If I had to pick only one film out of these to see, I might recommend Till the End of Time (1946), since it remains a largely unsung gem, is only available on VHS and a Region 2 DVD, and is overshadowed by the more polished The Best Years of Our Lives released in the same year. This drama, capturing the painful transition from war to peace among a trio of servicemen, played by Guy Madison, Robert Mitchum and Bill Williams, features an excellent performance from McGuire, who plays a restless and wary war widow with a refreshing honesty. Her intelligent characterization of the older Pat Ruscomb simmers with tender longing, a dash of desire, and some understandable anger. Few other actresses could have conveyed such a blend of contradictory emotions with more skill.
You can see previous posts on this blog related to Dorothy McGuire and her films here.
Tuesday, June 14th Schedule of Dorothy McGuire Movies on TCM:
6:30 AM
The Enchanted Cottage (1945)
A scarred veteran and a homely woman are transformed by love.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, Herbert Marshall.
BW-92 mins, TV-G, CC,
8:30 AM
Till The End Of Time (1946)
A returning World War II veteran falls for a troubled war widow.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Guy Madison, Robert Mitchum.
BW-105 mins, TV-G, CC,
10:30 AM
Friendly Persuasion (1956)
A peaceful Quaker family's sanctity is tested during the Civil War.
Dir: William Wyler Cast: Gary Cooper, Dorothy McGuire, Marjorie Main.
BW-138 mins, TV-G, CC, Letterbox Format
1:00 PM
A Summer Place (1959)
An adulterous couple discovers that their children are sexually involved.
Dir: Delmer Daves Cast: Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire, Sandra Dee.
C-130 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
3:15 PM
Susan Slade (1961)
A pregnant teen allows her mother to pass the baby off as her own.
Dir: Delmer Daves Cast: Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire.
C-116 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format
4 comments:
Nice profile of a delightful actress. My favorites of his films include SPIRAL STAIRCASE and THE ENCHANTED COTTAGE. I like her in SUSAN SLADE, too, because it's the closest she ever came to playing an unlikable character.
Thanks, Rick. I find much of Susan Slade laughably melodramatic, even though it is very well made (and compulsively watchable). The presence of Dorothy McGuire's well-meaning if blind character was welcome in that overblown story along with Lloyd Nolan.
For McGuire characters who are difficult to like at times, I'd probably choose her portrait of Katie Nolan in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the bland fiancee of Gregory Peck in Gentleman's Agreement--both of whom have their reasons for their inability to share completely in the life around them.
It would have been fun to see Dorothy cut loose and play a full-blooded villainess, now that you mention it!
I agree that "Till the End of Time" is another great contribution in the post-War era about returning veterans. It's not as well put together as "Best Years", but McGuire's performance alone is worth watching. Robert Mitchum also shows great screen presence.
I do like Mitchum in Till the End of Time, Jacqueline. When viewing a few minutes of his performance yesterday, I kept thinking how similar his characterization was to "Jeff McCloud," the rodeo denizen in Nicholas Ray's wistful The Lusty Men (1952). I think both may show Mitchum at his best.
I was very touched by Bill Williams as the legless vet and Selena Royle as his mother in this film too. Williams seems to have played inarticulate, painfully innocent young men struggling to find a niche rather well in this movie as well as in Deadline at Dawn (1945) and The Clay Pigeon (1949).
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