1939 in film explained

The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 12th Academy Awards (which honored the best in film for 1939)—Dark Victory, Gone with the Wind, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, and Wuthering Heights—range in genre and are considered classics.[1]

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1939 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1939
Rank Title Distributor Domestic rentals
1Gone with the WindMGM/Selznick International$18,000,000[2]
2Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonColumbia$3,500,000[3]
3 Jesse James20th Century Fox$2,335,000[4]
4Babes in ArmsMGM$2,311,000[5]
5The Wizard of Oz$2,048,000
6 Goodbye, Mr. Chips$1,777,000
7 Dodge CityWarner Bros.$1,668,000[6]
8 The Rains Came20th Century Fox$1,656,000
9 The WomenMGM$1,610,000
10 Drums Along the Mohawk20th Century Fox$1,558,000

Events

Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood".[7] [8] Hollywood studios were at the height of their Golden Age, producing a number of exceptional motion pictures, many of which became honored as all-time classic films.

Nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Director

The year 1939 was one in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated ten films for Best Picture:

These films came from a wide variety of film genres and sources for their stories and settings, including: historical fiction (Gone with the Wind), contemporary affairs (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Of Mice and Men), love stories, classic novels (Wuthering Heights), fantasies/musicals, (The Wizard of Oz), tragic plays (Dark Victory), westerns (Stagecoach), and comedies (Ninotchka).

Each of the five nominees for Best Director of 1939 were or went on to become a legendary film director with multiple acclaimed films to his credit: Frank Capra (previous winner of the award), Victor Fleming, John Ford (who won a record four Best Director awards), Sam Wood, and William Wyler (who leads all directors in nominations with 11 while having three wins).

Academy Awards

See main article: 12th Academy Awards.

Gone with the Wind received in all ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations.

1939 film releases

United States

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Notable films released in 1939

United States unless stated

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

Serials

Comedy film series

Animated short film series

Births

Deaths

Debuts

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Michael Giltz: DVDs: 1939 – The Best Year For Movies...Ever!. Giltz. Michael. February 15, 2008. The Huffington Post. January 10, 2012.
  2. News: Variety. York's 4,000,000. December 31, 1941. 20. June 14, 2020.
  3. Book: Eyman, Scott. Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise. 1993. 0-8018-6558-1. Ninotchka's financial returns were less than those of the year's biggest hit, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which made $3.5 million, but considerably more than other hits like The Old Maid ($1.4 million), Only Angels Have Wings ($1.1 million), or The Rains Came ($1.65 million)..
  4. News: Variety. All-time Film Rental Champs. October 15, 1990. M162 to 166.
  5. .
  6. Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 20 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  7. Web site: Fristoe. Roger. Introduction to 1939, Hollywood's Greatest Year. Turner Classic Movies. August 6, 2011.
  8. News: Schwarzbaum. Lisa. 1939: Film's finest year. https://web.archive.org/web/20101223004307/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20309483,00.html. dead. December 23, 2010. August 6, 2011. Entertainment Weekly. October 2, 2009.
  9. Web site: Ian McKellen . https://web.archive.org/web/20160329084259/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9ee9add0 . dead . March 29, 2016 . BFI . 8 January 2022 . en.