Last night Rebel and I attended (in costume) a showing of GWTW in Charleston at The Terrace Theater on James Island. Great fun! A good contengiency of Charleston Tour Guides were in attendance, including two newbies who had never seen the film before. Great fun for all who attended. It also got me thinking about how good movies used to be. How many great movies come out in a single year these days ... one or two ... often zero.1939 was a watershed year in Hollywood. It gets my vote for being the best year for movies in Hollywood history. Here are movies nominated by the Academy for Best Film in 1939.
Goodbye Mr. Chips: Robert Donat in his Oscar performance as the beloved school teacher.
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington: James Stewart in one his more iconic roles.
Of Mice and Men: One of the best versions of Steinbeck's classic. Wth Burgess Meredith as George and Lon Chaney, Jr. as the simple-minded Lenny.
Stagecoach: Stagecoach has been lauded as one of the most influential films ever made. This was John Ford's first Western with sound, and also featured John Wayne in his breakout role.
Ninotcha: Launched with the tagline "Garbo Laughs!", Ninotchka is Greta Garbo's first full comedy, and her penultimate film.
Which film won? None of the above. In 1939, the Academy nominated more than 5 films. Here are some other nominees.
Love Affair: The classic tear-jerker starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer. It was later re-made as An Affair To Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr and re-made again as Love Affair with Warren Beatty and Annette Bening.
Wuthering Heights: The film that made Lawrence Olivier a star, also starred Merle Oberlin and David Niven.
Dark Victory: Another classic weeper. Bette Davis plays a swinging socialite, living the fast life of booze, smokes, and--with the help of Humphrey Bogart as her Irish stableman--raising thoroughbred horses. When a brain tumor starts giving her headaches and eroding her vision, she falls in love with her surgeon (George Brent), who grows more determined than ever to cure her.
None of those won either because 1939 was also the year in which The Wizard of Oz was released.
Which did not win because the movie of the year was Gone With The Wind. Pretty good year, huh?
Here's a list of more films from that year.
Beau Geste: The best known version of this classic adventure story with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, Broderick Crawford, and Brian Donlevy.
The Cat and the Canary: This comedy-horror film is considered to one of Bob Hope's best overall films, and his best performance.
Destry Rides Again: This is on my list of James Stewart's Top Five films, and one of the funniest westerns ever. The Western film genre was a first for both James Stewart and Dietrich - in a perfect example of inspired casting and image reversal. Stewart plays the role of an atypical, pacifist, unarmed Western hero and the usually glamorous seductress Dietrich is a sultry saloon entertainer-trouper post-von Sternberg. Imagine that Stewart managed to make this film and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington in the same year.
Golden Boy: William Holden's film debut, with Barbara Stanwick. Joe Bonaparte's father wants him to pursue his musical talent; but Joe wants to be a boxer. Persuading near-bankrupt manager Tom Moody to give him a chance, Joe quickly rises in his new profession. When he has second thoughts Moody's girl Lorna uses feminine wiles to keep him boxing. But when tough gangster Eddie Fuseli wants to "buy a piece" of Joe, Lorna herself begins to have second thoughts...for that and other reasons. Is it too late?
Ginga Din: One of the all time adventure movies! On par with the Indiana Jones films. Starring Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Made For Each Other: James Stewart (yes, again!) and Carole Lombard star in this comedy-drama about the struggles of a young married couple Stewart and Lombard play a recently married couple, Jane and John Mason. John works as an attorney for the law firm of skinflint Judge Doolittle. Doolittle calls John back to work immediately after the wedding ceremony, forcing the couple to abandon their honeymoon. A classic romantic comedy.
The Man in the Iron Mask: Louis XIV of France plots to keep his twin brother Philippe imprisoned in an iron mask, away from the knowledge of the public, which might prefer Philippe as King. But the Three Musketeers and their comrade D'Artagnan contrive to rescue the unjustly imprisoned Philippe. Great adventure movie.
Only Angels Have Wings: A quintessential adventure-aviation film with drama, dark fatalism, suspense and romance that is stocked with true-to-life sequences, fast-paced action and top stars in skillfully-executed roles. The film's themes include male camaraderie and loyalty, professionalism, courage and duty in the face of life-and-death perils and dangers, and rugged, stoic bravery - the pilots' code. Starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth.
You Can't Cheat An Honest Man: One of the last great W.C. Fields comedies. Larson E. Whipsnade runs a seedy circus which is perpetually in debt. His performers give him nothing but trouble, especially Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Meanwhile, Whipsnade's son and daughter, Phineas and Vicky, attend a posh college. Vicky turns down her caddish but rich suitor Roger Bel-Goodie, but changes her mind when she learns of her father's financial troubles. Will Vicky marry for money or succumb to the ventriloqual charm of Edgar Bergen?
Young Mr. Linclon: Directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ten years in the life of Abraham Lincoln, before he became known to his nation and the world. He moves from a Kentucky cabin to Springfield, Illinois, to begin his law practice. He defends two men accused of murder in a political brawl, suffers the death of his girlfriend Ann, courts his future wife Mary Todd, and agrees to go into politics
Here's a list of more films from that year.
Beau Geste: The best known version of this classic adventure story with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Susan Hayward, Broderick Crawford, and Brian Donlevy.
The Cat and the Canary: This comedy-horror film is considered to one of Bob Hope's best overall films, and his best performance.
Destry Rides Again: This is on my list of James Stewart's Top Five films, and one of the funniest westerns ever. The Western film genre was a first for both James Stewart and Dietrich - in a perfect example of inspired casting and image reversal. Stewart plays the role of an atypical, pacifist, unarmed Western hero and the usually glamorous seductress Dietrich is a sultry saloon entertainer-trouper post-von Sternberg. Imagine that Stewart managed to make this film and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington in the same year.
Golden Boy: William Holden's film debut, with Barbara Stanwick. Joe Bonaparte's father wants him to pursue his musical talent; but Joe wants to be a boxer. Persuading near-bankrupt manager Tom Moody to give him a chance, Joe quickly rises in his new profession. When he has second thoughts Moody's girl Lorna uses feminine wiles to keep him boxing. But when tough gangster Eddie Fuseli wants to "buy a piece" of Joe, Lorna herself begins to have second thoughts...for that and other reasons. Is it too late?
Ginga Din: One of the all time adventure movies! On par with the Indiana Jones films. Starring Cary Grant and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Made For Each Other: James Stewart (yes, again!) and Carole Lombard star in this comedy-drama about the struggles of a young married couple Stewart and Lombard play a recently married couple, Jane and John Mason. John works as an attorney for the law firm of skinflint Judge Doolittle. Doolittle calls John back to work immediately after the wedding ceremony, forcing the couple to abandon their honeymoon. A classic romantic comedy.
The Man in the Iron Mask: Louis XIV of France plots to keep his twin brother Philippe imprisoned in an iron mask, away from the knowledge of the public, which might prefer Philippe as King. But the Three Musketeers and their comrade D'Artagnan contrive to rescue the unjustly imprisoned Philippe. Great adventure movie.
Only Angels Have Wings: A quintessential adventure-aviation film with drama, dark fatalism, suspense and romance that is stocked with true-to-life sequences, fast-paced action and top stars in skillfully-executed roles. The film's themes include male camaraderie and loyalty, professionalism, courage and duty in the face of life-and-death perils and dangers, and rugged, stoic bravery - the pilots' code. Starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth.
You Can't Cheat An Honest Man: One of the last great W.C. Fields comedies. Larson E. Whipsnade runs a seedy circus which is perpetually in debt. His performers give him nothing but trouble, especially Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy. Meanwhile, Whipsnade's son and daughter, Phineas and Vicky, attend a posh college. Vicky turns down her caddish but rich suitor Roger Bel-Goodie, but changes her mind when she learns of her father's financial troubles. Will Vicky marry for money or succumb to the ventriloqual charm of Edgar Bergen?
Young Mr. Linclon: Directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda. Ten years in the life of Abraham Lincoln, before he became known to his nation and the world. He moves from a Kentucky cabin to Springfield, Illinois, to begin his law practice. He defends two men accused of murder in a political brawl, suffers the death of his girlfriend Ann, courts his future wife Mary Todd, and agrees to go into politics
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