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The Bad Seed (1956)


Actors: Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart, Evelyn Varden
Directed By: Mervyn LeRoy
Studio: Warner Home Video
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Run Time: 129 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: September 12, 1956
DVD Release Date: August 10, 2004
Format: DVD
Genres: Horror


Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 09/13/2005 Run time: 129 minutes Rating: Nr


movie review

Amazon.com Editorial Review:
"A basket full of kisses for a basket full of hugs." Those are chilling words, at least when uttered by that ice princess, Patty McCormack. As Rhoda Penmark, she is as pretty as a porcelain doll but drips venom with each curtsey and polite response. Little Rhoda's mother is terrified she has passed on her own mother's corruption. Oops, turns out she's right. This passes the test of time, as it still gets under your skin. The character development is tight and the story very involving. Not even Freddy Krueger had the ability to scare like tiny McCormack, looking just like a little adult while she literally beats out the competition for a penmanship award. However, director Mervyn LeRoy's hands were tied over the ending, which was changed from the source material--Maxwell Anderson's hit Broadway play. A supposedly more appropriate, and moral, ending was demanded by the studio. This was remade (badly) in 1985. --Rochelle O'Gorman