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Old Posted Jul 20, 2016, 8:57 PM
JeffDiego JeffDiego is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 223
Quote:
Originally Posted by ethereal_reality View Post
re: William Eythe and mystery woman at the opening of the Milton J. Kreis at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...ostcount=35959



Thanks MrCory. I agree that she resembles Nancy Kelly, but I'm not 100% convinced.
Was there anything specific that led you to deduct the woman in the photograph was her?
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As for this....


http://annyas.com/screenshots

I've always thought Nancy Kelly's performance in 'The Bad Seed' was quite strange. The way she speaks just seems so odd to me.

Nancy Kelly as Christine Penmark


http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2...seed-1956.html

I wondered if anyone else felt the same way about her performance, so I went a' googling

Indeed, there are numerous criticisms online about her acting in 'The Bad Seed'
(despite being nominated for an Academy Award as best actress in the role)

Here's a rather humorous example:

"By the time 'The Bad Seed' was made, the principals had given nearly a thousand performances on Broadway — and all of them played to the last row of the second balcony. Nancy Kelly's acting is so mannered that it’s almost kabuki, and her vocal cords sound as if they have been tempest-tossed for years upon the billowy main of gin, under lowering clouds of tobacco. It’s a husky voice that sounds best in its lowest register, but Kelly favors her upper register, which produces an asthmatic rasp, like the last few drops of bathwater being squeezed out of a rubber duck."
http://www.tr10023.com/?p=583

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And believe it or not, there's another performance in the film that makes Ms. Kelly's acting seem understated.

That performance belongs to none other than......

Eileen Heckart as Hortense Daigle.


http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2...seed-1956.html

Her inebriated scene will haunt you til' the day you die.

Ms. Heckart was also nominated for 'the Bad Seed', as best supporting actress.
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And last but not least, there's the title character.

Patty McCormick as Rhode Penmark


http://lecinemadreams.blogspot.com/2...seed-1956.html

Believe me, she is the bad seed to end all bad seeds.

Here's one of her infamous lines....

"Why should I feel bad, I'm not the one who died."




making sure the people in the last row can see her expression.

http://emanuellevy.com/review/bad-seed-the-1956/

And yes, Ms McCormack, at the tender age of 11, was also nominated for her role in 'The Bad Seed'. - a total of 3 nominations in the acting category.


They all lost.
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Haven't seen "The Bad Seed" since I was a teenager - many moons ago LOL - but recall thinking Nancy Kelly's performance was pretty amazing; she looked and sounded exactly like a woman in the midst of a full-blown nervous breakdown. Inches from needing a strait-jacket. It was definitely one-of-a-kind. Also remember the superb character actress Evelyn Varden, the sort of " tough old broad/town gossip" type you don't see much anymore in films.
I agree the "theatrical woman" resembles certain photos of Nancy Kelly & certainly don't deny MrCory's claim, but I too am interested in why he's positive it is her.
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