The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed is a 1956 American psychological thriller film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones and Eileen Heckart. The film is based upon the 1954 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn is based upon William March's 1954 novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by John Lee Mahin. Plot Kenneth and Christine Penmark dote on their eight-year-old daughter Rhoda. Kenneth leaves on military duty. Monica Breedlove, the Penmarks' neighbor and landlady, visits. Rhoda, pristine and proper in her pinafore dress and blonde pigtails, tells her about a penmanship competition that she lost to her schoolmate Claude Daigle. Rhoda then leaves for her school picnic at the lake. Christine is having lunch with friends when they hear a radio report that Claude has drowned in the lake. Christine worries that her daughter might be traumatized, but Rhoda is unfazed by the incident and goes about her life. Rhoda's teacher Miss Fern visits Christine, revealing that Rhoda had been seen grabbing at Claude's penmanship medal and was with the boy just prior to his death. She hints that Rhoda might have some connection to Claude's death and adds that Rhoda will not be welcome at the school after the current term ends. Claude's parents barge in, and Mrs. Daigle is distraught and drunk, accusing Miss Fern of withholding information. When Christine finds the medal in Rhoda's room, she demands an explanation. Rhoda tells Christine that Claude gave it to her.