Not even Bonita Granville's vengeful little snitch in William Wyler's 1936 drama, These Three, nor Linda Blair's demon-possessed teenager in The Exorcist can equal Patty McCormack's chilling performance as Rhoda, a pint-sized psychopathic child suspected of being a serial murderer in Mervyn LeRoy's 1956 melodrama. In her feature film debut, McCormack is a master of manipulation. With her Little Dutch Girl-like cuteness, Rhoda charms friends and family, including her mother (played by Nancy Kelly), who fears that she has produced a "bad seed." To those who stand in the way of what she wants, Rhoda is a lethal Lilliputian, most notably to an unsuspecting student penmanship winner and a doomed handyman (Henry Jones), who sees the monster behind the perfect child. Although nominated for an Oscar for her role, McCormack was relegated to forgettable, minor film and TV roles because she would be forever identified with the poisonous Rhoda.-Doris Worsham