A likable good actress. known mostly for her TV show as the wholesome loving mom. but she was more than that. she was very good in From here to Eternity as a prostitute. and Mary in It's A Wonderful Life.

Oh, if there were any Donna Reeds around today!

She was good as the hooker in From Here to Eternity, but lousy as the recast Miss Ellie in the Dallas tv show!

Too goody goody for me.

underated both as an actress and as a beauty

Why is she on this list?

SHOULDNOT BE OVER JUDY GARLAND!!!

She was a good actress.

Extremely underrated actress with limitless charm and sexiness. Donna Reed is the most overwhelming beauty to ever tickle my retinas on the silver screen (see 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'They Were Expendable'). But as well as beauty, what really defined Donna Reed was her real life charm, warmth, kindness and grace- qualities which always shone through in her roles. That is why I always find her performances so appealing. It is sad to know that Donna Reed never received the recognition or respect she so deserved (especially from film studios of her heyday). Her versality and depth as an actress was never explored to any great lengths, so we can only hint to what could have been. For example she plays a not so 'wholesome' hostess in 'From Here to Eternity' a role new to her (previous roles had her playing the sweet 'next door type of girl') Nonetheless many were surprised by her outstanding performance, something even Zinneman the director would later attest to. She won an academy award for the role and along with Montogomery Clift put the rest of the cast to shame.

For a very long time and ironically due to her later success in television, Donna Reed was easy to overlook as an actress. Though skillfully and believably done, her role as the good-natured TV mom in the early 60's "Donna Reed Show" gave very little hint of the deeper talent beneath the affectionate docile smile. To experience what she was really capable of as an actress you have to go back a few years when her film career was at its peak. Her list of film credits is long and as impressive as many of the parts she played and the subtle acting skill she brought to them. They included the well-known role of Mary in "It's a Wonderful Life", an embittered prostitute in "From Here to Eternity", and Gladys Hallward whose love provides the only redeeming characteristic for the title character in "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Looking back on her career, it is obvious that she was willing to take chances and explore new territory as an actress very often veering from what was considered the norm. Watching her films, it is also obvious she had the talent to pull it off.