![]() Alternately feigning tears and angrily blaming Claude, Rhoda admits that she killed the boy for his medal and confirms Christine's suspicion that, to acquire a keepsake, she had previously murdered an elderly neighbor when they had lived in Wichita, Kansas. Richard tries to convince her that it is nurture, not nature, that primarily influences such behavior.Ĭhristine catches Rhoda trying to dispose of her tap shoes in the household incinerator and realizes that Rhoda must have hit Claude with the shoes, which had left odd crescent-shaped marks on his face that could not be identified. She worries that her origin is the cause of Rhoda's sociopathy and that her behavior is genetic. Christine is horrified to learn that she is actually the daughter of a notorious serial killer. Haunted by confusing memories about her own childhood, Christine confronts him and he reveals that she was adopted. Rhoda tells Christine that Claude gave it to her.Ĭhristine's father Richard visits. When Christine finds the medal in Rhoda's room, she demands an explanation. Daigle is distraught and drunk, accusing Miss Fern of withholding information. 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. Rhoda's teacher Miss Fern visits Christine, revealing that Rhoda was the last person to have seen Claude alive and that she was seen grabbing at Claude's medal. Christine worries that her daughter might be traumatized, but Rhoda is unfazed by the incident and goes about her life. Rhoda then leaves for her school picnic at the lake.Ĭhristine is having lunch with friends when they hear a radio report that Claude has drowned in the lake. 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. Monica, the Penmarks' neighbor and landlady, visits. Kenneth and Christine Penmark dote on their eight-year-old daughter Rhoda. The screenplay was written by John Lee Mahin. 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 Bad Seed is a 1956 American psychological thriller film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones and Eileen Heckart. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |