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... Read allRhoda 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.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.
- Nominated for 4 Oscars
- 1 win & 6 nominations total
Joan Croydon
- Miss Fern
- (as Joan Croyden)
Frances Bavier
- Woman in Dinner Party
- (uncredited)
Violet N. Cane
- Teacher
- (uncredited)
Vivian Clermont
- Mary Beth Musgrove
- (uncredited)
Shelley Fabares
- Margie
- (uncredited)
Kathy Garver
- Rhoda's Classmate
- (uncredited)
Don C. Harvey
- Guard in Hospital Corridor
- (uncredited)
Edna Holland
- Saleslady
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe original Broadway production of "The Bad Seed" by Maxwell Anderson opened on December 8, 1954 and ran for 334 performances. Nancy Kelly won the 1955 Tony Award for Actress in a Drama and recreated her part in the movie. Patty McCormack, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden, Henry Jones and Joan Croydon also recreated their stage roles in the movie version.
- GoofsWhen Christine scolds Rhoda for asking for a garnet as well as a turquoise, the reflection of someone, probably Mervyn LeRoy, sitting in a chair with his legs crossed is visible in the coffee pot. Addition: Just to the left of the reflection that is assumed to be LeRoy you can see other crew members moving in the shadow of the door frame reflected in the coffee pot.
- Crazy creditsAfter the finale, a narrator tells the audience "One moment please. And now our wonderful cast." Then, the principal cast members are introduced one by one, like they would be at the end of a play. After that's done with, there's a brief scene in which Nancy Kelly spanks Patty McCormack.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Deadly Friend (1986)
- SoundtracksAu clair de la lune
(uncredited)
Attributed to Jean-Baptiste Lully
Played on the piano by Patty McCormack and whistled by Henry Jones
Played often in the score
Featured review
Eileen Heckart Is Heartbreaking ....
as the mother of the drowned boy.... a performance that must rank with the best of the 1950s. Heckart repeated her stage role in the 1956 film with Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack as the mother and daughter. Henry Jones (also in the stage production and excellent), Evelyn Varden, Gage Clarke, Paul Fix, Joan Croyden and Jesse White are good in support. Jones and Varden are especially good. William Hopper is and always was BLAH. But Eileen Heckart is superb as the drunken, crushed woman who knows there is something more to her son's death than she is being told. Her two scenes are riveting as she lurches across the room, begging for information, yet totally in control of the situation. Kelly, McCormack, Jones, and Varden are also good (if stagy) in their roles. Kelly seems hopelessly hammy but grows on you even though she seems to be imitating Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard most of the time. Great film, literate, interesting, riveting..... a must!
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Böse Saat
- Filming locations
- Midwest Street, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(as Tidewater Arms Apartments exteriors)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 9 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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