The Bad Seed

It's October, everybody! I'm sure most of you know what that means. That's right, horror movies. I'll be watching as many as I possibly can over the next month, so keep checking back!

The first movie in my month-long celebration was the classic 1956 evil kid thriller, The Bad Seed, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, and based on the play of the same name, which was based on the novel of the same name. Like all movies from the 1950's, it's about the Penmarks, a happy, loving family with the sweetest little girl in the world. For the first five seconds, anyway, because the very moment you meet little Rhoda, you can tell something's off with her. She's just a little too sweet. It's got to be an act.

It doesn't take long before her true colors are revealed. When the matter of a penmanship award she lost to another kid in class is brought up, she goes batshit. Then, when Leroy, the simple groundskeeper they employ sprays her feet with his hose, she flips again. Leroy isn't fooled by her act, though. He can see right through her with his powers of simplicity.

While Rhoda is away at a school picnic, her mother, Christine, while entertaining company, hears on the radio that a child has drowned at the park. Afraid at first that it was Rhoda, she is relieved to hear that it was another child. But when Rhoda comes skipping into the house like nothing has happened, Christine is more than a little bit unsettled. She talks to Rhoda about it and Rhoda doesn't seem phased by it in the least; she just wants a peanut butter sandwich.

Fuel is further added to Christine's suspicions when Rhoda's teacher comes to visit her, and she learns that the child that drowned was the little boy that Rhoda lost the penmanship award to. On top of that, Rhoda was seen fighting with the little boy on the dock that he fell off of. Aw, crap.

I won't go any further than that. The Bad Seed is meticulously and cleverly plotted, and I don't want to ruin too much, in case I've already convinced you to watch it. If you need more convincing, I'll say this: the little boy isn't the last person to kick the bucket.

The acting is really great, especially the little girl, who, along with Nancy Kelly as Christine, and the lady that played the grieving mother of the little drowned boy all got Oscar nominations. I honestly wasn't expecting the acting to be so good. I just expected a campy 50's B-movie. The screenplay based on the play based on the book is solid and entertaining. Whoever wrote it must have done their research on psychopathic behavior, because little Rhoda fits the description to a tee. The cinematography, also nominated for an Oscar, does something very difficult to pull off: keeps the storytelling fresh and interesting, even though the majority of the movie is confined to one small set.

The 1950's offered a particular challenge for filmmakers: finding ways to tackle mature subject matter, without falling under the scrutiny and censorship of the Hayes Code. There is a certain slyness in the best films of the period, like, say, how smartly Billy Wilder's The Apartment dealt with suicide. The Bad Seed is plenty subversive, but even it ran into some walls. The original, much darker, and more appropriate, ending had to be changed. I think they did a decent job with the new ending, but now knowing how it should have been, I have to say I would have preferred that.

After the movie is over, there are still a couple more surprises. First, a card comes up, entreating the audience not to spoil the ending for others. How cool is that? It would be pointless to even try to ask people not to ruin endings nowadays, since all the information is readily available before the movie even comes out. After the card, we're treated to a final curtain call of the cast, each taking their bows, smiling, and with good humor. It's really funny, especially the very end of it, with Rhoda. If you don't already know about the last shot in the credits, I won't ruin it here. Watch the movie!