La mala semilla

Minor 1950's classic that holds up well fifty year later. The film does have its flaws. Occasionally it has the feel of a staged play--at times it seems Mrs. Penmark has to answer the door every five minutes so as to get the other major characters on screen. The Freudian psychobabble and the altered ending add an unnecessary half hour or so to the running time. And the acting can be very overwrought (although the scene in which Mrs. Penmark is screaming in the apartment as Leroy screams outside--both counterpointed by Rhoda's untalented but very loud rendition of "Au Clair de la Lune"--is a moment of high camp horror on par with anything in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?") Still the movie works, largely because of Rhoda, the eerily self controlled little murderess who despite her sweet smiles always looks at though her hair is braided a bit too tight. It helps that an actress was cast who was cute enough, but not too pretty--Patty McCormack looks like a miniature gargoyle when she drops the sunny mask and starts roaring. Leroy, the leering simple minded caretaker is almost as unsettling--the scenes in which he sadistically taunts Rhoda almost amount to a very twisted flirtation, as he is clearly more delighted than appalled by her capacity for evil (at least until he learns just how far this capacity goes).

I haven't seen the 1980's remake, but I can't see how it could top the original, if only because evil little girls in jeans and T-shirts just aren't as scary as evil little girls with hair bows and starched frocks.

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!

I consider this to be more of a psychological drama than a horror movie. Eight-year-old Rhoda has no remorse or feeling for the crimes she has committed, saying that it was "their faults". McCormack is a wonderful actress who could past her age in any movie. Overall, this is my favorite movie of all time and I recommend it to anyone who likes suspense with psychology.

I watched this film again last night and can't count how many times I've seen it.

What I find fascinating is the that two leads, Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormick don't seem to fit with the talent of the rest of the cast, most of whom are very good character actors.

McCormick plays the role of Rhoda as if she's in the stage play, but on film it comes off as over-acting.

Nancy Kelly is too whiny and seems to swing back and forth between being terrified and oblivious, with no middle range. One minute she thinks her daughter is a murderer and then next she's leaving her alone to go grocery shopping if there's nothing wrong. If she's trying to convey denial due to the love she has for her daughter, it doesn't work.

There are a couple of scenes that don't seem to accomplish anything as they end with someone having to go to dinner or lunch so everyone can just ignore the fact that they believe this child to be terribly disturbed and possibly worse. In this instance maybe we should consider the times in which the film was made.

Something just doesn't flow right for me, yet, I watch this movie almost every time I catch it on television. I can't explain why, but maybe that was the intention of the film maker.

I was blown away! I was at the edge of my seat the whole time. Those people gave me the creeps. I was just flipping through the channels when I came across it. Normally I'll change the channel after a minute or two to see what else is on, but not when I saw this movie! I was so terrified, I sat through the whole movie, uninterrupted. I'm shivering just thinking about it right now!