- I always did exactly what I was told to do, whether it was my mother, a director or a teacher. Then I became an adult, at least officially, and I called a halt to a life I'd not chosen and didn't enjoy.
- [on playing snobby characters] My mother was a bit of a snob. I really didn't get to act that way in real life, so it was a lot of fun.
- [on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)] By the time it was over, I couldn't stand that movie. Of course I had to watch it hundreds of times during the promotion tour. The director [Norman Taurog] was there to make Tommy Kelly a star. The rest of the kids got no direction from the man. It was horrible. I had to do a scene in which I had hysterics. I'm ten or 11 years old. I have no idea what hysterics are. The director won't give me any advice. He says come back after lunch ready to do the scene. My mother took me into the trailer to help me. She said, "I'll show you what hysterics are". Scared me to death. The only direction I got on that movie was from my mother.
- [on Bambi (1942)] They gave me a script, set me on a stool and had me do the lines. It was cold and difficult. The director was in the sound booth. He directed me over the loudspeaker. Cartoons were commonplace. I just remember it being an unpleasant job.
- [on working with Shirley Temple in Since You Went Away (1944)] I remember watching her on the set one day. She got in place for the camera and her mother started yelling at her. I felt bad for her. Her mother pushed her hard and in an unpleasant way. It made me appreciate my own mother even more.
- [on working with Stanley Kubrick in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)] Kubrick was a real jerk. It shows you what can happen when a director is given a blank check.
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