The Bad Seed

Director: Mervyn LeRoy Mervyn LeRoy

Overview

This melodramatic thriller about a very, very bad little girl comes to DVD in a presentation which should please the members of its cult following. The Bad Seed has been transferred to disc in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. Bonus materials include a commentary track featuring actress Patty McCormack and critic Charles Busch, a short documentary in which McCormack talks about the making of the film, and the movie's original trailer.

Product Details

Release Date:	08/10/2004
UPC:	0085393352424
Original Release:	1956
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Time:	2:09:00
Sales rank:	4,884

Special Features

Closed Caption; Commentary by Patty McCormack and Charles Busch; New making-of documentary "Enfant Terrible: A Conversation With Patty McCormack"; Theatrical trailer; Subtitles: English, Français, and Español

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Nancy Kelly	Mrs. Christine Penmark
Patty McCormack	Rhoda Penmark
Henry Jones	LeRoy, Handyman,Radio Voice
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

Technical Credits

John Lee Mahin

Mervyn LeRoy	Director,Producer
John Beckman	Art Director
Ralph S. Hurst	Set Decoration/Design
Warren Low	Editor
Moss Mabry	Costumes/Costume Designer
John Lee Mahin	Screenwriter
Alex North	Score Composer
Harold Hal Rosson	Cinematographer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Credits [1:33]
2. Goodbye, Ladies [3:32]
3. Gifts From Monica [2:02]
4. LeRoy and Miss Uppity [5:32]
5. Does She Fit In? [2:07]
6. Pathological Lunch Talk [5:35]
7. Tragic News [2:38]
8. Behaving Very Well [3:29]
9. Lost in Thought [3:09]
10. Miss Fern's Suspicions [6:22]
11. Somethin' Funny to Mrs. Daigle [7:18]
12. Kenneth's Concern [1:55]
13. The Discovery [1:53]
14. Rhoda Tells the Truth [6:42]
15. "I Wish She Were Mine" [1:38]
16. LeRoy Figures It Out [4:47]
17. Testing for Blood [2:08]
18. Can Children Kill? [3:02]
19. Bad Seeds [5:44]
20. Christine's Old Fear [4:50]
21. Not a Dream [5:13]
22. On Purpose [:03]
23. "I Believe You Did It" [6:20]
24. Playing With Matches [5:54]
25. You Must Sleep [1:26]
26. Drunk and Unfortunate [2:11]
27. Cries for Help [7:00]
28. New Vitamins [5:21]
29. Dream Well [5:02]
30. What Kenneth Still Has [1:50]
31. Specious Theorizing [3:41]
32. "How Long Do Lovebirds Live?" [1:26]
33. Errand in the Night [1:42]
34. Phone Call [1:37]
35. Retribution [1:29]
36. Wonderful Cast: Coda [:54]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play Movie
   Scene Selections
   Special Features
      Commentary by Patty McCormack and Charles Busch
      Enfant Terrible: A Conversation With Patty McCormack
      Theatrical Trailer
   Languages
      Spoken Languages: English
      Subtitles: English
      Subtitles: Français
      Subtitles: Español
      Subtitles: Off

Editorial Reviews

Often imitated but never really equaled, this chilling 1956 melodrama adapted from Maxwell Anderson's stage play (which in turn was taken from a novel by William March) boldly and unapologetically depicts an angelic-looking girl with homicidal instincts. Patty McCormack stills sends shivers up and down viewers' spines with her portrayal of the innocent-looking grade school student Rhoda Penmark, who deliberately murders a classmate because he won the penmanship medal she coveted. Nancy Kelly does well with the difficult role of the mother who gradually discovers that her precious baby is a killer, and William Hopper is equally good as the adoring father who fails to grasp the truth. John Lee Mahin's screenplay hews closely to Anderson's play, and as a result the film bears many hallmarks of a theatrical production. But director Mervyn LeRoy builds steadily to a crescendo of horror that is all the more frightening because it plays out in a "normal" setting. His handling of the material leaves nothing to be desired, and from Nancy Kelly -- a pleasant but minor actress who'd already been in films for 20 years when The Bad Seed was produced -- he elicits the performance of a lifetime, one that earned her an Oscar nomination. While not as coarse or graphic as today's thrillers, The Bad Seed remains a daring and impressive movie that lingers in the memories of all who have seen it.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

The Bad Seed, the film version of Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play, was especially topical in the 1950s, when Americans were dealing with a rising tide of juvenile delinquency. While Seed can't really be taken seriously as sociology, it's tremendous fun as film. Director Mervyn LeRoy keeps things moving at a steady clip, stressing the thriller aspects of the story. Although he has only a few opportunities to physically "open up" the play from its one-set origins, this doesn't harm the film -- and sometimes helps it, by emphasizing the Mother's feeling that she is trapped (by both her situation and her true heritage). Nancy Kelly's performance is rather odd at times and overly stagy, but overall is quite effective. Her vocal delivery, bizarre at first, somehow seems organic and eventually grows on the viewer. Patty McCormack gives one of the better children's performances in film and really makes one's blood run cold, and Henry Jones is appropriately disturbing as the peculiar handyman. The best performance, however, is Eileen Heckart's turn as the mother of the little boy killed by Rhoda. Her two scenes are a tour de force, and she creates a character that is at one time pathetic, repulsive, embarrassing, sympathetic, and pitiable. While the tacked-on "justice must be served" ending is unnecessary, it fortunately doesn't actively detract from one's enjoyment of this film.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler