Warner Bros
She was in the audience one night at Pasadena Playhouse when spotted by a Warners Bros talent scout, Irving Kumin. He offered her a test, and she accepted. The studio signed her to a long-term contract in June 1941.
She was cast that year in the film They Died with Their Boots On, but her scenes were deleted. Her actual film debut was as Nurse Ryan in the short film Soldiers in White in 1942.
She was given some decent roles in the B films Busses Roar (1942) and The Mysterious Doctor (1943), and she had a small role in Mission to Moscow (1943). This performance impressed Warners, so when Joan Leslie was held up on Rhapsody in Blue, Parker replaced her in Between Two Worlds (1944), playing the wife of Paul Henreid's character.
She stayed in supporting roles for Crime by Night (1944) and The Last Ride (1944), then was given the starring role with Dennis Morgan in The Very Thought of You (1944), replacing Ida Lupino. She was given a cameo in Hollywood Canteen (1944). Warners gave her the choice role of Mildred Rogers in a new version of Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage (1946). Although director Edmund Goulding called Parker one of the five greatest actresses in America, previews were not favorable, and the film sat on the shelf for two years before being released to an underwhelming reception. However, in 1953, Parker called it her favorite role.
Parker later said the "big break" of her career was when she was cast with John Garfield in Pride of the Marines (1945). "It was a great part, and who wouldn't look good with John Garfield", she later said. "He was absolutely wonderful." However, two films that followed with Errol Flynn, the romantic comedy Never Say Goodbye (1946) and the drama Escape Me Never (1947), were box-office disappointments.
Parker was suspended twice by Warners for refusing parts in films – in Stallion Road (where she was replaced by Alexis Smith) and Love and Learn.
She made the comedy Voice of the Turtle (1947, aired today under the title One for the Book) with Ronald Reagan and was in an adaptation of The Woman in White (1948). She refused to appear in Somewhere in the City (1948) so Warners suspended her again; Virginia Mayo played the role.
Parker then had two years off, and during this time, she married and had a baby. She turned down a role in The Hasty Heart (1949), which she wanted to do, but it would have meant going to England, and she did not want to leave her baby alone during its first year. "I probably received my salary for only six months during 1947 and 1948, but I can't regret that", she said. "All my life, I wanted a child, and anything that might happen to me professionally on that account would hardly seem a loss."
She returned in Chain Lightning with Humphrey Bogart. "I've had my fling at roles that have little or no relation to most people's lives", she said in a 1949 interview. "I want to keep away from such assignments, as I can from now on, even though, as some may say, they mean exercising your skill and talent in acting."
Parker heard about Caged (1950), a film Warners was making of a woman in prison, and she lobbied the role. She got it, and won the 1950 Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. She also had a good role in the melodrama Three Secrets (1950).
In February 1950, Parker left Warner Bros. after having been under contract there for eight years. Parker had understood that she would star in a film called Safe Harbor, but Warner Bros. apparently had no intention of making it. Because of this misunderstanding, her agents negotiated her release.
