I was kind of disappointed with it. My High School did the play version of this one when I was a Freshman. I might be presumptuous and biased, but I feel that we did a much better job. This one started out great. It was extremely… More
Well, I just saw this one and I must say that I was kind of disappointed with it. My High School did the play version of this one when I was a Freshman. I might be presumptuous and biased, but I feel that we did a much better job. This one started out great. It was extremely entertaining and it was just what it should be. Rhoda was sweet with a hint of creepy killer. but then, they went a little far with it. what I mean is, they milked the emotional scenes way too much. There is one major thing to say about this movie, Rhoda. If you can't get a good Rhoda, you can't get a good movie. she is key. well, this Rhoda was excellent in some points but she, like every other major cast member, milked it too much in the big scenes. One final thing to say: the ending. it was the stupidest thing ever. that's not how things should be. I would say more but I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't seen it. TRIVIA TIME: Rhoda's murderous grandmother, Bessie Denker, was invented; all the other female career killers referred to in the novel and the film were genuine.
John M

"The Bad Seed" is mainly a drama of a mother who suspects that her daughter could be a killer. The cast's performances are truly wonderful except for the mother of the little girl (Nancy Kelly) who looked over-acting sometimes. The evil girl was really creepy, she… More
"The Bad Seed" is mainly a drama of a mother who suspects that her daughter could be a killer. The cast's performances are truly wonderful except for the mother of the little girl (Nancy Kelly) who looked over-acting sometimes. The evil girl was really creepy, she remained me the girl of the movie "The Orphan", so sweet... so need.... My issue with the movie was that it is interminably long, but definitely worth a viewing.