Editing Natalie Wood (section)

==Child actress==
===Early roles===
[[File:Natalie Wood 1947 photo.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Wood in 1947]]
Wood's first appearance on screen came when she was just four years old in the March 1943 release of ''[[The Moon Is Down (film)|The Moon Is Down]]'' based on the [[John Steinbeck]] book of the same name.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amelio |first=Anthony |title=Bibliographia Dystopia: Volume 1, John Steinbeck's The Moon Is Down |publisher=Primedia |year=2020 |isbn=9781636491110 |edition=2nd revised |pages=163}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, she was cast again in a fifteen-second scene in the film ''[[Happy Land (film)|Happy Land]]'' (1943). Despite the brief parts, she became a favorite of the director of both films, [[Irving Pichel]].{{sfn|Lambert|2004|pp=25–26}} He remained in contact with Wood's family for two years, advising them when another role came up. The director telephoned Wood's mother and asked her to bring her daughter to Los Angeles for a [[screen test]]. Wood's mother became so excited that she "packed the whole family off to Los Angeles to live," writes Harris. Wood's father opposed the idea, but his wife's "overpowering ambition to make Natalie a star" took priority.{{sfn|Harris|1988|p=25}} According to Wood's younger sister Lana, Pichel "discovered her and wanted to adopt her."{{sfn|Wood|1984|p=50}}

Wood, then seven years old, got the part. She played a post-[[World War II]] German orphan, opposite [[Orson Welles]] as Wood's guardian and [[Claudette Colbert]], in ''[[Tomorrow Is Forever]]'' (1946). When Wood was unable to cry on cue, her mother tore a butterfly to pieces in front of her to ensure she would sob for a scene.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Moore | first1 = Paul | title = Natalie Wood's life of beauty, agony |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-07-08-0107080329-story.html | access-date = July 5, 2019 | work = The Baltimore Sun | date = July 8, 2001 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705044432/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2001-07-08-0107080329-story.html | archive-date = July 5, 2019 | url-status = live }}</ref> Welles later said that Wood was a born professional, "so good, she was terrifying." He also said "Natalie doesn't act from the script, she acts from the heart."<ref name=OConnerJ-NYT->{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/08/arts/tv-weekend-a-documentary-remembrance-of-natalie-wood.html | title = TV Weekend; A Documentary Remembrance of Natalie Wood | author = John J. O'Connor | date = July 8, 1988 | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = September 19, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110102423/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/08/arts/tv-weekend-a-documentary-remembrance-of-natalie-wood.html | archive-date = November 10, 2012 | url-status = live }}</ref>

Wood acted in another film directed by Pichel, ''[[The Bride Wore Boots]]'', and went on to [[20th Century Fox]] to play [[Gene Tierney]]'s daughter in ''[[The Ghost and Mrs. Muir]]'' (1947).

===''Miracle on 34th Street''===
Wood's best-known film as a child was ''[[Miracle on 34th Street]]'' (1947), starring [[Maureen O'Hara]] and [[John Payne (actor)|John Payne]] at Fox. She plays a cynical girl who comes to believe a kindly department store holiday-season employee portrayed by [[Edmund Gwenn]] is the real Santa Claus. The film has become a Christmas classic; Wood was counted among the top child stars in Hollywood after the film and was so popular that [[Macy's]] invited her to appear in the store's annual [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade|Thanksgiving Day parade]].{{sfn|Harris|1988|p=25}}

Film historian [[John C. Tibbetts]] wrote that for the next few years following her success in ''Miracle'', Wood played roles as a daughter in a series of family films: ''[[Driftwood (1947 film)|Driftwood]]'' (1947), at Republic;<ref>"Natalie Wood", ''Chicago Daily Tribune'', 21 Mar 1948: B20.</ref> ''[[Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!]]'' (1948); ''[[Chicken Every Sunday]]'' (1949); ''[[The Green Promise]]'' (1949); [[Fred MacMurray]]'s daughter in ''[[Father Was a Fullback]]'' (1949), with O'Hara; [[Margaret Sullavan]]'s daughter in ''[[No Sad Songs for Me]]'' (1950); the youngest sister in ''[[Our Very Own (1950 film)|Our Very Own]]'' (1950); ''[[Never a Dull Moment (1950 film)|Never a Dull Moment]]'' (1950); [[James Stewart]]'s daughter in ''[[The Jackpot]]'' (1950); ''[[Dear Brat]]'' (1951); [[Joan Blondell]]'s neglected daughter in ''[[The Blue Veil (1951 film)|The Blue Veil]]'' (1951); ''[[The Rose Bowl Story]]'' (1952); ''[[Just for You (1952 film)|Just for You]]'' (1952); and as the daughter of [[Bette Davis]]' character in [[The Star (1952 film)|''The Star'']] (1952).<ref name=Tibbetts>{{cite book | editor1-last = Tibbetts |editor1-first=John C. | editor2-last = Welsh |editor2-first=James M. | title = American Classic Screen Profiles | year = 2010 | publisher =[[Scarecrow Press]] | isbn = 978-0-8108-7676-7 | pages = 146–149}}</ref> In all, Wood appeared in over twenty films as a child. She also appeared on television in episodes of ''[[Kraft Theatre]]'' and ''[[Chevron Theatre]]''.

Because Wood was a minor during her early years as an actress, she received her primary education on the studio lots wherever she was contracted. California law required that until age 18, child actors had to spend at least three hours per day in the classroom, notes Harris. "She was a straight A student", and one of the few child actors to excel at [[arithmetic]]. Director [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]], who directed her in ''[[The Ghost and Mrs. Muir]]'' (1947), said that, "In all my years in the business, I never met a smarter moppet."{{sfn|Harris|1988|p=25}} Wood remembered that period in her life, saying, "I always felt guilty when I knew the crew was sitting around waiting for me to finish my three hours. As soon as the teacher let us go, I ran to the set as fast as I could."{{sfn|Harris|1988|p=25}}

Wood's mother continued to play a significant role in her daughter's early career, coaching her and micromanaging aspects of her career even after Wood acquired agents.<ref>{{cite news | last1 = Rubin | first1 = Merle | title = The Story of Natalie Wood Is Also the Story of Her Mother |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jul-30-cl-28120-story.html | access-date = July 5, 2019 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date = July 30, 2001 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705044432/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jul-30-cl-28120-story.html | archive-date = July 5, 2019 | url-status = live }}</ref> As a child actress, Wood received significant media attention. By age nine, she had been named the "most exciting juvenile motion picture star of the year" by ''[[Parents (magazine)|Parents]]'' magazine.{{sfn|Lambert|2004|p=37}}