Reminiscences of Teresa Wright

New York, June 1959

On her First Films

. . . Sam Goldwyn. He signed me for Alexandra in "Little Foxes." I had had offers of film contracts, studio contracts, and I wasn't interested in any of them, but I was interested in playing this part. I was supposed to just go out there and play the role, and then come back into "Life With Father," but what happened was that when I came back, Oscar Serlin put me instead into a new play of Molnar's which we tried out that summer. However, it needed a lot of rewriting and it couldn't go on, so that legally let me out of my contract with him, and so I was able to continue in a contract with Sam Goldwyn.

I went out then for "Mrs. Miniver," and then I stayed.

. . .

Q: Did you have the feeling you were typed?

Oh, yes. Really, I guess the roles I've liked best were the ones I did the first year or two years I was out there -- "Foxes," "Miniver," "Yankees," "Shadow" followed one right after the other, and I feel those are the best personal jobs I've done, though I think "Best Years" may be the greatest film I was in. Since then, there hasn't been anything that I felt very strongly about or cared much about doing. The part that I've been happiest about, and had the strongest desire to do, was in television -- "The Helen Keller Story" in which I played Annie Sullivan. I think it's really the only time in my career that I have been completely taken over by something I was doing.

© 1959 Columbia University and the Oral History Research Office

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