A window card featuring de Havilland, Charles Boyer and Paulette Goddard in HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941), the story of a spinster American school teacher (de Havilland) deceitfully wooed in Mexico by a foreign gigolo who wants to immigrate to the United States.  Made on loan-out to Paramount, HOLD BACK THE DAWN brought de Havilland her second Oscar nomination, this time in the Best Actress category, and the film's five other nominations included one for Best Picture.  Though de Havilland lost Academy Award that year to her sister Joan Fontaine's performance in Hitchcock's SUSPICION (1941), in many ways HOLD BACK THE DAWN served as a precursor to de Havilland's Oscar-winning role in THE HEIRESS (1949) eight years later.

Back at Warners, de Havilland was again cast opposite Errol Flynn in a somewhat more substantial, although still decorative role as Mrs. George Armstrong Custer in THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON (1941). It would be their final film together as co-stars.

"Main Title - West Point" (clip) by Max Steiner (a .MP3 file courtesy Marco Polo).

In a refreshing change of pace, de Havilland played "free-thinker" Amy Lind opposite James Cagney's dentist-in-training in the 1941 romantic comedy, THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE. 

Also starring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, and Jack Carson, THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE is probably my favorite of de Havilland's performances.  Although the film is often over-looked amidst her more famous dramatic performances and Oscar-winning, self-sacrificing roles, THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE is well-written, well-acted and a lot of fun, showing a different aspect of the range of de Havilland's acting talent.

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