Donna Reed

In 1941, after signing with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Reed made her film debut in The Get-Away opposite Robert Sterling; she was then billed as Donna Adams.

MGM soon changed her name to Donna Reed, as there was anti-German feeling during World War II.[7] "A studio publicist hung the name on me, and I never did like it", Reed once said. "I hear 'Donna Reed' and I think of a tall, chic, austere blonde that isn't me. 'Donna Reed' – it has a cold, forbidding sound."[8]

Reed had a supporting role in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) and in Wallace Beery's The Bugle Sounds (1942). Like many starlets at MGM, she played opposite Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film, in her case the hugely popular The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942). She was second billed in a children's film, Mokey (1942). Reed starred in Calling Dr. Gillespie (1942) and Apache Trail (1942), then did a thriller with Edward Arnold, Eyes in the Night (1942), directed by Fred Zinnemann.

Reed appeared in The Human Comedy (1943) with Mickey Rooney, a big film for MGM. She was in Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943) and The Man from Down Under (1943), and was one of many MGM stars to make cameos in Thousands Cheer (1943). Her "girl-next-door" good looks and warm onstage personality made her a popular pin-up for many GIs during World War II. She personally answered letters from many GIs serving overseas.[9] Reed starred in See Here, Private Hargrove (1944) and Gentle Annie (1945), a Western. She was in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945) and played a nurse in John Ford's They Were Expendable (1945), opposite John Wayne. MGM was very enthusiastic about Reed's prospects at this time.[10]

Reed with James Stewart in the classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Reed collaborated with her Denison High school chemistry teacher Edward R. Tompkins (who, as noted earlier, worked on the Manhattan Project) on the 1947 MGM film The Beginning or the End, which dealt with the history and concerns of the atom bomb. Reed helped provide the story but did not appear in the final film.[11] Reed was top billed in a romantic comedy Faithful in My Fashion (1946) with Tom Drake which lost money.

MGM lent her to RKO Pictures for the role of Mary Bailey in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. The film has since been named as one of the 100 best American films ever made by the American Film Institute and is regularly aired on television during the Christmas season.[12] Reed later said it was "the most difficult film I ever did. No director ever demanded as much of me."[8]

Back at MGM she appeared in Green Dolphin Street (1947) with Lana Turner and Van Heflin, a big hit.

Reed was borrowed by Paramount to make two films with Alan Ladd, Beyond Glory (1948), where she replaced Joan Caulfield at the last moment,[13] and Chicago Deadline (1949).[14] In 1949 she expressed a desire for better roles.[15]

For her performance in From Here to Eternity, Reed (at left, beside co-star Frank Sinatra) received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In June 1950 Reed signed a contract with Columbia Studios.[16] She appeared in two films which teamed her with John Derek, Saturday's Hero (1951) and Scandal Sheet (1952). She had a cameo in Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1952).

Reed was the love interest of Randolph Scott in Hangman's Knot (1952), then was borrowed by Warner Bros for Trouble Along the Way (1953) with Wayne. She was loaned out to play John Payne's love interest in Edward Small's Raiders of the Seven Seas (1953).

Reed played the role of Alma "Lorene" Burke, girlfriend of Montgomery Clift's character, in the World War II drama From Here to Eternity (1953). The role earned Reed an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 1953.[17]

The qualities of her parts did not seem to improve: she was the love interest in The Caddy (1953) with Martin and Lewis at Paramount; Gun Fury (1953) with Rock Hudson; Three Hours to Kill (1954) with Dana Andrews; and They Rode West (1954) with Robert Francis. Reed returned to MGM to act in The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954).

Reed began guest starring on television shows such as The Ford Television Theatre, Tales of Hans Anderson, General Electric Theater and Suspicion.[18]

She continued to appear in features, usually as the love interest, in The Far Horizons (1955) at Pine-Thomas Productions with Fred MacMurray and Charlton Heston as Lewis and Clark, playing Native American Sacagawea; The Benny Goodman Story (1956) with Steve Allen at Universal, playing Goodman's wife; Ransom! (1956) at MGM as Glenn Ford's wife; Backlash (1956), a Western at Universal with Richard Widmark; Beyond Mombasa (1957), shot in Kenya with Cornel Wilde, during which she was injured while making the film; and The Whole Truth (1958), shot in England with Stewart Granger for Romulus Pictures.[19]

From 1958 to 1966, Reed starred in The Donna Reed Show, a television series produced by her then-husband, Tony Owen. The show featured her as Donna Stone, the wife of pediatrician Alex Stone (Carl Betz) and mother of Jeff (Paul Petersen) and Mary Stone (Shelley Fabares). Reed was attracted to the idea of being in a comedy, something with which she did not have much experience. She also liked playing a wife.[20]

The show ran for eight seasons on ABC.[21] Reed won a Golden Globe Award and earned four Emmy Award nominations for her work on the series.

Reed described her show as "[...] a realistic picture of small-town life with an often humorous twist. Our plots revolve around the most important thing in America—a loving family." In the show, Reed's character, Donna Stone, is a loving mother and wife, but also a strong, smart woman with feelings and a sense of humor.[22]

But some feminists criticized the show, asserting that it promoted submissiveness among housewives. In a 1979 interview, Reed, who had raised four children, responded, "I played a strong woman who could manage her family. That was offensive to a lot of people."[23]

In a 1984 television interview, Reed said of her show, "I felt that I was making, for women, a statement. This mother was not stupid. She wasn't domineering, but she was bright and I thought rather forward-thinking, happily married."[24]

In a 2008 interview, Paul Petersen, who portrayed her son Jeff Stone in the series, also shared his opinions about the production's significance:

That's what the show was really about, the importance of family. That's where life's lessons are transmitted, generation to generation. There's a certain way in which these are transmitted, with love and affection...[The Donna Reed Show] depicts a better time and place. It has a sort of level of intelligence and professionalism that is sadly lacking in current entertainment products. The messages it sent out were positive and uplifting. The folks you saw were likable, the family was fun, the situations were familiar to people. It provided 22-and-a-half-minutes of moral instruction and advice on how to deal with the little dilemmas of life.[25]

When The Donna Reed Show ended its run in 1966, Reed took time off from acting to concentrate on raising her children and engaging in political activism.[26] She returned to acting in the late '70s, appearing in the TV movies The Best Place to Be (1979) and Deadly Lessons (1983) and a guest stint on The Love Boat.[27]

In the 1984–85 season of the television series Dallas, Reed replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie Ewing. Of the show, Reed explained in a 1984 interview,

One of the main reasons Dallas is successful is the family. They all stick together. They may squabble, but they pull for one another and live under one roof, which is really tribal, and it's not true anymore! And I think deep down, everyone misses that.[24]

When Bel Geddes agreed to return to the role for the 1985–86 season, Reed was abruptly fired.[28] Reed failed in attempts to stop the 1985–86 season from going into production while she tried to get reinstated in the role of Miss Ellie.[28] She sued for breach of contract, later settling out of court for over $1 million.[29]

Reed, who was a registered Republican, but showed amity to the Democratic Party, became interested in politics in particular during the Vietnam War when she became concerned that her oldest son, Tony, might be drafted. In 1967, Reed became a peace activist and co-chaired the anti-war advocacy group, Another Mother for Peace. The group's slogan was "War is not healthy for children and other living things."[31][32] In a 1971 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Reed said,

In the beginning, we felt [Tony] should serve his country in a noncombatant role. But he wouldn't even accept that, feeling the whole thing was immoral. He didn't trust the government or the military. I've learned a lot from Tony.[33]

Reed supported Barry Goldwater in the 1964 United States presidential election.[34]

In addition to opposing the Vietnam War, Reed also opposed nuclear power plants. She supported Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota, a strong anti-war advocate, in the 1968 presidential election.[35]

• Fultz, Jay (1998). In Search of Donna Reed. Iowa City, Iowa: University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-0-87745-625-4.
• Olson, James Stuart (2000). Historical Dictionary of the 1950s. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 82, 83. ISBN 0-313-30619-2.
• Royce, Brenda Scott (1990). Donna Reed: A Bio-bibliography. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 2. ISBN 0-313-26806-1.
• Tucker, David C. (2007). The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-2900-4.