FAQ for
The Bad Seed (1956) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Yes. The Bad Seed was a 1954 novel by American author William March [1893-1954). The novel was adapted into a play of the same title by American playwright James Maxwell Anderson. The play was subsequently adapted for the movie by American screenwriter John Lee Mahin [1902-1984]. A remake of the film, also titled The Bad Seed, was released in 1985.

Because the movie was actually adapted from the play, and the play was adapted from the novel in such a way that it could be presented with a minimum of set changes, there are some notable differences. For example, the story in the novel takes place over an entire summer as opposed to the movie's time frame of a few weeks. In the novel, Christine's father has been dead for years, and Christine does her own library research on her background. The character backgrounds are more detailed, in particular Leroy the caretaker. Probably the most notable difference is that the ending was changed for the movie because the Hays Code during the 1950s did not allow films to show story lines where crime pays.

Near the beginning of the film, when Monica (Evelyn Varden) gives Rhoda (Patty McCormack) a pair of rhinestone-studded sunglasses and a necklace, she mentions that Rhoda is eight years old. Patty McCormick was actually nine years old at the time.

That haunting tune is the 18th century French folk song Au Clair de la Lune [English: In the Light of the Moon], author unknown. It is frequently used as an etude for beginning piano students because of the simplicity of the melody.

The title on the book is Inside the Castle Wall. It appears to have been made up for the movie. Elsie Dinsmore, the book that Rhoda won in Sunday School, is the first book in a series of 28 Elsie Dinsmore books written by Margaret Finlay [1828-1909] between 1867 and 1905. Ironically, Elsie Dinsmore is about a simpering little girl who endures and forgives abuse from adults like a miniature martyr. Since they are all in public domain, a number of the books have been made available online by Project Gutenberg.

Other movies that feature children who are not the little innocents they seem to be include Orphan (2009), The Omen (1976) (remake The Omen (2006)), Village of the Damned (1960) (remake Village of the Damned (1995)), Case 39 (2009), and The Good Son (1993).