From novel to stage to screen, "The Bad Seed" somehow became frozen over. No one on-hand during the material's early gestation period apparently figured out a way to open up its action. Consequently, as a movie, "The Bad Seed" is little more than a filmed play, with the actors projecting to the rafters. Several key actors from the Broadway success reprise their roles, including Patty McCormick in the lead as a sociopathic youngster in long pig-tails, but the piece has not been rethought for the screen (and what works on a stage doesn't always deliver in the more intimate medium of cinema). It isn't all McCormick's fault: she delivers a performance of a headstrong, evil child in a perfunctory, overly-rehearsed manner and probably deserved the accolades she received at the time. It is a very demanding role for a youngster. However, there are no shadings in the dialogue for McCormick to pick up on, and she's not fresh in the part. Worse, she's directed to be too terrific--enunciating very clearly and loudly, as if to reach the back rows--all the details of a complex human being ironed out. This couldn't possibly have been intentional, as the rest of the cast members are handled in the very same way. It's so forthright, uneasy, repetitive and awkward, it becomes a static transformation of stage material onto film. ** from ****
Review of The Bad Seed
