Cathy O'Donnell
Actor · Died April 11, 1970, aged 46 · Siluria, Alabama, USA
Cathy O'Donnell (July 6, 1923 – April 11, 1970) was an American actress, best known for her many roles in film-noir movies. While under contract with Samuel Goldwyn, O'Donnell made her debut in an uncredited role as a nightclub extra in Wonder Man (1945). Her first major role in The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), playing Wilma Cameron, the high-school sweetheart of double amputatee Homer Parrish, played by real-life World War II veteran/amputee Harold Russell. She was loaned out to RKO for one of her most memorable films, They Live by Night (1949) starring with Farley Granger, widely considered a classic of the noir genre and on the Guardian's list of the top ten noir films. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray. The two actors later re-teamed for another movie, Side Street (1950). Later O'Donnell starred in The Miniver Story (also 1950), as Judy Miniver and also had a supporting role in Detective Story (1951). She appeared as Barbara Waggoman, the love interest of James Stewart's character in the western The Man from Laramie (1955). Her final film role was the title character's sister Tirzah in William Wyler's 1959 Academy Award winning Best Picture Ben-Hur (1959). In the 1960s, she appeared in TV shows, playing mostly bit parts on shows such as Perry Mason, The Rebel and Man Without a Gun. Her last screen appearance was in 1964, in an episode of Bonanza. Description above from the Wikipedia article Cathy O'Donnell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- July 6, 1923
- April 11, 1970 (aged 46)
- Siluria, Alabama, USA
- Actor
- 15 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
What are Cathy O'Donnell's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 11
Light 1 · Serious 3 · Dark 7
A split, not a type: Grounded 5 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 2
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 5
Steady 4 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 11 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 4 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 7
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Ally: 4 of 5 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Janet Burke in The Amazing Mr. X (1948)
- Allyas Keechie in They Live by Night (1948)
- Allyas Virginia Merrill in Never Trust a Gambler (1951)
- Allyas Jill Manning in Eight O'Clock Walk (1954)
- Allyas Barbara Waggoman in The Man from Laramie (1955)
Moods and endings
- Happy3
- Bittersweet7
- Tragic1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Cathy O'Donnell's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Cathy O'Donnell's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page.
Tate(1960)
Midcredits score: 52nd percentile of all shows
Ben-Hur(1959)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
The Detectives (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1959)
The Rebel(1959)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all shows
My World Dies Screaming (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1958)
The Story of Mankind(1957)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Perry Mason(1957)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows
Sugarfoot (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
The Deerslayer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1956)
Matinee Theater (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
The Man from Laramie(1955)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Mad at the World(1955)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Loves of Three Queens(1954)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Climax! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Eight O'Clock Walk(1954)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
The Woman's Angle (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1952)
Detective Story(1951)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Never Trust a Gambler(1951)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
The Miniver Story(1950)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Side Street (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1950)
They Live by Night(1948)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Lights Out (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
The Amazing Mr. X(1948)
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Bury Me Dead (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1947)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 93rd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 26 titles from 1946 to 1960.
Biggest box office
Ben-Hur (1959)
Highest rated
Ben-Hur (1959)
Most popular right now
Detective Story (1951)
Film career
Top draw in 1 MovieCove title.
- 1946Screen debut· The Best Years of Our Lives
- 1949First top-billed film· They Live by Night
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Cathy O'Donnell's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 62nd percentile, the median of all 12; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 65th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
8 of their 15 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved4
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 70/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Cathy O'Donnell's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Cathy O'Donnell work with?
People who share at least 2 of Cathy O'Donnell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; William Wyler shares the most, 3.
Directors
- William WylerShared titles: Ben-Hur (1959), Detective Story (1951), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)See all 3 shared titles with William Wyler
Writers
- Philip YordanShared titles: The Man from Laramie (1955), Detective Story (1951)See all 2 shared titles with Philip Yordan
Actors
- Gladys GeorgeShared titles: Detective Story (1951), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)See all 2 shared titles with Gladys George
- Will WrightShared titles: Never Trust a Gambler (1951), They Live by Night (1948)See all 2 shared titles with Will Wright
