September 12, 2021

20,000 vinyl LPs 307: The Bad Seed ~ Maxwell Anderson & Alex North

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vinyl LP front cover detail
Art Direction – Dan Goldwasser 
detail photo of album cover by Styrous®


65 years ago today, on September 12, 1956, the psychological thriller film, The Bad Seed, was released. By today's standards the depiction of an 8 year old child who is a pathological killer might seem a bit tame but back then it was shocking (link to plot below).        
 
 
The Bad Seed poster 

 
The film is based upon the 1954 play of the same name by Maxwell Anderson, which in turn is based on the William March 1954 novel, The Bad Seed. The play was adapted by John Lee Mahin for the screenplay of the film. It was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Henry Jones, Eileen Heckart and William Hopper as Rhoda's father.          

 
vinyl LP front cover
Art Direction – Dan Goldwasser 
photo of album cover by Styrous®
 

Patty McCormack was cast as the killer child; the acting was a a bit stilted but that may have been a product of the time, however, it is a chilling performance. Her role of Rhoda Penmark, the eight-year-old psychopath and fledgling serial killer, made her a major movie star.         
 
 
Patty McCormack as Rhoda Penmark
 publicity photo
 
 
Maxwell Anderson also wrote the book and lyrics for the 1938 musical, Knickerbocker Holiday and the 1949 stage production of Lost in the Stars, both with music by Kurt Weill.       
 
 

vinyl LP back cover
photo by Styrous®


There was a remake for television of The Bad Seed in 1985 which was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starred Lynn Redgrave, David Carradine, Richard Kiley, David Ogden Stiers and Carrie Wells as the killer child whose name was changed to Rachel.

The story was remade for television once again in 2018 with Rob Lowe directing as well as acting. This time the child's name was changed to Emma and portrayed by Mckenna Grace. Patty McCormack (she played the killer in the original 1956 film, remember?) portrays Dr. March, Emma's psychiatrist.      
 

vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®


The score for the film was written by Alex North who did a brilliant job of suspense and evil, tempered with the gentleness of an innocent child. He is best known for his film scores for A Streetcar Named Desire (one of the first jazz-based film scores), Viva Zapata!, Spartacus, Cleopatra, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He was the first composer to receive an Honorary Academy Award, but never won a competitive Oscar despite fifteen nominations.         



vinyl LP back cover details
detail photos by Styrous®





 
Alex North died on September 8, 1991, of pancreatic cancer at his home in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles, California.          

Maxwell Anderson died in Stamford, Connecticut, on February 28, 1959, two days after suffering a stroke; he was 70 years old. The inscription on his tombstone may reference Lost in the Stars, it reads:

    Children of dust astray among the stars
    Children of earth adrift upon the night
    What is there in our darkness or our light
    To linger in prose or claim a singing breath
    Save the curt history of life isled in death    













 

   
Tracklist:
       
Side 1:
        
A1 - The Bad Seed
A2 - The Dream
A3 - No More Children
A4 - The Truth
A5 - Basket Of Kisses
A6 - Confession
       
Side 2:
       
B1 - The Princess
B2 - The Locket
B3 - Identity
B4 - My Baby Sleep Well
B5 - The Medal And Rhoda's Death
       
Companies, etc.
       
    Phonographic Copyright ℗ – RCA Records
    Recorded At – Warner Bros. Recording Studios
    Mastered At – Battery Studios, New York
    Designed At – Warm Butter Design
    Published By – Wb Music Corp.
    Copyright © – Radio Corporation Of America
       
Credits:
       
    Art Direction – Dan Goldwasser
    Bass – Joe Mondragon, Paul Gregory (16), Richard Kelley*
    Bassoon – Norman H. Herzberg*, Ray Nowlin
    Cello – Alexander Reisman, Eleanor Slatkin, Irving Lipschultz, Kolia Levienne
    Clarinet, Saxophone – Richard H. Anderson*, Jack Klein, Joe Casillas, Les Robinson, Percy Nichols, Teddy Krise
    Composed By – Alex North
    Conductor – Ray Heindorf
    Contractor [Orchestra Manager] – Victor Aller
    English Horn – Lloyd Rathbun
    Executive-Producer [For La-La Land Records] – MV Gerhard*, Matt Verboys
    Flute, Saxophone – James Briggs, Leonard Posella
    French Horn – George Hofman, George W. Hyde*, William Hinshaw
    Harp – Denzi (Gail) Laughton*
    Liner Notes – Frank K. DeWald
    Mastered By – Mike Piacentini
    Music Director [Musical Direction] – Ray Heindorf
    Oboe – Lilian Lhoest*
    Percussion – W. Frank Horsecroft*, George Beebe (2), John Boudreau (4), Lou Erickson
    Piano – David Klatzkin, Norma Drury
    Producer [Production Assistance] – John Takis
    Producer [Reissue CD] – Didier C. Deutsch, Neil S. Bulk
    Steel Guitar – Dick Roberts
    Trombone – Charles Cowpland, Frank Sullivan (6), Hoyt Bohannon
    Trumpet – A. A. Harris, Larry Sullivan (2), Pincus "Pinky" Savitt*
    Tuba – John Bambridge
    Viola – Donald Cole (4), Maurice Keltz, Rubin Decker, William Hymanson
    Violin – Baldassare Ferlazzo, Dan Lube, David Berman*, Hans Wippler, Harry Zagon, Hillard Lubie, Howard Griffin*, Jerome Reisler, Joseph Livoti, Noumi Fischer, R. C. Hemery, Sam Ross
        
Alex North – The Bad Seed
Label: RCA Victor – LPM-1395
Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1956
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Theme, Score
       

         
Viewfinder links:        
         
Maxwell Anderson              
David Carradine        
Eileen Heckart        
Ray Heindorf        
William Hopper         
Nancy Kelly          
Richard Kiley         
Gail Laughton             
Mervyn LeRoy        
Rob Lowe         
Patty McCormack         
Alex North         
Lynn Redgrave         
Dick Roberts           
David Ogden Stiers        
Evelyn Varden          
Kurt Weill            
Jesse White         
        
Net links:        
        
The Bad Seed cast            
The Bad Seed plot            
    
        
        
YouTube links:        
        
The Bad Seed (Official Trailer)        
        
        
         
        
        
        
Styrous® ~ Sunday, July 19, 2020       
       
 
 
















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