The Silver Screen Oasis

How do you feel about Donna Reed?

TCM has chosen to feature her as the Star of the Month in May with the films listed below. You can read more about this tribute here in an appreciation of her career on the TCM site.


One aspect of Reed's career that is rather timely since Memorial Day is coming up at the end of May was her recently revealed place in the hearts of many servicemen she met during WWII. I thought she was a particularly touching presence in two films from that era, The Human Comedy and They Were Expendable, but I must admit that I've never given her much thought until last year, when her children unearthed the touching correspondence she kept from servicemen she'd met for just a moment during her tours of WWII era camps.

Characterized by her children as someone who always tried to behave just like a regular Mom and wife when she was at home, Reed had never spoken of these letters to her family, but she kept them until the end of her life in 1986. As revealed last year to the public, the letters are filled with longing for someone like the pretty, non-threatening Reed, who represented what one soldier termed "a typical American girl," and wasn't as intimidating a fantasy figure to many of her correspondents as the more assertive Ann Sheridan, Rita Hayworth and Hedy Lamarr.


Here are the films each Wednesday beginning at 8pm EDT

Shadow of the Thin Man
The Courtship of Andy Hardy
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
Babes on Broadway
The Human Comedy
The Bugle Sounds
Apache Trail
Gentle Annie
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Last Time I Saw Paris
Green Dolphin Street
The Man From Down Under
Mokey
Raiders of the Seven Seas
Gun Fury
They Rode West
Three Hours to Kill
Trouble Along the Way
Saturday's Hero
Ransom
Scandal Sheet
The Whole Truth
Eyes in the Night
The Get-Away
From Here to Eternity
They Were Expendable
See Here, Private Hargrove
Faithful in My Fashion
Thousands Cheer

Thanks for the listing, Moira. There are some gems on that list, and it's always a pleasure watching the lovely Donna Reed perform. She was gone too soon.

Thanks, Mongo!

I forgot to mention that Donna Reed and John Wayne revive their on-screen rapport once again after They Were Expendable in a sleeper called Trouble Along the Way that is also being broadcast this month.

I remember reading a TV Guide interview with Ms. Reed. The interviewer showed up at 8 in the morning, and was stunned at how beautiful Ms Reed was....without any makeup. I think she was truly beautiful on the inside, and it just shone through. Whenever I think of her, I visualize her walking down the street in a huge bathrobe, singing "Buffalo Girl" with Jimmy Stewart.

I loved Donna Reed and thought she brought a bit of real life to the silver screen. One of my favorite movies with Donna Reed was a real grade "B" called The Benny Goodman Story. Story line was poor, dialogue was poor, acting was terrible, and even the cinematography was poor. But Donna Reed somehow brought some life to this movie. I was a fan of the story itself and thought Steve Allen was miscast. Some of the music was great and some of the music legends helped the movie. I own a copy of this movie and I do watch it occasionally just to see the improbable love affair between Donna Reed and Steve Allen. Steve Allen was certainly not an actor. He was a terrific comedian but not an actor.

Uncle Stevie

Susan King, the indispensable television and cinema arts writer for the LA Times, has a lovely story about how Donna Reed (and her television series husband, Carl Betz) befriended, mentored and protected their minor co-stars Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen. You can see the full piece at the link below:

Classic Hollywood: 'The Donna Reed Show'

Thanks, Moira, for the in-depth information on one of my favorites--Donna Reed. And how touching that she saved all those letters.

moirafinnie wrote:How do you feel about Donna Reed?
Here are the films each Wednesday beginning at 8pm EDT

Shadow of the Thin Man
The Courtship of Andy Hardy
Calling Dr. Gillespie
Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case
Babes on Broadway
The Human Comedy
The Bugle Sounds
Apache Trail
Gentle Annie
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Last Time I Saw Paris
Green Dolphin Street
The Man From Down Under
Mokey
Raiders of the Seven Seas
Gun Fury
They Rode West
Three Hours to Kill
Trouble Along the Way
Saturday's Hero
Ransom
Scandal Sheet
The Whole Truth
Eyes in the Night
The Get-Away
From Here to Eternity
They Were Expendable
See Here, Private Hargrove
Faithful in My Fashion
Thousands Cheer

Of course the Donna Reed Show in reruns. I prefer this show over The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.

Moira, I'm a Donna Reed fan also. I took your list and took the liberty of highlighting all the movies in bold that I have seen in my lifetime. I find her warm, lovable, full of life, and have a very pleasant personality of her own. I wished she gotten better recognition as an actress. But, she excels in practically in most movie genres and when she did Westerns and Comedies ... that is when she shines the most!