Helen Westcott

Helen Westcott launched her stage career at the age of 5. It has long been presumed that she made only one screen appearance in her preteen years, as a fairy in Midsummer Night's Dream (1935); in fact, she played a major role in the 1934 B western Thunder Over Texas, which starred Guinn "Big Boy" Williams. Be that as it may, Westcott would not achieve film prominence until the late 1940s--early 1950s, with such roles as Gregory Peck's ex-wife in The Gunfighter (1950) and the imperiled heroine of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953). When her starring career in films faded, Helen Westcott turned to television, where she flourished as a character actress; her last screen appearance was as Mrs. Burrows in 1970's I Love My...Wife.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide