My mom saw a movie (b&W) she thinks in the early 40's with a little girl who wrote notes and invitations and put them in a hollow tree in the back yard. She also was asked by an old lady in a scary house (she thinks she had a daughter) to help her find a lost ring. She only remembers the house being scary and pages turning on a book when doors opened.
She doesn't recall the movie being scary... just the emphasis on the little girl and her not having any friends... putting the mail in the tree. I would like to buy this movie for her if I can find the name of it.

I believe it's Curse of the Cat People (http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=2544) (1944), a real B-movie classic along with its predecessor, Cat People. The two movies are very different, both are worth watching/owning.

Vasily

I'm not sure its cat peope. I remember this movie. When she left the garden she was in another time and met a young boy there. And I think they ice skated together and the woman in the house was adamant about no kids making noise in the house . And at one point she takes the girls skates and locks them in the bottom drawer of a dresser. Is that correct? Or am I thinking of something else?

Not "Cat People", but "Curse of the Cat People" which was supposedly a sequel but not really related to the first film. The little girl, Amy, puts birthday invitations in a hollow tree thinking it's a magic mailbox. It's a great movie about childhood and imagination. Here's a good synopsis (http://www.afi.com/wise/films/curse_of_the_cat_people/cotcp.html) of the plot so you can decide if it's the movie you're thinking of.

BTW, I'm a fan of both movies and I highly recommend them... they're great B-movie classics, and great psychological studies in spite of the lurid titles and even more lurid movie posters that came out at the time. But avoid the Cat People remake from 1982... it's a real stinker. :)

But avoid the Cat People remake from 1982 ... it's a real stinker. :)

But it was putting out fire with gasoline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_People_(Putting_Out_Fire))!

But it was putting out fire with gasoline (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_People_(Putting_Out_Fire))!

Great song in a stinky movie! :D