The Bad Seed (1956)

anart

anart

A Disturbance in the Force
I FINALLY got ahold of a copy of this 1956 movie starring Patty McCormack - it is great! Talk about your psychopaths - a genetic base is even indicated. It's worth the watch. =)

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Yeah. It's a keeper.

I don't want to give away the ending, but let's just say she grew up became GW's mother..
 
Yes, this is a great movie and was based, in part, on the work of Cleckley. It presents the true dilemma from a perspective that is truly agonizing: a mother and child. I can think of nothing more tragic and cruel than for a mother to have to face the fact that her child is a psychopath and to really know, deep down inside, that there is nothing she can do.

Of course, there is also the tragedy of anyone who has to face this realization in terms of someone they love, whether it is a mate, a parent, a friend. It just highlights the crual, rapacious face of nature - Shiva.

I've watched the movie a couple of times. It was, of course, a play that was written to convey a message. Even though I think that the mother overacts some time, she is doing that to project the internal pain and suffering which is all too real.
 
That aspect of it is really interesting, the way the mother handles the situation. I'm not sure exactly what I would do in that case, but it might be very similar. At times, the mother is clearly horrified at the reactions of her daughter to certain things, but she cannot simply ignore the fact that this child is her flesh and blood. I also really loved the way they brought out the psychopath's predilection to saying anything to change a subject that they don't want to talk about, and how they flatter and compliment normal people to make them at ease - it was very true to life, that. The ending was great, and although from the broad view, they do occasionally over-emphasize the child's behavior, all in all it rings chillingly true. Now, the subject of the building janitor Leroy is another thing all together.....eewwwww. =)
 
Laura said:
It presents the true dilemma from a perspective that is truly agonizing: a mother and child. I can think of nothing more tragic and cruel than for a mother to have to face the fact that her child is a psychopath and to really know, deep down inside, that there is nothing she can do.
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It takes a lot of determination to even allow oneself to 'go there' where one's child is concerned. You're right Laura, it is a tragic situation. I haven't seen the movie in years. It used to be regularly shown on network television. Long before I ever thought it could apply to anything I would have to face, I found it absolutely chilling.

Lucy
 
I just watched this, serendipitously coming across it on Turner Classic Movies. A very good movie, not only is it ever more relevant today, but also very well acted and written. I found it painful at times to see the turmoil that the mother was put through. I really have no idea what I would have done in her shoes. I couldn't imagine having a worse conflict for a parent. The discussion about nature vs. nurture re - psychopathy was also very interesting considering how long ago the original novel was written. It seems so obvious after reading Cleckley that one can be born without conscience but you would have to think that, much like a few of the characters scoffed at the notion of it, their were many people who very much doubted the possibility. All in all, a very interesting cinematic portrayal and definitely worth a watch.
 
Very well done indeed! They got so many things right about psychopaths! And in 1956!

I hope this does not spoil it for anyone, but I wondered about their choice of ending.

At first I was annoyed: was it a divine intervention, or else the hand of nature that resolved this particular case?

Then I thought maybe the end could represent what often happens to predators: their overconfidence, and their wishful thinking, blinds them to danger and they end up doing themselves in?
 
There were actually two endings...

Although the novel and play had the mother dying and the evil child surviving, the Hays Code did not allow for "crime to pay." The ending of the film thus has it the other way around, with Christine's life being saved by the local hospital and Rhoda being struck down by lightning while trying to retrieve the penmanship medal from a lake.

The Bad Seed was remade for television in 1985, adapted by George Eckstein and directed by Paul Wendkos. It starred Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine, Carrie Wells, Richard Kiley, Chad Allen and Christa Denton. This version used the original ending as in the March novel.
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I found it remarkable if for no other reason than it portrayed a genetic psychopath in unambiguous terms. Off hand, I can not think of another piece of fictional media with a psychopathic villian that does not at least imply that there are environmental causes for the villian's outlook.

!!!SPOILER ALERT!!!

Laura said:
There were actually two endings...

Although the novel and play had the mother dying and the evil child surviving, the Hays Code did not allow for "crime to pay." The ending of the film thus has it the other way around, with Christine's life being saved by the local hospital and Rhoda being struck down by lightning while trying to retrieve the penmanship medal from a lake.

The Bad Seed was remade for television in 1985, adapted by George Eckstein and directed by Paul Wendkos. It starred Blair Brown, Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine, Carrie Wells, Richard Kiley, Chad Allen and Christa Denton. This version used the original ending as in the March novel.
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OK... This makes sense. When I saw it, the plot was rolling right along, and though it was clear that the end of the film was near, the lightning strike was just so abrupt that it was almost like an arbitrary spot in the last 10 minutes of the story was chosen and the lightning strike added. Of course, one is thinking, "If we could be so lucky..." but it just seemed really out of place compared to the rest of the film. Now I see why.
 
the hayes code and the general insistence of hollywood on happy endings is IMHO an example of the most devastating social programming perpetrated by movies.
we are so used to the fact that 'the good guys will win in the end' that we expect this from reality also and often are unable to accept/recognize the fact that the bad guys do get away with it most of the time.
 
I just finished watching a dvd called 'Orphan'

It is very similar to the bad seed, the main character is a psychopathic orphan girl who uses all the classic strategies to set-up and manipulate the members of her adopting family. Really worth watching.
 
hallowed said:
I just finished watching a dvd called 'Orphan'

It is very similar to the bad seed, the main character is a psychopathic orphan girl who uses all the classic strategies to set-up and manipulate the members of her adopting family. Really worth watching.
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I watched some of that movie, couldn't finish it because it was too violent for my taste.

**Spoiler for anyone who wants to watch Orphan**

Also, the psychopathic "child" is not actually a kid. She is an old woman who has some sort of disease that causes her not to age (from the synopsis I read). So it's not really similar to The Bad Seed, because the Bad Seed is actually about a child psychopath - so it's a bit different imo.
 
The Bad Seed, had the most impact on me, but I saw that one a long time ago.

What bothered me most was some instinctual knowing, even back then, that the little girl was bad for real and nothing was going to change that.

It was interesting too that no one really seemed to understand that except for the janitor and you just knew she was gonna get him sooner or later.

The Orphan, was good to, but didn`t have the same impact on me as the Bad Seed ( having learned much more about these types since then) though the ending of the Orphan was quite a surprise. It had a good portrayal of the effect these people have on normal children and how easily they manipulate and control almost every aspect of other peoples lives.

It was a good watch too.
 
I just saw this great movie and was amazed at the portrayal of essential psychopathy at that time.
The lack of emotions and the attempt to imitate them when the little girl feels like it becomes really necessary, as well as the fact that she ignores what she doesn't like to change the conversation, is fascinating.

My only regret is the end of the film which lacks realism for my taste. Too bad the 1985 version with the original ending seems nowhere to be found in French.

A new remake was made in 2018, but I haven't seen it yet because there is no French version available at the moment. According to my daughter who watched it, it is the father who is confronted with his daughter and not the mother. I think there are a lot of other differences, but I didn't try to find out more so as not to be spoiled or spoiled my daughter who is keen to see this version from 1956.
 
I find the landlady interesting because she is like a amateur psychologist, and she talks about the type of person that Rhoda is, yet she can't see Rhoda as she is - like Christine, who sees through her lies.

And she exalts her and showers her with presents, comparing her to other children and making the distinction: 'Rhoda's not like other children'.

So, she is like blind to her condition and as well, fosters it, by making her exceptional to her discernment, and loves and provides cover for her.
 
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