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.

Journey For Margaret is on DVD from the Warner Brother's Archive website. We have not seen the quality of the dvd.

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