I always thought Teresa Wright was talented and sweet, but kind of an ineffectual limp noodle. She plays the good girl well, and I guess that was my problem. Sure, her screen characters had pluck, but pluck is an anemic version of the charming ballsy-ness of a Stanwyck or the fearless hijinks Irene Dunne might throw down. In movies like The Best Years of Our Lives, I worried that, although clearly a better choice than skanky Virginia Mayo, super he-manly Dana Andrews would eventually tire of Teresa when ingénue curdled into insipid.
Well, I was wrong. Turns out Teresa Wright was smart, sassy, and not to be fucked with.
OK, picture this: It’s the late 1930s and you’re a young woman barely out of high school when talent scouts from the Goldwyn Studios spot you in a play and whisk you away to Hollywood, where you score a part in “The Little Foxes” with Bette-freaking-Davis, no less. You and I, we’d likely feel a mash-up of lucky, awestruck, terrified, intimidated, overwhelmed, grateful, and scared shitless. And don’t forget, this is the 1930s when women were to be sometimes seen and never heard.
So — this key clause that Missy Wright made them put in her studio contract is all the more impressive:
“Miss Wright shall not be required to pose for photographs in a bathing suit unless she is in water. Neither may she be photographed running on the beach with her hair flying in the wind. Nor may she pose in any of the following situations: in shorts; playing with a cocker spaniel; digging in a garden; whipping up a meal; attired in firecrackers and holding skyrockets for the fourth of July; looking insinuatingly at the turkey for Thanksgiving; wearing a bunny cap with long ears for Easter; twinkling on prop snow in a skiing outfit while a fan blows her scarf.”
In addition to it being a dame-irific move, it’s also pretty hilarious. She not only doesn’t want to be reduced to fodder for the cheesecake factory, she totally nails the stupidity of what she doesn’t want to do with humor and charm and zero invective. This, girls, is how it is DONE. Like a boss, Teresa! Wow – like a BOSS.
I’d like to have been a fly on the set when, according to fellow dame and blogger Self-Styled Siren, Mr. Goldwyn, trying to loosen up Teresa while filming “The Little Foxes” called to her from behind the camera: “Teresa, let your breasts flow in the breeze!”
(My brain hurts just pondering what I would need to do to follow those instructions. Jump up and down? Unhook my bra and throw it behind me whilst laughing manically? Frankly, I’m stumped.)
The good news is: Teresa was nominated for Academy Awards for her first 3 films (The Little Foxes, Mrs. Miniver and Pride of the Yankees). She was the only actor ever to be nominated for an Oscar for her first three films. And until Jennifer Lawrence received her 3rd nomination in 2014, Wright held the record for youngest actor to receive three acting Oscar nominations. AND…her 4th movie was Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, where she got billing above Joseph Cotten! Then, a coupe of years later, she’s the aforementioned goody-two-shoes homewrecker in Best Picture winner, The Best Years of Our Lives.
(A cute side note: Teresa was married to screenwriter Niven Busch, who wrote Duel in the Sun for his wife so she could depart from her girl-next-door roles and blow everyone’s minds as the swarthy all-out seductive bad girl. But Teresa got pregnant and Jennifer Jones got the sizzling part. Jennifer was married to the producer David Selznick (quelle coincidence!), though David initially tried talking Busch into letting Teresa play the seductress. But the role called for a lot of physical action, so Teresa’s husband refused. As he turned to leave the office, a disappointed Selznick exclaimed, “Dammit, Busch, she isn’t the only one you screwed!”)
Anyway, according to the Self-Styled Siren, Teresa’s“insistence on establishing a foundation for her career through her performances and not through publicity photos was relatively unheard of in Hollywood at the time, and some skeptical fan magazines even speculated she was avoiding the cheesecake photographers because there was something physically wrong with her.” (The photo above proves that was not true.)
But here’s the bad news: Teresa’s independence rankled studio heads, and Goldwyn fired her in 1948, claiming she was “”uncooperative” when it came to publicity. Rather than being upset, Wright was relieved:
“The type of contract between players and producers is, I feel, antiquated in form and abstract in concept. We have no privacies which producers cannot invade, they trade us like cattle, boss us like children.”
Without studio backing, Teresa never did regain her earlier film success, and spent most of the rest of her career on Broadway and on TV. (In her last film role she was touching as Matt Damon’s elderly landlady in John Grisham’s The Rainmaker.)
Though she died in 2005, Teresa Wright leaves a truly stunning cinematic legacy of good roles in great films. But she’s not only missed by movie aficionados. After cinema’s Mrs. Gehrig was asked to throw out the first pitch at a game on July 4, 1998, she became an avid Yankee fan, and after she died, when the roll call of former Yankees who had passed on was announced, her name was among the ballplayers. (Aw!)
Absolutely great! You’ve really let me see Theresa Wright in a whole new… I was going to say “light,” but then it would have rhymed and sounded really silly, so someone else can finished my sentence. You get the gist.
She made breakfast for Fred in Best Years of our Lives. A departure from her contract clause but so what? I’ve had a crush on her for decades!
I thought it was Milly (Myrna Loy) that made breakfast in bed for Al (Fredric March).
Hmmmm, I think you may be right.
Theresa Wright Did make breakfast for Dana Andrews; who was awake before Frederick March, but it was in the kitchen.
I seam to remember both getting breakfast, only one in bed.
Hi! Teresa (Peggy) made breakfast for Dana Andrews (Fred Derry).
I loved that scene, the attraction started then.
No, it was Teresa’s character. Just watched the movie last week..
I still have a crush on her! She was incredible as Miss Twitchell in Pride and yes Peggy made fred eggs. Her and Audrey are my two favorites
I’ve always thought Teresa Wright was not to be fucked with! I adored this post tho’, and appreciate your points. Something about Teresa always conveyed to me that she was a rather no-nonsense chick.
Love it! She was truly special — and hilarious!
Hi I loved Teresa Wright especially in The Best Years of our Lives with Dans Andrews and A shadow of a Doubt with Joseph Cotten.
Teresa Wright was utterly gorgeous and a very genuinely honest and morally correct person. She is my favorite person in The Best Years of Our Lives. I thought it was great with Dana Andrew’s and her fell in love for the end of the movie.
I’ve Always loved Theresa Wright, and in my humble opinion, she would have a great Gidget, like Sally Field. She’s pretty and sweet. Ironically, they’re both Scorpios.
In passing please note that Myrna, Teresa and Virginia were all tough cookies in “The Best Years . . . “
Hi thank you for the info about Theresa Wright. She’s on of my favorite classic Actresses. I loved her in The best Years of our Lives with Dana Andrews and Shadow of a Doubt with Joseph Cotten.
Dead on! She was a smart, beautiful woman. She reminds me of Jean Arthur in her dealings with Hollywood.
Thanks!
Another great article. Thanks for sharing.
Thank YOU, Dellafay!
I love Teresa Wright and her movies. I am a fan of the movies from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. She was one of the great actresses then. The movies that she made and the person that she was make you have great respect for her.
Thank you so much for your comment, Rosann! Please let me know if there are any particular actresses or other dames you’d like to see profiled here! xo
Teresa Wright was utterly gorgeous and a very genuinely honest and morally correct person. She is my favorite person in The Best Years of Our Lives. I thought it was great with Dana Andrew’s and her fell in love for the end of the movie.
I agree!
I seam to remember both getting breakfast, only one in bed.
Hi Dixie! Loved your essay on Teresa Wright, probably my all-time favorite actress. You hit all the nails, and did Ms. Wright proud. Thanks for caring enough to write it. I plan to seek out other of your work.
Resembles Kristin Wiig and Courteney Cox.
Rumor was the Yankee Gig was as a scout as she played baseball in farm leagues.
She was also beweave it or not Vivian Leigh.
Great onsite into an individual with great ethical and human rights standards not to mention a great actress. It appears she raised great kids too….love your work
John, thank you. I really appreciate fellow fans, and sweet people who are kind enough to compliment me.
…I’ve always been into older-than-my-time Hollywood movies even though I’m not an American (or living in the U.S. for that matter – I actually am a 47 y.o. Greek male that never lived elsewhere but Greece), but strangely enough I only took notice of Teresa Wright today and she made quite an impact : the sight of her dreamy smile made me experience fairly intoxicating moments…
To bump into this (after a little bit of web-browsing on her) was quite a treat, since you’re elaborating on an unexpectedly interesting aspect of who she was as a person.
So thanks for it…
I like your attitude!
Susan, I really like your liking my attitude! Thank you so much!! Xo
Niiiice. It’s Veteran’s Day 2019, and I’m watching The Best Years of Our Lives. Teresa Wright and Dana Andrews just walked across the room into each others arms. A girl built for the long haul. Nice piece of writing too.
Dixie!
OUTSTANDING post on Theresa Wright. I‘M watching her on NY Eve 2019 in the great “Best Years of our Lives” for the nth time. A film that chokes me up several times in each viewing… particularly in the wedding scene at the end W her and the camera work of Gregg Toland. Watching on The Criterion Channel, it’s almost three hours of great historical cinema. Honorable mention to Gladys George for her strong performance in a tough role. Your the most noticeable link in a Google image search for TW btw.
Like you Dixie, Theresa was badass AND funny. Great anecdotes in your post particularly the contract she dictated. I’m now a DAMETOWN subscriber. Carry on!
Richard Shalhoub
Boston, MA
Hello.
Excellent article on the late, great Teresa Wright. Am currently reading her biography by David Spoto. Quite a fascinating woman to say the least. The light of the world became a little dimmer with her passing.
Correction; Donald Spoto
People with integrity like Teresa Wright make this lousy world a little brighter. I’ve always admired her work, esp. in Shadow of a Doubt. I believe she was incapable of a bad, overblown or insincere performance. When I looked her up, under the heading “Why was TW’s career cut short?” I certainly got my answer! Especially in this day and age it is an indictment of our times that she is not a household name instead of a trivia question or footnote.
Seems like this fine lady had already conquered the movie industry, when she argued with the big shot that diminished her career choices….Three Oscar nominations right out of the gate?…powerful stuff!…she had her priorities, and was not into kissing the asses of those moguls!…and she found some fine work in television, survived two marriages, and lived to the age of 87 or so…To be honest, I had never heard of her bold life story–you told it so well!…very inspiring, especially considering how things were for women back in those days.
Thank you so much, Jack. And your comment made me really appreciate what an incredible woman Ms. Wright really was. We sure could use a lot more principled people like her nowadays.
I came across your site while looking up information on The Best Years of Our Lives. I always liked Theresa Wright’s work and never thought of her as the good girl next door. But perhaps in the context of today’s heroines she seems that way. She was tender and heart breaking in Mrs. Miniver, and the way she would lower her eyes and quicken her breath near Dana Andrews in the aforementioned Best Years was not the reaction of a goody two shoes. She was natural and subtle and lovely. Many thanks for highlighting this aspect of her career.
Glen, thank you so much for your comment, and I absolutely agree. Women like her are inspirations.
Teresa Wright; [today is 4/27/24]:
I checked in at this post in order to aquire some information about this [seemingly] lovely person. Then, found two separate posts which had dropped the “f-bomb” & other such filthy language. This is documented communication which lives on to effect others in a negative way!
Folks, each of us become & are what we think about. “We are what we think”.
Bad behavior negatively impacts our culture. Sheeple People; those who are unwilling or refuse to think for themselves are members of a Herd Mentality, leading to mimicking what one sees rather than being guided by a Moral Compass.
So, the lead writer on this site uses cuss words & this too brings in mimicking of this bad behavior. Besides, young people may read these posts which date as far back as ten years ago!
I am not judging, instead I obey the respectful posturing of EvaluatinG people, places, & things
without the condemnation of judging.
“Masses of people” choose to copy a “lower denominator” rather than choose to exemplify love for God, ouselves, & our fellow man thru our beliefs, words, & actions.
Each & everyone will be held accountable for themselves.
-The After Life.
Folks, please bear with (me),
a self proclaimed sinner, who fears our Lord God, with & thru the mediation of Christ Jesus:
America had no earthly business winning our Independence
from Great Britain, which was at that time the worlds greatest empire. This victory (thru Almighty Creator Lord God) was as much Spiritual as it was Physical.
So, God was with the [infant] American Colonies during our struggles with this form of England.
This Truth has long since been omitted from within the curriculum of our Liberal Progressive Hateful Leftist Public Scool System. All in all, instead pumping out American youth who are ignorant on many basic truth’s & are taught to hate America.
Folks, there are two worlds; The Physical & The Spiritual. We are now seeing the fruits of our deplorable American culture [Physical World focused] which not only ingnores God, but enthusiastically hates Him via our self serving choices & actions. Thus, God is no longer Blessing America. Instead, America is suffering from His Retrubution!
As a nation we’ve lost our moral resilience & have allowed ourselves to be invaded with & taken over by the evil doctrine of Marxism. For the most part, Sundays no longer include church worship & fellowship [Spiritual Life] but has digressed into self indulgence [Physical Life]. Our society is getting exactly what we deserve; (in this case) the slow death & eventual death blow of a once great nation.
At this very moment in time, if the death of America has in fact become terminal, I will still continue NOT to act as one of The Silent Majority or as Sheeple People. I refuse to stand by idly & let America be ruined! I’ve kept on trying, so don’t blame me! How about you? Also, I am grateful to be a Christian, Conservative, & an American Patriot who believes as well in love for our country thru nationalism…”America must first look after its own interests”.
What triggered my response is that I never expected site contents such as this after I’d Googled “Was Teresa Wright a nice person”?
As I negotiate my surroundings each & every day, I wittness behavior which represents what American Culture has become;
that is, “too smart for its own
God”.
-The End
For a Christian you sure are a judgmental, bloviating a-hole. You seem to have a lot of time on your hands better spent helping the poor than lecturing an invisible audience of zero.
When I was more of a kid, I would get Theresa Wright and Phyllis Thaxter mixed up. Gradually I grew to be able to differentiate them, but even now sometimes I have to ask myself which one I’m thinking of. Both are smooth, feminine role models of gracious yet straightforward women. Your essay about Theresa’s grit and character, however, really impressed me. I’m sure my confusion has now ended because your article makes the difference clear for me. Thank you for providing the living dimension to the wonderful people of classic cinema.
Betsy, your comment made my day! Thank you!
ME, TOO! I am still confusing them watching one of Hitchcock’s TV show right now!
What you are celebrating, other than ability, is her independence. Many years after the fact, without Goldwyn’s support, she commented publicly that all she had proven was that as an actress, she would work for less money. A lot less, and with the single exception of The Men, the films were inferior.
Barry, she is certainly a hero. I wish I’d known all about her before researching her. I never knew what lay below the surface of the sweet women she portrayed.
Teresa Wright Film Tip Below! 🌸
Thank you for the interesting information on the lovely Teresa, right I always felt that she was never acting in all of her films. She brought such a wonderful, authentic quality to every role she played.
So far, no ones mentioned her film:
“The Search for Bridey Murphy.”
If you haven’t seen this film, I highly recommend you do, her acting and the story, is very interesting +
I believe the story was true! Definitely worth a watch for free ( no credit card requested from this wonderful free movie site: RU.OK here’s the totally free link to the film. If you like classics they gave them all starting with silent movies and movies up to the present time.
This site that’s wonderful site got me through Covid and I’m so happy to share it with you all ! Enjoy !
Kindest regards all around!
~ Nell
The search for Bridey Murphy free film link:
https://m.ok.ru/dk?st.cmd=movieLayer&st.discId=1589534984831&st.retLoc=search&st.rtu=%2Fdk%3Fst.cmd%3DuserMovies%26st.vdsrch%3Dthe%2Bsearch%2Bfor%2BBridey%2BMurphy%26st.mvmd%3Dsearch%26st.frwd%3Don%26st.page%3D1%26st.hd%3Doff%26st.long%3Doff%26_prevCmd%3DuserMovies%26tkn%3D7237&st.discType=MOVIE&st.mvId=1589534984831&_prevCmd=userMovies&tkn=8477#
Teresa Wright; [today is 4/27/24]:
I checked in at this post in order to aquire some information about this [seemingly] lovely person. Then, found two separate posts which had dropped the “f-bomb” & other such filthy language. This is documented communication which lives on to effect others in a negative way!
Folks, each of us become & are what we think about. “We are what we think”.
Bad behavior negatively impacts our culture. Sheeple People; those who are unwilling or refuse to think for themselves are members of a Herd Mentality, leading to mimicking what one sees rather than being guided by a Moral Compass.
So, the lead writer on this site uses cuss words & this too brings in mimicking of this bad behavior. Besides, young people may read these posts which date as far back as ten years ago!
I am not judging, instead I obey the respectful posturing of EvaluatinG people, places, & things
without the condemnation of judging.
“Masses of people” choose to copy a “lower denominator” rather than choose to exemplify love for God, ouselves, & our fellow man thru our beliefs, words, & actions.
Each & everyone will be held accountable for themselves.
-The After Life.
Folks, please bear with (me),
a self proclaimed sinner, who fears our Lord God, with & thru the mediation of Christ Jesus:
America had no earthly business winning our Independence
from Great Britain, which was at that time the worlds greatest empire. This victory (thru Almighty Creator Lord God) was as much Spiritual as it was Physical.
So, God was with the [infant] American Colonies during our struggles with this form of England.
This Truth has long since been omitted from within the curriculum of our Liberal Progressive Hateful Leftist Public Scool System. All in all, instead pumping out American youth who are ignorant on many basic truth’s & are taught to hate America.
Folks, there are two worlds; The Physical & The Spiritual. We are now seeing the fruits of our deplorable American culture [Physical World focused] which not only ingnores God, but enthusiastically hates Him via our self serving choices & actions. Thus, God is no longer Blessing America. Instead, America is suffering from His Retrubution!
As a nation we’ve lost our moral resilience & have allowed ourselves to be invaded with & taken over by the evil doctrine of Marxism. For the most part, Sundays no longer include church worship & fellowship [Spiritual Life] but has digressed into self indulgence [Physical Life]. Our society is getting exactly what we deserve; (in this case) the slow death & eventual death blow of a once great nation.
At this very moment in time, if the death of America has in fact become terminal, I will still continue NOT to act as one of The Silent Majority or as Sheeple People. I refuse to stand by idly & let America be ruined! I’ve kept on trying, so don’t blame me! How about you? Also, I am grateful to be a Christian, Conservative, & an American Patriot who believes as well in love for our country thru nationalism…”America must first look after its own interests”.
What triggered my response is that I never expected site contents such as this after I’d Googled “Was Teresa Wright a nice person”?
As I negotiate my surroundings each & every day, I wittness behavior which represents what American Culture has become;
that is, “too smart for its own
God”.
-The End
I see that my comment was rejected:
Maybe my Conservitavism repels you? Maybe you live by; “Go for what you know” & “Do whatever turns ya on”!
Instead of just championing this
fine actress & human being, you insisted on stepping “out of bounds” for to bring the idea of women against men into the conversation. What’s wrong with harmony? Might you be a Liberal Progressive? … meaning that you subscribe to the proxy of “conform or be cast out? No wiggle room? Hence, the Mob Mentality. Are you a man hating feminist? Retired porn starrlet? Does the saying “Yellow Snow Matters” anger you or does it make you chuckle?
Sincerely:
Proud Independent Party Voter.
Hey, at least I’m not an Evil (or just plain Sheeple People) Democrat or an Elitist Republican. I respect my Rite To Vote & I do it legally, unlike The Hateful Left.
Have a nice life & remember to shower after hugging a tree!
Make America Great Again !
AGAIN !!
does the expression “blow it out your ass” mean anything to you, zizzo?
A lovely tribute to a class act; clearly one can be a Dame quietly as well as brassily. No doubt her contractual language was first about her own dignity, but it can also be read as “we can be better than this!” Good on her for doing it and good on you for telling the story!