Movie Musings: Disney and More

Dorothy McGuire: Triple Crown of Disney Movie Mothers

When we think of mothers/motherly figures in Disney films, there aren’t necessarily many animated characters which comes which come to mind, considering most of the mothers of the Disney princesses are deceased in each of their movies-typically it’s a father or their stepmothers. (But Sleeping Beauty (1959), Mulan (1998) and Tangled (2010) are notable exceptions). There are, however, many mothers as key parts of Disney’s live-action films. Maureen O’Hara played the role of Margaret McKendrick, mother of Sharon and Susan McKendrick-Evers in The Parent Trap (1961), Glynis Johns played Mrs. Winifred Banks, mother of Jane and Michael Banks in Mary Poppins (1964), and in more recent years Caroline Goodall portrayed Helen Thermopolis, mother of Anne Hathaway as Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries (2001) and its sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). Another person who is right up there with these actresses is Dorothy McGuire. McGuire played the mother of many different children, starring as the loving mother in three different Disney films, as well as several other films, including the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus at one point.

Dorothy McGuire was born in Omaha, Nebraska on June 14th, 1916. She was the only child of Thomas Johnson McGuire and Isabelle Flaherty McGuire. Her acting career started in the Omaha Community Playhouse where as a teenager she was in “A Kiss for Cinderella,” which starred visiting alumni member, Henry Fonda. She moved with her parents to Indianapolis, Indiana and later to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts where she attended Pine Manor Junior College, serving as the president of the school’s drama club. She graduated from Pine Manor at the age of 19, with the intent of pursuing acting full-time.

McGuire began her career on Radio in the soap opera Big Sister in 1936. Two years later, she was cast as an understudy in the original Broadway cast of Our Town in 1938. Three years later, she was permanently cast as the female lead in the comedy Claudia. Her performance in the play caught the attention of David O. Selznick, who called her a “born actress” and asked her to reprise her role for Selznick Studios and Twentieth Century Fox’s film adaptation of “Claudia” in 1943. The film spawned a sequel, Claudia and David, in 1946. In between those films she reunited with her co-star who had played her husband, Robert Young in the drama The Enchanted Cottage (1945). The same year as “Claudia,” she married photographer John Swope, who she was introduced to by fellow Omaha Nebraska Playhouse member, Henry Fonda. (Fonda’s close friend, Jimmy Stewart served as the best man at their wedding.) She had two children with Swope: a son, Mark Swope, who like his father, became a photographer, and a daughter, Topo Swope, who like her mother, became an actress. 

The year after “Claudia and David,” she starred in Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947) opposite Gregory Peck and Celeste Holm. (The film was a remake of an older film of the same name which starred Vivien Leigh and Frederick Peisley). The film was nominated for eight academy awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for McGuire. While McGuire unfortunately did not win, the film did receive the trophies for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Celeste Holm, and Best Director for Elia Kazan. After making the film, she, along with Gregory Peck and Mel Ferrer, founded the La Jolla Playhouse on the campus of the University of California in San Diego, California. In 1951, Dorothy McGuire made the movies Callaway Went Thataway and I Want You and also made her television debut in the “Dark Victory” episode of Robert Montgomery Presents. She received an Emmy Nomination for her performance in an episode of the show Climax! (1954-1958) in 1954.

In 1957, she was cast by the Walt Disney Studios as the mother Katie Coates in Old Yeller. Her children were portrayed by Tommy Kirk and Kevin Corcoran. She reunited with Kirk and Corcoran three years later where she again played their mother in Disney’s epic, action-packed blockbuster Swiss Family Robinson (1960). In this film, James MacArthur played her oldest son, and Sir John Mills played her husband. Around this time, Mills’ daughter, Disney child star legend, Hayley Mills, was working on Pollyanna, which also came out in 1960, and also featured Kevin Corcoran. McGuire, herself, later played Hayley’s mother in a film called Summer Magic (1963), which would be McGuire’s last film with Disney. In between “Old Yeller,” and “Swiss Family Robinson,” she played mothers that were more on the flawed/not-so-redeeming side in the films  A Summer Place (1959) and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960). And at 49 years of age, Dorothy McGuire played the Mary, Christ’s mother, in The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).

After “Greatest Story Ever Told,” McGuire continued to act primarily in television, though she did make a few more movies. Her last theatrical film appearance was as Granny O’Flaherty in Flight of the Doves (1971). She made guest appearances on The Love Boat (1977-1986) and Fantasy Island (1977-1984) and she played Marmee March in the mini series of Little Women (1978). Her final acting role was in the made-for-television movie The Last Best Year (1990) starring opposite Bernadette Peters and Mary Tyler Moore, as Peters’ mother. She passed away on September 13th, 2001 of cardiac arrest, following a short illness, three days after 9/11. She will always be remembered for her motherly roles, particularly in three of Disney’s live-action classics.