Editing Angela Lansbury (section)

===Career breakthrough: 1942–1945===
Macgill secured work in a Canadian touring production of ''[[Tonight at 8:30]]'', and was joined by her daughter. There, Lansbury gained her first theatrical job as a nightclub act at the Samovar Club, Montreal, singing songs by [[Noël Coward]]. Although 16 years old, she claimed to be 19 to secure the job.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=29|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=44}} Lansbury returned to New York City in August 1942, but her mother had moved to Hollywood, Los Angeles, to resurrect her cinematic career; Lansbury and her brothers followed.{{sfnm|1a1=Edelman|1a2=Kupferberg|1y=1996|1pp=29–30|2a1=Gottfried|2y=1999|2p=44}} Moving into a bungalow in [[Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles|Laurel Canyon]], both Lansbury and her mother obtained Christmas jobs at the [[Bullocks Wilshire]] department store in Los Angeles; Macgill was sacked for incompetence, leaving the family to subsist on Lansbury's wages of $28 a week.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=9|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=32–33|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=46–47}} Befriending a group of gay men, Lansbury became privy to the city's underground gay scene.{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=50}} With her mother, she attended lectures by the spiritual guru [[Jiddu Krishnamurti]] - at one of these, meeting the writer [[Aldous Huxley]].{{sfn|Gottfried|1999|p=50}}

[[File:Angela Lansbury in The Picture of Dorian Gray trailer.jpg|thumb|Lansbury in the trailer for ''The Picture of Dorian Gray''|alt=A young white women facing forward, with the name "Angela Lansbury" superimposed in front of her]]
At a party hosted by her mother, Lansbury met [[John van Druten]], who had recently co-authored a script for ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' (1944), a mystery-thriller based on [[Patrick Hamilton (writer)|Patrick Hamilton]]'s 1938 play, ''[[Gas Light]]''. The film was being directed by [[George Cukor]] and starred [[Ingrid Bergman]] in the lead role of Paula Alquist, a woman in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] London being psychologically tormented by her husband. Druten suggested that Lansbury would be perfect for the role of Nancy Oliver, a [[cockney]] maid; she was accepted for the part, although, since she was only 17, a social worker had to accompany her on the set.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=11–13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=36–41|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=53–56, 59–62}} Obtaining an agent, Earl Kramer, she was signed to a seven-year contract with [[MGM]], earning $500 a week.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=12|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=37–38|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=56–58}} ''Gaslight'' received critical acclaim, and Lansbury's performance was widely praised, earning her a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=42|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=62}}

Her next film appearance was as Edwina Brown in ''[[National Velvet (film)|National Velvet]]'' (1944); the film became a major commercial success and Lansbury developed a lifelong friendship with co-star [[Elizabeth Taylor]].{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1p=13|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2p=43|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3p=63}} Lansbury next starred in ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)|The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1945), a cinematic adaptation of Wilde's 1890 [[The Picture of Dorian Gray|novel of the same name]], which was again set in Victorian London. Directed by [[Albert Lewin]], Lansbury was cast as Sybil Vane, a working class [[music hall]] singer who falls in love with the protagonist, [[Dorian Gray]] ([[Hurd Hatfield]]). Although the film was not a financial success, Lansbury's performance once more drew praise, earning her a [[Golden Globe Award]], and she was again nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards, losing to [[Anne Revere]], her co-star in ''National Velvet''.{{sfnm|1a1=Bonanno|1y=1987|1pp=14–15|2a1=Edelman|2a2=Kupferberg|2y=1996|2pp=45–47|3a1=Gottfried|3y=1999|3pp=52–62, 66–69}}