1939 Golden Year for Motion
Pictures
Dark Victory
Starring Bette Davis and George Brent, directed by Edmund Goulding.
A socialite learns she has only a few months to live.
Goodbye Mr. Chips
Starring Robert Donat (best actor) and Greer Garson, directed by Sam Wood. A
beloved teacher at a boy’s school in England is remembered. Donat’s
best actor Oscar beat out Clark Gable’s performance in Gone With The Wind.
Gone With
the Wind
Starring Vivien Leigh (best actress), Clark Gable, Hattie McDaniel (best supporting
actress), directed by Victor Fleming. GWTW also won best picture
Mr. Smith Goes to
Washington
Starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, directed by Frank Capra
A freshman senator takes on a corrupt Washington, D.C.
Ninotchka
Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Garbo is a soviet official sent to Paris to sell some Tsarist jewels. She falls
under the spell of both the city and Melvyn Douglas.
Private Lives of
Elizabeth and Essex
Starring Bette Davis and Errol Flynn, directed by Michael Curtiz
The sometimes stormy relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of
Essex, who planned to be king of England.
Rains Came
Starring Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent, directed by Clarence Brown.
An aristocrat returns to India to devote himself to the betterment of the hia
people. He faces prejudice and bad weather.
Stagecoach
Starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell (best supporting actor,
also played Gerald O’Hara in GWTW) directed by John Ford
The quintessential western with John Wayne as the Ringo Kid riding on top of
the stagecoach.
Wizard of
Oz
Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, directed by Mervyn LeRoy. Won best song for
Over the Rainbow. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Wuthering Heights
Starring Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, directed by William Wyler. Based on
the book by Emily Bronte. Olivier was working on WH while his current lover,
Vivien Leigh, was starring in GWTW.
Young Mr. Lincoln
Starring Henry Fonda, directed by John Ford. Based on the early career of Abraham
Lincoln. Some critics call this the preeminent movie about Lincoln.
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