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By gum by golly, if The Bad Seed doesn’t still crackle with classic horror intensity. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and nominated for four academy awards, this suburban thriller is as raw and refined as day one...especially in its blu-ray debut. Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) doesn’t like to be pawed over. She does; however, like to get her way. From self-made shoes to winning contests at school against Claude Daigle, Rhoda wants the world and, to quote Jim Morrison, she “wants it now” at any cost and at any loss because this precocious little girl will kill.
Because Christine Penmark (Nancy Kelly) is married to the always-called-away Col. Kenneth Penmark (William Hopper), her daughter, Rhoda, is practically adopted by landlady Mrs. Breedlove (Evelyn Varden). She is both spoiled and encouraged by the two women in her life and, after committing her first “accidental” killing of classmate Daigle, weirdly twisted by an idyllic small town. Fearing her daughter might be traumatized by the “accident”, both Christine and Mrs. Breedlove walk on eggshells around the little girl. All Rhoda wants, though, is a peanut butter sandwich. Still she hops. Still she skips. She thinks the accident was exciting. After all, she got her way.
Thus, a little monster is born.
Written by John Lee Mahin, The Bad Seed takes aim at the type of idyllic life presented to America in the 1950s. Rhoda is polite; she bows and curtseys with well-mannered respect. It is quickly discovered by the teachers at school and witnesses on the wharf that Rhoda was the last to see Caude alive. They suspect all was not as accidental as it seems. After all, Rhoda wanted to win that gold metal of Miss Fern’s. Could it be possible? A little girl capable of murder? Surely not.
It’s those defined lines of social status and appropriateness that LeRoy’s film attempts to erase. They aren’t waters usually mudded which makes Mahin’s work so fiercely original and remarkable. Consider the era it was made. In 1954, America was presenting a whole different image to the world. Tales as dark as a child killing others for personal gain wasn’t exactly commonplace and I’m sure the censors had a field day with some of the accusatory material.
I will say that the characteristic staging and Act One, Act Two, Act Three locations suggest that the material was quickly brought from the stage to the screen. It feels a tad stilted and drags in moments appropriate for the stage but not the screen. Yet, The Bad Seed still delivers is particular brand of bad news with unmatched gusto. It’s less subversive than a Hitchcock delivery but doesn’t miss the target by much; the threat of that little girl is always hanging around, tugging at the scenes with pronounced weight.
No one but Mrs. Breedlove's mentally challenged handyman, Leroy (Henry Jones), can see her as the mean and rotten little girl that she is. There’s a statement if ever there was on for the 1950s. It seems all so very puritanical to never suspect rank foulness to explode from within the soul of a little girl. Innocence is lost and so is a bit of American charm.
The Bad Seed is an explosive bit of wide-eyed horror intensity and now, if you are willing to lose a bit of your faith in humanity and children, Rhoda and her conniving ways can be added to your Blu-ray collection. Just don’t be fooled by Rhoda’s polite curtsies.
MPAA Rating: This film has not been rated by the MPAA.
