Breakthrough
Following her rejection for Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay!, Peters was selected to replace Linda Darnell as the female lead in Captain from Castile (1947) opposite Tyrone Power, when Darnell was reassigned to save the production of Forever Amber. Although she had not made her screen debut by this time, Peters was highly publicized and received a star treatment while filming took place. Captain from Castile was a hit, and Leonard Maltin wrote that afterwards Peters spent the new decade playing "sexy spitfires, often in period dramas and Westerns." She was offered a similar role in the western Yellow Sky (1948), but she refused the part, explaining it was "too sexy". As a result, the studio, frustrated by her stubbornness, put her on her first suspension.
For her second film, Deep Waters (1948), which Peters filmed in late 1947, she was reunited with her director from Captain from Castile, Henry King. On this, she commented: "It's really a break for me, because he knows where he's going and what he wants, and I naturally have great confidence in him." The film was not nearly as successful as Captain from Castile, but Peters was again noticed. She was named among the best five 'finds' of the year, among Barbara Bel Geddes, Valli, Richard Widmark and Wanda Hendrix. She was next assigned to co-star next to Clifton Webb in Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949), but Shirley Temple later replaced her.
In early 1949 Peters signed on to play Ray Milland's love interest in It Happens Every Spring (1949). For the role, she offered to bleach her hair, but this was overruled by the studio. Although the film became a success, most of the publicity went to Milland. Afterwards, she starred alongside Paul Douglas in the period film Love That Brute (1950), for which she had to wear a dress in which she was unable to sit. The film was originally titled Turned Up Toes and Peters was cast in the film in June 1949, shortly after the release of It Happens Every Spring. To prepare for a singing and dancing scene, Peters took a few lessons with Betty Grable's dance instructor.
By 1950, Peters was almost forgotten by the public, even though she was playing several lead roles from 1947. In late 1950, she was even cast in a secondary role as a college girl in Take Care of My Little Girl (1951), a Jeanne Crain vehicle. According to a newspaper article, Peters was given the role by Jean Negulesco by impressing him with her sewing. She once became famous for being a small country girl, but as she grew up, the studio did not find her any more suitable roles.
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