Golden Age-inspired starlet to talk Hollywood, World War II

If you’re going

-WHAT: ‘Hollywood Goes to War: Screen Queens and the War Effort’
-WHEN: 7 p.m. Monday
-WHERE: The Bedford Welcome Center
-ADMISSION: Free
-INFO: (540) 586-3329 or http://www.dday.org

“I don’t like the modern stuff,” says the 22-year-old Bedford native, who has been fascinated with old Hollywood films and starlets for most of her life.

Hollywood’s Golden Age is generally recognized as the period between the late 1920s, around the time “The Jazz Singer” was released in 1927, and the 1950s.

It was a time when stars like Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart graced the silver screen, but still managed to have private lives away from their film sets because paparazzi didn’t stalk their every move.

“The actresses are especially interesting to me because young women do not have strong role models any more,” Gardner says. “Back then, I’m not saying there were any less scandals, but it was so carefully guarded that people were allowed to have their fantasy about what Hollywood was.”

Today, “the romance of the film industry has been lost,” she adds. “The magic is gone.”

Gardner’s interest in the era — the 1940s are a particular favorite — eventually grew to include U.S. history during World War II, something she’ll be talking about in a D-Day Memorial-sponsored lecture next week.

“Hollywood Goes to War: Screen Queens and the War Effort” is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at the Bedford Welcome Center.

“I mostly just speak about the actresses and what they did to contribute to the war effort,” Gardner says.

“I think the biggest thing — and it’s especially notable because it would never happen today — (is that) Hollywood was key in pulling this country together in support of our boys overseas,” she says.

The big names appeared at fundraisers and starred in patriotic films, documentaries and newsreels. During the lecture, she’ll dress in era-appropriate clothing and will show film clips and photos from the time period, all of which come from her own collection of Golden Age memorabilia — everything from a pair of Joan Crawford’s shoes, which she found on eBay, to two framed letters from her heroine, Katharine Hepburn.

“I actually had to move into the basement because my collection outgrew my bedroom upstairs,” she says of her family’s farm, which sits at the foot of the Peaks of Otter.

Despite her outfit on the day of the interview — jeans, flats and a black vest, accessorized with a pearl necklace and black headband — Gardner says her wardrobe is usually retro. She loves ’40s-style dresses, furs and old hats that come from both her grandmother’s closet and thrift stores.

Gardner’s interest in the era started with her grandmother.

“She’d watch Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals,” Gardner remembers. “She always had old music playing on the radio.”

The 1940s quickly became her favorite time period.

“My favorite movies came out then,” she says. “I love the style. The music is (also) a really big draw for me because I love big band.”

During her pre-teen years, Gardner spent a lot of time at the public library, reading up about her favorite stars.

“I used to get these huge, thick, probably scandalous books (written about stars). I couldn’t really make heads or tails of it, but I looked at the pictures.”

It also drove her to pursue the spotlight, and she recently graduated from Lynchburg College with a degree in theatre performance.

“The movies sort of spawned the theater thing,” she says. “I’ve been a ham my whole life. I used to put on these great musical revues in the aisle of our barn.”

Next up for Gardner is a gig directing the Little Town Players’ latest show, “Dial M For Murder,” which opens next month.

“Directing theater is really fun. It’s very educational, very interesting,” she says. “It’s a completely different way to be creative in theater. (But) my heart is really on the stage.

“I’m already finding myself getting a little jealous that they’re on stage, and I’m not.”