10 Movies Starring Dorothy McGuire

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1945-08-02

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

129 min

Rated:

PG

IMDB Ratings:

8.2 (5146 Reviews)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Tess Slesinger (screen play)

Frank Davis (screen play)

Betty Smith (adapted from the novel by)

Fullplot:

In Brooklyn circa 1900, the Nolans manage to enjoy life on pennies despite great poverty and Papa's alcoholism. We come to know these people well through big and little troubles: Aunt Sissy's scandalous succession of "husbands"; the removal of the one tree visible from their tenement; and young Francie's desire to transfer to a better school...if irresponsible Papa can get his act together.

Gentleman's Agreement

Gentleman's Agreement

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1948-02-01

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

118 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (9909 Reviews)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Laura Z. Hobson (novel)

Moss Hart (screen play)

Fullplot:

Philip Green is a highly respected writer who is recruited by a national magazine to write a series of articles on anti-Semitism in America. He's not too keen on the series, mostly because he's not sure how to tackle the subject. Then it dawns on him: if he was to pretend to all and sundry that he was Jewish, he could then experience the degree of racism and prejudice that exists and write his story from that perspective. It takes little time for him to experience bigotry. His anger at the way he is treated also affects his relationship with Kathy Lacy, his publisher's niece and the person who suggested the series in the first place.

Mister 880

Mister 880

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1950-09-29

Languages:

English, French, German, Dutch

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

90 min

IMDB Ratings:

7.2 (765 Reviews)

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Genres:

ComedyCrime

Cast:

Writer:

Robert Riskin (screenplay)

St. Clair McKelway (article)

Fullplot:

The Skipper is a charming old man loved by all his neighbors. What they don't know is that he is also Mr. 880, an amateurish counterfeiter who has amazingly managed to elude the Secret Service for 20 years.

Three Coins in the Fountain

Three Coins in the Fountain

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1954-05-01

Languages:

English, Italian

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

102 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

6.3 (2006 Reviews)

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

John Patrick (screen play)

John H. Secondari (from a novel by)

Fullplot:

American girls dream of finding romance in Rome, but there is none for secretaries, Anita tells her replacement at the USDA. But Maria soon meets Prince Dino de Cessi at a party at her boss's home who invites her to fly to Venice in his private plane. Frances, who has been in Rome for 15 years as the secretary of a successful American writer who talks a lot like George Bernard Shaw and is just as elusive as Professor Henry Higgins in "My Fair Lady," tells her at first to say "no" and then decides that together they can handle the man nicknamed the predatory prince. Coins tossed in the Trevi Fountain can indeed work magic.

Trial

Trial

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1955-10-07

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

105 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.9 (585 Reviews)

Director:

Mark Robson

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Don Mankiewicz

Don Mankiewicz (novel)

Fullplot:

The story of a murder trial where a Mexican boy is accused of the death of a Caucasian girl. The two-faced attorney (Arthur Kennedy) who takes the boy's case is only interested in defending him so he can exploit his Communist-backed organization for their own underhanded purposes. He and his organization bring in an idealistic law professor (Glenn Ford) who agrees to represent the boy in court.

Friendly Persuasion

Friendly Persuasion

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1956-11-25

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

137 min

Rated:

UNRATED

IMDB Ratings:

7.5 (4589 Reviews)

Director:

William Wyler

Cast:

Writer:

Jessamyn West (book)

Michael Wilson (screenplay)

Fullplot:

The story of a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religous sect is strongly opposed to violence and war. It's not easy for them to meet the rules of their religion in everyday life but when Southern troops pass the area they are in real trouble. Should they fight, despite their peaceful attitide?

Old Yeller

Old Yeller

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1957-12-25

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

83 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.3 (8139 Reviews)

Cast:

Writer:

Fred Gipson (screenplay)

William Tunberg (screenplay)

Fred Gipson (book)

Fullplot:

Young Travis Coates is left to take care of the family ranch with his mother and younger brother while his father goes off on a cattle drive in the 1860's. When a yellow mongrel comes for an uninvited stay with the family, Travis reluctantly adopts the dog. After a series of scrapes involving raccoons, snakes, bears and all manner of animals, Travis grows to love and respect Old Yeller, who comes to have a profound effect on the boy's life.

A Summer Place

A Summer Place

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1959-11-18

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

130 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

(1976 Reviews)

Director:

Delmer Daves

Genres:

DramaRomance

Cast:

Writer:

Sloan Wilson (novel)

Delmer Daves

Fullplot:

The Hunter family has long owned a mansion on Pine Island, a summer resort located off the Maine coast. Bart Hunter's now deceased father was able to open the mansion for free when Bart was younger, but current owner Bart, a drunkard and weak man, must now live there year round for financial survival with his wife Sylvia and their late teen-aged son Johnny, the family who are barely able to eke out a living with the mansion now as a year-round inn which is in an extreme state of disrepair. Bart and Sylvia are in a quietly unhappy marriage due largely to Bart's drinking. The Buffalo-based Jorgensons - husband Ken Jorgenson, his wife Helen Jorgenson and their late teen-aged daughter Molly Jorgenson - have rented rooms at the inn for the summer, while Ken looks for a summer house on the island. Ken lived on the island twenty years ago, he actually a working class lifeguard for Bart's father at that time. Ken is now a self-made millionaire as a research scientist, who had never been back to the island until now. Ken and Helen too are in an unsatisfying marriage, Helen, a shrew and prude, who seems to hate and mistrust anything and everything, including her husband and daughter. Helen only seems concerned with public perception that their lives are perfect. Upon first meeting, Johnny and Molly fall in love. Meanwhile, Ken and Sylvia rekindle a romance from twenty years earlier, they uncertain if Bart knew at the time of their relationship, which did not last because of the differences in their social background. The two romances have a rocky road to potential happiness. Helen does not trust either Johnny or Molly to be morally proper. Ken and Sylvia know that their respective spouses will never consent to divorce, and if they do will do whatever they can so that they will never get to see their children again. And despite knowing that their respective parents are unhappy in their marriages, Johnny and Molly do not approve of a liaison between his mother and her father. Regardless, Ken and Sylvia want to provide their children with as much love and guidance as possible, including encouraging them to follow their hearts while not getting into trouble, a message which may not be heard if only because of Johnny and Molly believing that what they are doing is disgusting, and because of Johnny and Molly's own raging hormones.

This Earth Is Mine

This Earth Is Mine

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1959-06-26

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

124 min

IMDB Ratings:

6.5 (278 Reviews)

Director:

Henry King

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Alice Tisdale Hobart (novel)

Casey Robinson

Fullplot:

In 1931, Elizabeth Rambeau comes from England to live in California with her aunt and uncle of a winemaking dynasty, who are still wealthy despite 12 years of Prohibition. Object: marriage to the heir of another vineyard, to further consolidate holdings in the Valley. But John Rambeau, Elizabeth's illegitimate cousin, has other ideas about who she should marry, and sharply opposes patriarch Philippe's refusal to sell wine grapes to bootleggers. John's activities bring violence to the valley, and soap opera to the Rambeau family...

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

Basic Info:

Released Date:

1960-10-08

Languages:

English

Countries:

USA

Runtime:

124 min

Rated:

APPROVED

IMDB Ratings:

7.4 (546 Reviews)

Director:

Delbert Mann

Genres:

Drama

Cast:

Writer:

Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay)

Irving Ravetch (screenplay)

William Inge (based on the play by)

Fullplot:

In Oklahoma in the 1920s, Ruben Flood loses his job as a traveling salesman, when the company goes bankrupt. This adds to his worries at home. His wife Cora is frigid because of trying to make ends meet. His teenage daughter Reenie is afraid of going out on dates, but eventually makes friends with a troubled Jewish boy Sammy, and his son is a mama's boy. He finally storms out of the house when Cora falsely accuses him of having an affair with Mavis Pruitt.

Become a Movie Insider

Join our mailing list and get access to expert analysis, trivia, and recommendations that will elevate your movie-watching experience.

View our privacy policy.