By Melissa Antoinette Garza
As a child, one of the characters I really adored was Rhoda (Patty McCormack) from THE BAD SEED (1956). It probably tells too much about myself that I understood her and agreed with her.
I can’t imagine one never seeing this classic, but I suppose since I’m in my late 30s now, there are a few generations below me who didn’t grow up with this film constantly on 1 of the 13 channels we had the option of watching.
To give a quick summary, Rhoda is a very young child that just isn’t right. Things like conscience and morality are not things she has within her.
Her mother Christine (Nancy Kelly) tries to instill values, but fails. Rhoda gets particularly upset when a young boy wins an award pin that she feels rightfully belongs to her. We’ve all been there. What do you do when something like that happens? If you’re Rhoda you first ask the boy for the pin and when he declines, hit him with a stick, take the pin, and drown the boy.
Hey, I had a crush on Rowdy Roddy Piper, Freddy Krueger and The Joker when I was little, so me thinking of Rhoda as a badass cool chick may make a little more sense. It may also explain why I didn’t have friends growing up.
Anyways, Christine begins to suspect her daughter when she finds the pin in Rhoda’s drawer. Rhoda tries to change the subject and even calls her mother beautiful, but Christine just keeps pushing. She couldn’t let it go.
More victims pile up and Christine begins to realize that her daughter is a sociopath or a bad seed.
I watched this film recently and there is just something amazing about Patty McCormack’s performance. Generally, I give allowances for younger actors, especially when trying to pull off more than one emotion at the same time. Here no allowances are or need to be made. McCormack is without flaw. She is purposely transparent in her evil deeds and menacing when she is angry. Rhoda will tell off an adult without thinking twice. It’s twistedly beautiful. Her character makes me laugh and even today I root for her. There’s no question that she’s an uncaring, diabolical, unfeeling monster; but there’s something sick in me that finds that endearing.
I don’t think this have been confirmed, but I believe that the SOUTH PARK character Cartman was either slightly based on or in later seasons took some character qualities of Rhoda. Just a few days ago, as I re-watched THE BAD SEED, I saw the similarities. Especially, when Rhoda would try to change the subject by complimenting her mother, I at times would hear Cartman’s voice in my head.
For those who haven’t seen the flick, I’m not going to ruin the ending. It’s definitely one that needs to be watched. I cannot stress enough to steer clear of the remake. It was made to be ‘modern’ in the 80s and I remember when it first aired. I was excited to see it and then just disappointed. By that time, I had seen the original countless times.
The issue with the remake is that they went with a brunette who on the outside already had a sinister quality. McCormick, on the other hand, looked so innocent and acted so innocent, except for the times she didn’t.
This is a known classic and it would be ridiculous for me to give it anything other than a perfect ten.
Scared Stiff Rating: 10/10 “Why should I feel sorry? It was Claude Daigle who got drowned, not me!” – (Rhoda)
