Scarce and lovely vintage 4.25 x 6-inch black and white portrait, boldly signed and inscribed in red ballpoint pen in the late 1950s or early 1960s. In good condition for its age. After winning a series of beauty contests, Donna Reed was recruited by M.G.M. executives, who signed her to a film contract.  She was assigned to supporting roles in Shadow of the Thin Man (1941), The Courtship of Andy Hardy (1942), The Human Comedy (1943), and Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case (1943), gradually working her way up to more substantial roles as sincere, wholesome wives and girlfriends. Reed exuded class and elegance in the horror gem The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945), the holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946), Scandal Sheet (1952), The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954), and The Benny Goodman Story (1956), as well as on T.V.'s "The Donna Reed Show" (1958-1966). It was the one time the leading lady was cast against type that she nabbed an Academy Award, playing a prostitute in From Here to Eternity (1953).

• Tweet