ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

During my 18 years as an elementary school teacher I never met a child I didn't like.

On the other hand, I did meet a few I didn't like a hell of a lot. The Bad Seed is about a child whom — quite frankly — only a mother could love.

Everybody else in the movie might think that cute little Rhoda Penmark is adorable, but if they don't figure out pretty quick that this little bitch is a monster in pigtails, they'll end in one of those refrigerated drawers the morgue uses to keep the remains from smelling bad when the next-of-kin come to identify the body.

William Hopper (from "20 Million Miles to Earth") has a relatively brief role as a clueless father who doesn't realize Daddy's Little Girl is killing people just for the childlike fun of it.

If you've never seen this movie before, you'll love the pyrotechnic special effect at the end. It proves that God knew what a bad little girl Rhoda had been — and He does a whole lot more than just spank the heartless little fiend.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Frightening movie,Bud. Always enjoyed it.

But why is it listed here as its hardly sf?

[Krel]

Not SF, but certainly horror. The movie is about a sweet, angelic looking child, who is actually a manipulative, calculating, remorseless, coldblooded killer. The movie really gave me the creeps as a kid.

The play has a different ending, but there were rules that movies had to follow back then.

It is on TCM tonight at 8:45 pm, central time.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

Pow wrote:

Frightening movie,Bud. Always enjoyed it. But why is it listed here as its hardly sf?

Oops! Thanks, Pow. I moved it here when you pointed out the error. Thanks.

Krel wrote:

It is on TCM tonight at 8:45 pm, central time.

Thanks, David! I just set my DVR. I haven't seen it in years, so I'll enjoy watching it.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

As I think back, the movie also deals with the subject of inherited evil. The Mother realizes that she is the Daughter of a serial killer, and sweet little Rhoda is just like her Grandmother. But does this qualify as SF, or Horror? I don't know.

David.

[Bud Brewster]

Definitely not science fiction (which is why I moved it here to the Movies in Other Genres section), and I don't really know what defines horror, not being a fan of same.

Let's just say it's a psychological thriller -- and a darn good one, too.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

I had this movie on DVD and I now have it on Blu-ray.

I know that the curtain call style epilogue didn't sit well with some people. It probably seems especially odd to modern audiences. In 1956, the subject matter was seen as so disturbing that Warner Brothers didn't want audiences going home depressed. They found a way to stick a happy ending onto a movie with nothing happy in it...and I think they did a good job.

[Bud Brewster]

Hey, I'd forgotten about the scenes at the end where the actors are introduced, and Willam Hopper playfully spanks Patty for being so naughty and killing people without parental consent.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

[Bud Brewster]

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In keeping with All Sci-Fi's on-going policy which states, "If you can't think of anything new to say about the movie . . . post the trailer!" — here's the trailer.

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______________________ The Bad Seed - Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has this interesting trivia item from Patty McCormack, who played Rhoda. She grew up to be a lovely young lady, and I always enjoy seeing her in appearances during the years after The Bad Seed.
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According to Patty McCormack, the "curtain call" of actors at the end of the movie was a holdover from the Broadway production. The original ending of the play, in which Christine dies and Rhoda lives to kill again, so angered Broadway audiences that when the performance was over, "they were almost literally ready to kill someone." The "curtain call," where Christine turns Rhoda over her knee and spanks her, was a way of breaking the tension and sending the audience off with a laugh, by having Rhoda get her comeuppance.


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Krel]

The movie was made during the production code days, where criminals could not get away with their crimes. There is no way the Hayes office was going to let them get away with the ending of the play. So you get the hand of God stopping the little monster ending.

David.

[Gord Green]

That was also so true of TV productions. For example, when a killer got away with their heinous deeds on THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR old Al would come on in an epilogue to explain that the criminal got caught "off screen".

However, if you watched just the drama the ending would be very different.

I think that's why the show was as popular as it was.

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, the lightning bolt that fried the little bitch in the final moments of the movie was much more satisfying to an upbeat guy like me than a dismal ending in which the tortured mother kills herself and the little monster in pigtails is left to murder more people.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[orzel-w]

Now if we only had that kind of justice in real life...
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...or not...

WayneO
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