Wholesome, reserved leading lady of the 1940s and 50s with a soft, lovely speaking voice, later a respected character actress. A highly gifted and sensitive performer, McGuire was memorable as the immature young wife "Claudia" (1943), in a reprisal of her successful Broadway role; as the mother in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945); the mute servant in Robert Siodmak's classic Gothic thriller, "The Spiral Staircase" (1946), and the liberal fiancee of a crusading journalist who must confront her own muted anti-Semitism in "Gentleman's Agreement" (1947). By the mid-50s, McGuire was still a
