Alicia I love this movie so much

PodBill Just what I expected

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

evanston_dad Before Valerie Harper created the character of Rhoda on television, Patty McCormack created a very different character with the same name in this trashy shocker from 1956. She's the bad seed of the film's title, a child who is born with a genetic predisposition to do evil. She gets those genes from her mother (Nancy Kelly), you see, who finds out over the course of the film that she was adopted and that her real mother was a notorious criminal. Now she has to make a decision about her own daughter -- does she have a responsibility to expose the girl for what she is, or will a mother's love trump all?This film was no doubt pretty shocking stuff for 1956 audiences, but I can't help but think that it missed a whole heap of opportunities to be even more lurid than it is. It could have gone to some dark places in exploring the psychology of Kelly's character and her relationship with her daughter once she finds out that her kid is a cold-blooded murderer, but it instead decides to give Kelly a fairly straightforward character arc. She never seems overly conflicted about what she should do; she just seems to struggle with how hard it is to actually do it. And the film's look could have been much darker and gothic. How cool it would have been if the film's visual style grew gradually more distorted as the secrets emerge and the characters' psyches become more confused, but no. The film disappointingly has that flat studio look so common to movies from this time period. Kelly acts up a storm as the mom, and McCormack doesn't have to do much but read her lines since her character is such a whack job to begin with, but it's Eileen Heckart in a smaller role as the mother of one of Rhoda's victims who steals the show. She gets two scenes and plays both of them as a drunk mess. She overacts to the high heavens but somehow manages to be mesmerizing and devastating.Kelly, Heckart, and McCormack all received Oscar nominations for their performances, and Harold Rosson received a nod for his black and white cinematography.Grade: B+

Jessie Blaze I really did want to like this film. As a fan of the horror genre and "evil kid" movies, I heard from someone much older than me that this film was a must. I can see why this film may have been shocking and provocative at the time it was released. I was upset that none of the child's evil doings were shown on screen. In a creepy essence, that's the whole fun of horror movies. The character development for Rhonda just seemed abrupt and unrealistic. It was way too dramatic and it didn't seem authentic. I'm not sure if its her fault as an actress or just poor screenplay. Nevertheless, I don't actually regret watching the film. I like to watch everything under the horror genre at least once.

s_ano Overall this was a pretty great movie. I thought there were a lot of areas where they could have just done away with a scene or two..... or three. Creepy kid movies like this one are the reason why I don't want kids. Rhoda was amazing. For being so young I thought she had the best performance out of all actors in this film. McCormack did an amazing job at playing this adorable little psychopath, I was genuinely freaked out and I couldn't stand the girl. I do wish that Christine wasn't such a weak character, I think the story would have been even more interesting if her and Rhoda were on opposing sides instead of working together. The ending was absolutely insane. Just when I thought it was over, the story turned another corner. As for the final scene all I can say is.... Karma.

Adam A great film about the psychopathic Rhoda. Although some acting leaves something to be desired, the film still holds up well. It is surprising how suspenseful some scenes are 60 years later. I would think that it would not hold up well to a contemporary audience, and although some aspects don't, the film as a whole really does. Perhaps one of the more memorable scenes is when Monica and Christine both incoherently talk to themselves after seeing a man burned alive. The overlapping sound was just unnerving. The ending of this film shows evidence of the production code of the time. The clear good coming out better than evil felt bland. Although I still enjoyed the film, I would love to have seen the unhampered result.