Rhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. When her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.
The Bad Seed was a 1954 novel by American author William March (1893-1954). The novel was adapted into a play of the same title by American playwright James Maxwell Anderson. The play was subsequently adapted for the movie by American screenwriter John Lee Mahin (1902-1984). A remake of the film, also titled The Bad Seed (1985), was released in 1985.
As Rhoda mentions herself, that haunting tune is the 18th-century French folk song "Au clair de la lune" ("In the Light of the Moon"), author unknown. It is frequently used as an étude for beginning piano students because of the simplicity of the melody.
The title on the book is Inside the Castle Wall. It appears to have been made up for the movie. Elsie Dinsmore, the book that Rhoda won in Sunday School, is the first book in a series of 28 Elsie Dinsmore books written by Margaret Finlay (1828-1909) between 1867 and 1905. Ironically, Elsie Dinsmore is about a simpering little girl who endures and forgives abuse from adults like a miniature martyr. Since they are all in public domain, a number of the books have been made available online by Project Gutenberg.
Rhoda and her father, Colonel Kenneth Penmark (William Hopper), return home from the hospital to get some sleep while awaiting news of Christine's condition. That night, they are hit by a thunderstorm. Remembering what her mother said about tossing the medal back into the water, Rhoda puts on a raincoat and steals out of the house while Kenneth receives a call from Christine's doctor telling him that she is going to be all right and allowing him to speak with her for a few minutes. Carrying a flashlight, Rhoda walks to the park, headed for the lake. She walks out on the pier, grabs a fishnet, and begins to fish for the medal. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hits the pier, killing Rhoda.
Yes. After each of the cast members is introduced by name and allowed to take a bow, Nancy Kelly (Christine) joins Patty McCormack (Rhoda) on the living room couch. "As for you...", Kelly says and turns McCormack over her knee. This is followed by a postscript stating: You have just seen a motion picture whose theme dares to be startlingly different. May we ask that you do not divulge the unusual climax of this story.
Because the movie was actually adapted from the play, and the play was adapted from the novel in such a way that it could be presented with a minimum of set changes, there are some notable differences. For example, the story in the novel takes place over an entire summer as opposed to the movie's time frame of a few weeks. In the novel, Christine's father has been dead for years, and Christine does her own library research on her background. The character backgrounds are more detailed, in particular that of Leroy the caretaker. Probably the most notable difference is that the ending was changed for the movie because the Hays Code during the 1950s did not allow films to show story lines where crime pays.
Other movies that feature children who are not the little innocents they seem to be include Who Can Kill a Child? (1976), The Other (1972), Alice, Sweet Alice (1976) , Bloody Birthday (1981), The Omen (1976), (remake The Omen (2006) (2006)), Village of the Damned (1960) (remake Village of the Damned (1995)), Case 39 (2009), The Good Son (1993) and Orphan (2009).
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- How long is The Bad Seed?2 hours and 9 minutes
- When was The Bad Seed released?September 12, 1956
- What is the IMDb rating of The Bad Seed?7.4 out of 10
- Who stars in The Bad Seed?
- Who wrote The Bad Seed?
- Who directed The Bad Seed?
- Who was the composer for The Bad Seed?
- Who was the producer of The Bad Seed?
- Who was the cinematographer for The Bad Seed?
- Who was the editor of The Bad Seed?
- Who are the characters in The Bad Seed?Col. Kenneth Penmark, Richard Bravo, Rhoda Penmark, and Christine Penmark
- What is the plot of The Bad Seed?Rhoda Penmark seems like your average, sweet eight-year-old girl. After her rival at school dies in mysterious circumstances at the school picnic, her mother starts to suspect that Rhoda was responsible.
- What was the budget for The Bad Seed?$1 million
- What is The Bad Seed rated?Approved
- What genre is The Bad Seed?Drama, Horror, and Thriller
- How many awards has The Bad Seed won?1 award
- How many awards has The Bad Seed been nominated for?7 nominations
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