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The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed

Thriller · Drama · Horror · 1956

Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.

Movie details

The Bad Seed

“Talk all you want about the man and the woman -- but please don't tell about the girl!”

1956 Thriller · Drama · Horror 2h 9m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Bad Seed?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mervyn LeRoy

Written by

John Lee Mahin

Patty McCormack

Patty McCormack

Rhoda Penmark

Nancy Kelly

Nancy Kelly

Christine Penmark

Henry Jones

Henry Jones

Leroy Jessup

Eileen Heckart

Eileen Heckart

Hortense Daigle

Evelyn Varden

Evelyn Varden

Monica Breedlove

William Hopper

William Hopper

Col. Kenneth Penmark

Paul Fix

Paul Fix

Richard Bravo

Court is in session

Put The Bad Seed on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Arthouse Gremlin

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.