Journey for Margaret (1942)

Synopsis: Like Mrs Miniver, this was one of MGM's efforts to convey to American audiences the effect of the Second World War on the British home front. In this tear-jerker, the emphasis is on homeless orphans of the Blitz for whom the best solution, it is suggested, is a new life in the United States.

Robert Young plays the American journalist who befriends a young boy (William Severn) who won't talk and a small girl (Margaret O'Brien) who has retreated into a private world. Under the able coaxing of director WS Van Dyke II, it was the five-year-old O'Brien, in her first substantial role, who stole the picture in a performance capped only by her Tootie of Meet Me in St Louis two years later.

Cast: Robert Young, Laraine Day , Fay Bainter, Nigel Bruce , Margaret O'Brien
Runtime: 81 min