The 1940s are my favourite era not only for the films that emerged during this decade but also for the

One of my favourite eras is the 1940s. Although dominated by the horrors of war, Hollywood produced some of its best films during this period. The glamour of the late forties and early fifties portrayed by "wise-cracking dames" and "tough, lovable guys" showed the coming of age of cinema.The music of the forties for me means jazz, rythm and blues.Fashion in the forties was varied from rationing and hard times during the war, which forced women to paint seams on the back of their legs to give the impression that they were wearing tights, to the glamour of the New Look in 1947.

	"To Have or Have Not" Dir:Howard Hawks 1944 Bogey and Bacall were perhaps the most famous of all Hollywood couplings and this 1940s classic unites the two.The interplay between the central characters is electric and some of the lines are delivered so naturally that it seems they ad-libbed their way through the film.Possibly not as polished as "The Big Sleep" and although the plot is not as intriguing, fine performances from the two leads ensure you won't be able to leave until the final credits roll.
	"The Big Sleep" Dir: Howard Hawks 1946 One of Bogart's best.He is a Private Investigator called in by an infirm old man to sort out the problems his younger daughter is having with bad gambling debts.Lauren Bacall stars as the older sister, a little more world wise but nonetheless embroiled in shady dealings.
	"Double Indemnity" Dir: Billy Wilder 1944 Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray this film tells the tale of one woman's powerful seduction of a man which drives him to carry out the ultimate act for her.It keeps you guessing until the very end
	"Casablanca" Dir:Michael Curtiz 1942 Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart starred in "Casablanca". Everyone knows this one and can quote the famous lines like Rick's "Of all the bars in all the world you had to walk into mine" and "Play it Sam". A great film which will never date.
	"Gone with the Wind" 1939 One of the most important films of all time."Titanic" may have beaten it at the box office but it doesn't compare to this all time classic epic.At over three hours it won 8 Oscars and is still popular today.
	"Rebecca" Dir: Alfred Hitchcock 1940 This film has haunted me from the moment I saw it as a child. The image of Mandalay going up in smoke with Mrs. Danvers standing at the window is terrifying and Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine star.

Along with great films there was also great music and the Glenn Miller Orchestra was one of the most famous, entertaining the troops during the war years.
Jazz and blues came into its own and from the forties onwards musicians such as Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and great female vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone and Billie Haliday entertained audiences both black and white alike.

	Billie Haliday and Miles Davis having dinner together.Not necessarily all from the forties, these artists did however have their roots there.Nina Simone and Billie Haliday sang about love and loss and both had quite sad lives. Nina Simone's song entitled "Strange Fruit" laments the hanging of black people by the Ku Klux Klan and much of her later life was dominated by political issues.
	Ella Fitzgerald is one of my all time favourite singers.Born April 25th 1918 Ella joined Chuck Webb at the age of sixteen as vocalist and became an instant hit with jazz fans.After Webb's death in 1939 she went solo and had numerous hits during the 40's and 50's such as "Making Whoopee","How High the Moon " and "Sentimental Journey".

Grace Kelly

The epitomy of style and elegance

The New Look - Women's Fashions of the 1940s
The 1940s were among the most glamorous periods in fashion. After WWII's restricted, rationed, and restrained fashions, Christian Dior introduced his extravagant "New Look" in 1947.

Silhouette
In the first half of the decade, a trim waist and hips were contrasted with a broad chest and women's shoulder pads became a must. Hair was curled or rolled and shoulder-length or slightly longer. After the New Look debuted in 1947, shoulders sloped, waists cinched, and hips spread as far as they liked.
The fitted jacket-and-skirt suit, with a peplum to the hip was the order of the day. Most women wore one- and two-fabric day dresses with curved necklines, the bust shaped by soft gathers above or below, and sometimes swags or drapery on the skirt.

Fabrics Available
Natural fibers (linen, cotton, wool, and silk), rayon, acetate, and nylon. Light- to medium-weight fabrics were used, with light and sheer materials for nightwear. Nylon was seen as net overlays on formals and as the sole material in some sheer day dresses.
Most daywear was in darker, conservative colors, although some morning dresses had bright or bold floral or abstract figured prints. Evening saw more soft shades, and also classic navy and black. Casual clothes were sometimes boldly colored, with a lean towards western motifs.

Popular Colors and Prints
Little trimming appeared on clothing during this era, excepting some eveningwear. Instead, fancy covered buttons, extra tailoring details, or fabric contrasts provided variety. One standard was two large hip pockets at either side of the waist, a regular fashion into the 50s.

Hemlines Day and Night
For day, just below the knee was standard, but some dresses fell to mid-calf. At night, at least ankle-length was necessary.

The Latest Fads
Hats of every shape and size were fashionable, and was a style that began in the previous decade. Shoulder pads occasionally reached wide, pointy, or hollowed proportions. Hot items were alligator accessories, platform shoes, and marten stoles (long fox-like animals strung together).

1941: CBS and NBC start commercial transmission; WW II intervenes.
1942: Kodacolor process produces the color print.
1943 : Repeaters on phone lines quiet long distance ca ll noise.
1944: Harvard's Mark I, first digital computer, put in service.
1944: IBM offers a typewriter with proportional spacing.
1945: It is estimated that 14,000 products are made from paper.
1946: Jukeboxes go into mass production.
1947: The transistor is invented, will replace vacuum tubes.
1948: The LP record arrives on a viny disk.
1948: Hollywood switches to nonflammable film.
1949: Network TV in U.S. My Father is born.