Dorothy McGuire

Selznick, whose first move was to lend the actress out to 20th Century-Fox to recreate her role as the immature newlywed in the 1943 filmization of Claudia. So popular was this film that a followup was made three years later, again starring McGuire, titled Claudia and David (1946). In the meantime she had played a far more mature role as the beleagured wife of alcoholic James Dunn in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945), then finally made a film for Selznick, portraying an imperiled mute girl in The Spiral Staircase (1946). Always a star and never a starlet, McGuire refused to pose for cheesecake stills, turned down attempts to publicize her private life, and vetoed wearing makeup for her role as an extremely homely woman in The Enchanted Cottage (1945), opting (wisely) to convey the homeliness through facial expressions and lighting. The actress was nominated for an Academy Award for her role as Gregory Peck's fiancee in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), but Oscars went instead to supporting actress Celeste Holm and to the picture itself. Alone among actresses her age, McGuire was able to fluctuate from romantic leads in such films as Three Coins in the Fountain (1954) to character parts in films like Friendly Persuasion (1956), relying neither on actor's affectations in the younger roles nor age makeup in the older ones. At age 46, she was still able to successfully portray the Virgin Mary in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Living reclusively with her wealthy husband John Swope, McGuire chose her roles slowly and carefully in the latter part of her career, making quality appearances in such made-for-TV dramas as Rich Man Poor Man (1976) and Little Women (1979). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide