[7]
After a child drowns during a school picnic, a mother (Nancy Kelly) begins to realize her psychopathic, pig-tailed daughter (Patty McCormack) is the culprit. The Bad Seed, based on a novel by William March and a play by Maxwell Anderson, is advertised as ‘a big shocker’ and by 1950s standards, it really must have been. It’s still a bit shocking in the 2020s. While the film has a certain camp value, it’s surprisingly grounded and sophisticated in its portrayal of psychopathy. McCormack’s character lacks any and all empathy, and genuinely doesn’t understand how she has any choice other than murder when people stand in the way of what she wants. As the story progresses, we learn her classmate isn’t her first victim — nor her last.
Director Mervyn LeRoy (I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Madame Curie) tries to open the film up cinematically with some exterior scenes, but for the most part, it still feels like a filmed stage play. But what a play! Nancy Kelly puts in a dynamic performance as she summons the courage to confront her daughter with her dark suspicions. Once those suspicions are confirmed, she descends into grief and near-madness, wrestling with whether or not to call the police or take actions into her own hands. The climax is a bold, emotional, and very surprising one that should have concluded the story. Unfortunately, the film has another ten or fifteen minutes that undo the shock in a much more ‘safe’ and unsatisfying manor.
Patty McCormack is delightfully fiendish as the film’s eight-year-old villain. We can tell her character has learned how to placate her parents with faux concern and appreciation. Her interactions with the property’s shady maintenance man (Henry Jones) are more truthful. There’s no pretending with him. Evil recognizes evil as these two characters antagonize each other throughout the film, destined for a dramatic showdown. Evelyn Varden is memorable as the landlord who unassumingly dotes over McCormack, but Eileen Heckart (Butterflies are Free) gives the film’s standout performance as the mother of the drowned student. We only see her in a drunken, grief-stricken state, but she holds the remarkable power to swing the film from dark comedy to deadly-serious drama on the turn of a time. She, McCormack, and Kelly were all deservedly acknowledged with an Oscar nominations.
With William Hopper, Paul Fix, and Joan Croyden.
Oscar Nominations: Best Actress (Nancy Kelly), Supporting Actress (Patty McCormack), Supporting Actress (Eileen Heckart), Black & White Cinematography (Harold Rosson)