The Bad Seed

Director: Mervyn LeRoy

Overview

"This melodramatic thriller about a very, very bad little girl comes to DVD in a presentation which should please the members of its cult following. The Bad Seed has been transferred to disc in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono. The dialogue is in English, with optional subtitles in English, Spanish, and French. Bonus materials include a commentary track featuring actress Patty McCormack and critic Charles Busch, a short documentary in which McCormack talks about the making of the film, and the movie's original trailer."

Product Details

Release Date:	08/10/2004
UPC:	0085393352424
Original Release:	1956
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	2:09:00

Special Features

Closed Caption;Commentary by Patty McCormack and Charles Busch; New making-of documentary "Enfant Terrible: A Conversation With Patty McCormack"; Theatrical trailer; Subtitles: English, Français, and Español

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Patty McCormack	Rhoda Penmark
Nancy Kelly	Mrs. Christine Penmark
Eileen Heckart	Mrs. Daigle
Henry Jones	Radio Voice,LeRoy, Handyman,
William Hopper	Col. Kenneth Penmark
Evelyn Varden	Monica Breedlove
Paul Fix	Bravo
Jesse White	Emory
Gage Clarke	Tasker
Joan Croydon	Miss Fern
Frank Cady	Mr. Daigle
Alex North	Composer

Technical Credits

John Lee Mahin

Mervyn LeRoy	Director,Producer
John Lee Mahin	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

The Bad Seed, the film version of Maxwell Anderson's Broadway play, was especially topical in the 1950s, when Americans were dealing with a rising tide of juvenile delinquency. While Seed can't really be taken seriously as sociology, it's tremendous fun as film. Director Mervyn LeRoy keeps things moving at a steady clip, stressing the thriller aspects of the story. Although he has only a few opportunities to physically "open up" the play from its one-set origins, this doesn't harm the film -- and sometimes helps it, by emphasizing the Mother's feeling that she is trapped (by both her situation and her true heritage). Nancy Kelly's performance is rather odd at times and overly stagy, but overall is quite effective. Her vocal delivery, bizarre at first, somehow seems organic and eventually grows on the viewer. Patty McCormack gives one of the better children's performances in film and really makes one's blood run cold, and Henry Jones is appropriately disturbing as the peculiar handyman. The best performance, however, is Eileen Heckart's turn as the mother of the little boy killed by Rhoda. Her two scenes are a tour de force, and she creates a character that is at one time pathetic, repulsive, embarrassing, sympathetic, and pitiable. While the tacked-on "justice must be served" ending is unnecessary, it fortunately doesn't actively detract from one's enjoyment of this film.