Fantastic 40's Females (1 Viewer)

[Beckford]

The 1940's! Probably my favorite movie decade. Just finished watching Howard Hawks' "To Have and Have Not" for the umpteenth time. And I still get a thrill over the way nineteen year old Lauren Bacall turns every scene she's in into a display of cooler than cool fireworks. Surely one of the great movie debuts.
Got to thinking about how many unforgettable female performances the 40's gave us. And - as an inveterate list maker - I was soon compiling another one, this time saluting my own favorite leading lady performances from the decade. Meant to make it 25 but couldn't edit the thing down to less than 30. Some represent choice feats of dramatic acting, some are displays of consummate comedy technique, others just examples of such powerful charm it's practically impossible not to fall in love with the the ladies in question.

Anyway, here they are - listed chronologically
IRENE DUNNE "My Favorite Wife"(1940)
JEAN ARTHUR "The Devil and Miss Jones"(1941)
RITA HAYWORTH "You'll Never Get Rich"(1941)
LANA TURNER "Ziegfeld Girl"(1941)
JENNIFER JONES "The Song of Bernadette"(1943)
LAUREN BACALL "To Have and Have Not"(1944)
CLAUDETTE COLBERT "Since You Went Away"(1944)
IRENE DUNNE "Together Again"(1944)
JOAN FONTAINE "Jane Eyre"(1944)
JOAN FONTAINE "Frenchman's Creek"(1944)
JUDY GARLAND "Meet Me in St. Louis"(1944)
ANN SAVAGE "Detour"(1945)
GENE TIERNEY "Leave Her to Heaven"(1945)
ESTHER WILLIAMS "Thrill of a Romance"(1945)
JOAN CRAWFORD "Humoresque"(1946)
MARIA FELIX "Enamorada"(1946)
ELEANOR PARKER "Of Human Bondage"(1946)
GENE TIERNEY "The Razor's Edge"(1946)
JOAN BENNETT "The Macomber Affair"(1947)
JANE GREER "Out of the Past"(1947)
DOROTHY McGUIRE "Gentleman's Agreement"(1947)
ALIDA VALLI "The Paradine Case"(1947)
MARLENE DIETRICH "A Foreign Affair"(1948)
IDA LUPINO "Road House"(1948)
MOIRA SHEARER "The Red Shoes"(1948)
LINDA DARNELL "A Letter to Three Wives"(1949)
BETTE DAVIS "Beyond the Forest"(1949)
YVONNE DE CARLO "Criss Cross"(1949)
VALERIE HOBSON "The Rocking Horse Winner"(1949)
ANN SOTHERN "A Letter to Three Wives"(1949)

 

[Bert Greene]

Great list. It would take me a lot of thinking to come up with a list of 40s faves, and I doubt I could line them all up with specific performances. But I'm sure I'd include a lot of usual suspects, like Joan Leslie, Gail Russell, Anne Jeffries, Claire Trevor, Frances Rafferty, Laraine Day, and such.

 

[MartinP.]

I'm interested that of all Bette Davis' signature work in the 1940s that you chose Beyond the Forest. Most seem to dismiss that film. I'm with you, though, I find it immensely entertaining. Especially one time when I saw it in a theatre with a nice crowd.

To my list I'd have to have Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity and Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce. I'd also have to pick one of Veronica Lake's movies and add Lizbeth Scott in Desert Fury. For Judy Garland I'd substitute Easter Parade for Meet Me in St. Louis.

Although not a lead actress, I can't get enough of Agnes Moorehead in Dark Passage.

 

[Keith Cobby]

One of mine is Virginia Mayo, particularly her films with Danny Kaye. Favourite is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty which should receive a blu ray release.