A Girl's Got to Breathe

December 7, 2015
Prolific celebrity biographer Spoto (The Redgraves: A Family Epic) paints an engaging and intimate portrait of Oscar-winning actor Teresa Wright. Her notable film roles included Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, and The Pride of the Yankees, in which she improvised her famous line, “A girl’s gotta breathe!”, after receiving a lengthy on-screen kiss from costar Gary Cooper. Spoto developed a friendship with Wright while writing a book about Alfred Hitchcock, one of her directors; following the actress’s death in 2005, he was granted exclusive access to her private papers and letters. Based on his research and personal experience, he depicts Wright as a unique and hardworking talent who shied away from the spotlight. As he describes her, she embodied the buoyant and determined spirit of mid-20th-century America, and her fresh-faced beauty was warmly embraced by contemporary audiences. Despite the author’s evident affection for his subject, few stones are left unturned as Spoto delves into the actor’s difficult childhood and troubled marriages to novelist Niven Busch and playwright Robert Anderson. Fond remembrances from family and friends provide further insight into Wright’s challenging personal and professional life. 43 b&w illus.

Spoto spotlights Wright.Acclaimed Hollywood biographer Spoto (The Redgraves: A Family Epic, 2012, etc.), who has penned books about Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and others, returns with an affectionate portrait of actress Teresa Wright (1918-2005), best known for her roles in Shadow of a Doubt, The Little Foxes, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Mrs. Miniver, for which Wright won an Academy Award for best supporting actress. Unfortunately for Spoto, after that run of films in the early 1940s, Wright's star faded precipitously as the result of a highly publicized contract dispute with studio head Samuel Goldwyn, and her career afterward consisted of well-regarded--but hardly iconic--work on stage, screen, and lesser parts in lesser films. It's hardly the stuff of high drama, and the author's account of Wright's personal life similarly fails to enthrall, as a relatively civilized divorce from her first husband and a sometimes-prickly relationship with her second, playwright Robert Anderson, mark the dramatic peaks of this material. Wright was a wonderfully bracing actress in her clutch of classic early roles. She was fresh-faced, winsome, emotionally direct and fiercely intelligent, and it's a shame her talent was undervalued by the studio brass. However, her story lacks a compelling arc, and her cultural impact does not justify the in-depth descriptions of her homes, friendships, children's lives, and sundry other personal details diligently recorded here. Spoto writes of his long personal friendship with Wright, and his admiration and respect register clearly in his characteristically literate, engaging, and authoritative prose. She does come across as a wonderful person to know, but as a biographical subject, she leaves readers wanting. A warm and well-researched yet ultimately inessential appreciation of one of Hollywood's largely forgotten stars. COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

February 1, 2016

Actress Teresa Wright (1918-2005) garnered fame for a string of performances in the 1940s films The Little Foxes, The Best Years of Our Lives, Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, and Mrs. Miniver, for which she earned a best supporting Oscar. This authorized biography is the result of noted Hollywood biographer Spoto's decades-long friendship with Wright, begun when he interviewed her about working with Hitchcock. Spoto hails the actress for her "small, illuminating gestures," which allowed her to transcend what could have been saccharine, predictable roles. Her characters often displayed decency, integrity, and steely resolve, traits she also possessed in real life. Under contract to legendary producer Sam Goldwyn, she refused to pose for glamour or cheesecake photos, declined roles if they conflicted with her family life, and rejected competition with other actresses, forming friendships with many of them. Goldwyn released her from her contract, leading to fewer, less lucrative movie roles, and a subsequent move into stage, television, and radio work. The author covers Wright's unhappy childhood, her early commitment to acting, and her disorganized personal habits, which frustrated her two husbands, novelist Niven Busch and playwright Robert Anderson. VERDICT This affectionate tribute to a shamefully neglected talent benefits greatly from the insights of Wright's children and friends. With the performer's views on Marlon Brando, Sterling Hayden, and notable American directors and playwrights, it is recommended for students of American film and theater.--Stephen Rees, formerly with Levittown Lib., PA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
Though not as well remembered as some of her contemporaries, such as Loretta Young or Lauren Bacall, Teresa Wright (19182005) truly was a star of stage, screen, and television. As a brilliant ingenue, she launched her career with a bang, garnering Academy Awardnominations for her first three films. Although she was able to capitalize on those early successes, Wright's career took an unfortunate turn when she famously ran afoul of legendary producer Samuel Goldwyn over Hollywood's strict contract system. Two tumultuous marriages created even more obstacles as she found herself in the thrall of controlling men who may not have had her best interests at heart. In between the standard celebrity-bio synopsis of every one of Wright's roles, prolificentertainment biographer Spoto (The Redgraves, 2012) creates a respectable study of a woman who may not have realized the happiness she desired in her personal life, but whose professional accomplishments cannot be denied. A worthwhile read for fans of Hollywood's Golden Age.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)