Matinee Saturday - 1940s

 Today is Matinee Saturday for Going Through the Era's. There are so many movies I love from the 40s that I couldn't pick just one so I decided to make a list of some of my favorites.

His Girl Friday (1940) - Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy star in this hilarious screwball comedy. Newspaper editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is given a surprise visit by his ex-wife and ex-reportor Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) when she tells him that she is going to remarry. Next ensues chaos as Burns gets Hildy to do one last newspaper story for him in exchange for buying life insurance from her fiance (Ralph Bellamy), but as murderer escapes jail Burn's is trying to get the story and his ex-wife back.

Babes on Broadway (1941) - The third of the Mickey and Judy 'Backyard Musicals' finds Tommy Williams (Mickey Rooney) and two pals trying to get their big break on Broadway. One day with the thought of the next days private audition with a broadway producer glimmering before them Tommy's happiness is dimmed when he sees a girl, Penny Morris (Judy Garland), crying in another booth at the drugstore. Determined to cheer her up he talks to her and then takes her to her home. The next day their audition is crashed hundreds of other hopefuls and they end up not being able to audition. Mickey and his chums decide to put on their own show for broadway producers to see them and soon find a cause in the orphanage that Penny helps out at.

It Started With Eve (1941) - Jonathan Reynolds (Charles Laughton) is on his deathbed and near death as his only son and child Johnny (Robert Cummings) arrives in New York City and rushes home. Before he dies Johnny's father wants to meet his son's fiancee and so Johnny promptly rushes to her hotel. His fiancee and her mother are not in however and he is unable to find them anywhere. In desperation he asks the hat check girl Anne Terry (Deanna Durbin) to pretend to be his fiancee so his father can die happy. Johnny's father is pleased with the girl he thinks is his sons fiancee and unexpectedly recovers, leaving Johnny frantic for a way to resolve the mix-up without throwing his father into a relapse and Anne determined to attend the engagement party his father is holding and meet some broadway producers.

Don't Fence Me In (1945) - Magazine photographer Toni Ames (Dale Evans) is sent west to Twin Wells from New York City to try and find the outlaw from the wild west Wildcat Kelly. There she meets an old man who claims to have been a friend of the outlaw (Gabby Hayes). She goes to the dude ranch where he works along with Roy Rogers and the rest of the Sons of the Pioneers and begins to snoop around for clues.

Well, those are just four of some of my favorite movies from the 1940s and let met tell you there are many, many more.

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I think I'll close off this post with some pictures of one of my favorite singers and actresses Judy Garland.

 A publicity still for the 1948 film Easter Parade starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. I really like this movie and wish Judy had been able to make another movie with Fred Astaire.

A movie still from the 1942 movie For Me and My Gal starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, and George Murphy. This movie was Kelly's big screen debut and another one of my favorites.

~Hanne-col