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 |
|---|
| 1 | Gone with the Wind | MGM/Selznick International | $18,000,000[2] |
|---|
| 2 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Columbia | $3,500,000[3] |
|---|
| 3 | Jesse James | 20th Century Fox | $2,335,000[4] |
|---|
| 4 | Babes in Arms | MGM | $2,311,000[5] |
|---|
| 5 | The Wizard of Oz | $2,048,000 |
|---|
| 6 | Goodbye, Mr. Chips | $1,777,000 |
|---|
| 7 | Dodge City | Warner Bros. | $1,668,000[6] |
|---|
| 8 | The Rains Came | 20th Century Fox | $1,656,000 |
|---|
| 9 | The Women | MGM | $1,610,000 |
|---|
| 10 | Drums Along the Mohawk | 20th 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.
- February 15 – John Ford's Western film Stagecoach starring John Wayne premieres in New York City and Los Angeles.
- March 31 – Release of the 20th Century Fox film version of The Hound of the Baskervilles, first of a Sherlock Holmes film series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
- June 10 – MGM's first successful animated character, Barney Bear, makes his debut in The Bear That Couldn't Sleep.
- August 10 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at the Orpheum Theatre in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Its Hollywood premiere takes place on August 15 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
- October 17 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington premieres in Washington, D.C.
- November 6 – Hedda Hopper's Hollywood debuts on radio in the United States with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as host; the show runs until 1951, making Hopper a powerful figure among the Hollywood elite.
- December 15 – The epic historical romance film Gone with the Wind, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, premieres at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, with a three-day-long festival. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of 1936, it is the longest American film made up to this date (at nearly four hours) and rapidly becomes the highest-grossing film up to this time.
- Canada establishes a National Film Commission, predecessor of the National Film Board of Canada, with John Grierson as first Commissioner.
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
- January 1939
- 13 January
- 14 January
- 27 January
- 28 January
- February 1939
- 3 February
- 10 February
- 17 February
- March 1939
- 3 March
- 10 March
- 13 March
- 17 March
- 24 March
- 29 March
- 31 March
April–June
- April 1939
- 1 April
- 7 April
- 11 April
- 14 April
- 16 April
- 22 April
- 29 April
- May 1939
- 5 May
- 6 May
- 19 May
- 20 May
- 25 May
- 26 May
- June 1939
- 2 June
- 9 June
- 10 June
- 16 June
- 20 June
- 23 June
- 30 June
July–September
- July 1939
- 4 July
- 7 July
- 13 July
- 21 July
- 28 July
- August 1939
- 4 August
- 6 August
- 10 August
- 11 August
- 18 August
- 19 August
- 26 August
- 28 August
- 31 August
- September 1939
-
- 2 September
- 5 September
- 7 September
- 8 September
- 9 September
- 15 September
- 22 September
- 29 September
October–December
- October 1939
- 6 October
- 13 October
- 17 October
- 20 October
- 23 October
- November 1939
- 2 November
- 3 November
- 10 November
- 11 November
- 17 November
- 22 November
- 23 November
- December 1939
- 2 December
- 8 December
- 15 December
- 16 December
- 22 December
- 29 December
Notable films released in 1939
United States unless stated
A
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, starring Mickey Rooney and Rex Ingram
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
- Allegheny Uprising, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne
- Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
- The Angels Wash Their Faces, starring Ann Sheridan and the Dead End Kids
- The Amazing Mr. Williams, starring Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell
- Another Thin Man, starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
- The Arizona Kid, starring Roy Rogers
- The Arsenal Stadium Mystery – (GB)
- Ask a Policeman, starring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott – (GB)
- At the Circus, starring the Marx Brothers
B
- Babes in Arms, directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
- Bachelor Mother, starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven
- Bad Lands, starring Robert Barrat and Robert Coote
- Barricade, starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter
- Beau Geste, directed by William Wellman, starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland
- Bel Ami – (Germany)
- Blackmail, starring Edward G. Robinson
- Blue Montana Skies, starring Gene Autry
- Boy Slaves
- Boys' Reformatory, starring Frankie Darro
- The Bronze Buckaroo, starring Herb Jeffries
C
D
- Dark Victory, starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan
- Daughter of the Tong, starring Evelyn Brent and Grant Withers
- Days of Jesse James, directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
- Destry Rides Again, directed by George Marshall, starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart
- Dodge City, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
- Drums Along the Mohawk, directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert
E
F
- The Face at the Window, starring Tod Slaughter
- First Love, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Stack
- Five Came Back, directed by John Farrow, starring Lucille Ball and Chester Morris
- The Flying Deuces, directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Laurel and Hardy
- The Flying Irishman, starring Douglas Corrigan
- The Four Feathers, starring John Clements and Ralph Richardson – (GB)
- The Four Just Men, directed by Walter Forde (GB)
- Frontier Marshal, starring Randolph Scott, Caesar Romero, John Carradine
- Full Confession, starring Victor McLaglen
G
- The Girl from Mexico, starring Lupe Vélez
- A Girl Must Live, directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
- Golden Boy, starring Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Adolphe Menjou
- Gone with the Wind, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel – Academy Awards for best picture, director, actress and supporting actress
- Goodbye, Mr. Chips, directed by Sam Wood, starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. Academy Award for best actor. – (GB)
- Gulliver's Travels, starring Jessica Dragonette and Lanny Ross
- Gunga Din, directed by George Stevens, starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe
H
- The Hardys Ride High, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
- Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence, starring Glenn Ford
- Hello Janine!, starring Marika Rökk – (Germany)
- Hollywood Cavalcade, starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, J. Edward Bromberg, Alan Curtis
- Honolulu, starring Eleanor Powell, Burns and Allen
- The Hound of the Baskervilles, first in Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by William Dieterle, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara
I
J
- Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara – (GB)
- Jesse James, directed by Henry King (director), starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott
- Juarez, directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Brian Aherne
- Le Jour se lève (Daybreak), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin and Arletty – (France)
- Judge Hardy and Son, starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
K
L
M
- Made For Each Other, starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart, and Charles Coburn
- Maisie, starring Robert Young and Ann Sothern
- The Man in the Iron Mask, starring Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William
- Man of Conquest, starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Joan Fontaine
- Mexicali Rose, starring Gene Autry
- Midnight, starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche
- The Mikado, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, first British film shot in Technicolor – (GB)
- Million Dollar Legs, starring Betty Grable
- Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation, starring Peter Lorre
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains
- Mr. Wong in Chinatown, starring Boris Karloff
- The Mystery of Mr. Wong, starring Boris Karloff
N
O
- Of Mice and Men, directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Lon Chaney Jr.
- Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise, a comedy short starring The Three Stooges
- The Oklahoma Kid, starring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Donald Crisp
- The Old Maid, starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins
- On Borrowed Time, starring Lionel Barrymore and Cedric Hardwicke
- On Dress Parade, starring The Dead End Kids
- On the Night of the Fire (aka The Fugitive), starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
- On Your Toes, screenplay by Lawrence Riley, starring Vera Zorina and Eddie Albert
- Only Angels Have Wings, starring Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth and Jean Arthur
P
Q
R
S
- The Saint in London, starring George Sanders
- The Saint Strikes Back, starring George Sanders
- Seven Little Australians, directed by Arthur Greville Collins – (Australia)
- Son of Frankenstein, starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi
- De Spooktrein (The Ghost Train) – (Netherlands)
- The Spy in Black, directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
- Stagecoach, directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Berton Churchill, John Carradine
- Stanley and Livingstone, starring Spencer Tracy and Cedric Hardwicke
- The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
- The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle, starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
- Susannah of the Mounties, starring Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott
- Swanee River, starring Don Ameche
T
- Tarzan Finds a Son!, starring Johnny Weissmuller
- These Glamour Girls, starring Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Tom Brown
- They Made Me a Criminal, starring John Garfield
- They Shall Have Music, starring Jascha Heifetz, Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, Walter Brennan
- The Three Musketeers, starring Don Ameche and The Ritz Brothers
- Three Smart Girls Grow Up, starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings
- Three Texas Steers, directed by George Sherman, starring John Wayne
- Tower of London, starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price
- Tsuchi (Japan)
- The Trip to Tilsit (Die Reise nach Tilsit) – (Germany)
U
V
W
- Way Down South, directed by Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus
- Wilton's Zoo (Boefje), directed by Douglas Sirk – (Netherlands)
- The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
- The Women, directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
- Wuthering Heights, directed by William Wyler, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson
- Wyoming Outlaw, starring John Wayne, directed by George Sherman
Y
Z
Serials
Comedy film series
Animated short film series
Births
- January 8 – Ruth Maleczech, American actress (died 2013)
- January 9 – Susannah York, English actress (died 2011)
- January 10 – Sal Mineo, American actor (died 1976)
- January 17 – Maury Povich, American television personality
- January 22 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist (died 2021)
- January 26 – Scott Glenn, American actor
- January 30 – János Zsombolyai, Hungarian cinematographer, film director and screenwriter (died 2015)
- February 3 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2016)
- February 6 – Mike Farrell, American actor
- February 9 – Janet Suzman, South African actress and director
- February 16 – Angelo Infanti, Italian actor (died 2010)
- February 20 – Antonina Girycz, Polish actress (died 2022)
- February 24 – Marisa Mell, Austrian actress (died 1992)
- February 28 – Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer and actor
- March 4
- March 5
- March 7 – Michael Chow, Chinese-born British-American former actor
- March 14
- March 21 – Marino Masé, Italian actor (died 2022)
- March 26 - Phillip R. Allen, American actor (died 2012)
- March 28 – Vic Vargas, Filipino actor (died 2003)
- March 29 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, screenwriter and producer
- April 1 – Ali MacGraw, American actress
- April 5 – Roger Davis, American actor
- April 7 – Francis Ford Coppola, director; producer; screenwriter
- April 9 – Romeo Vasquez, Filipino actor (died 2017)
- April 11 – Louise Lasser, American actress, writer and director
- April 13 – Paul Sorvino, American actor (died 2022)
- April 22 – Mark Jones, English actor (died 2010)
- April 23
- May 4 – Paul Gleason, American actor (died 2006)
- May 7
- May 13 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
- May 15 – Barbara Hammer, American filmmaker (died 2019)
- May 19
- May 22 – Paul Winfield, American actor (died 2004)
- May 23 – Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- May 25 – Ian McKellen, English actor[9]
- May 28 – Beth Howland, American actress (died 2015)
- May 30 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (died 2019)
- June 4 – Henri Pachard, American film director (died 2008)
- June 8 – Bernie Casey, American actor (died 2017)
- June 11 – Christina Crawford, American actress
- June 24 – Michael Gothard, English actor (died 1992)
- June 25 – Barbara Montgomery, American actress and director
- July 1
- Karen Black, American actress, screenwriter and singer-songwriter (died 2013)
- Ines Aru, Estonian actress
- July 5 – Sergio Di Stefano, Italian actor and voice actor (died 2010)
- July 15
- July 16 – Corin Redgrave, British actor, political activist (died 2010)
- July 21 – Sondra James, American sound coordinator and actress (died 2021)
- July 22 - Gila Almagor, Israeli actress
- July 28 – Charles Cyphers, American actor (died 2024)
- July 30 – Peter Bogdanovich, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2022)
- July 31 – France Nuyen, French actress
- August 1 – Terry Kiser, American actor
- August 2
- August 4 – Mapita Cortés, Mexican actress (died 2006)
- August 7 – Anjanette Comer, American actress
- August 9 – Bulle Ogier, French actress
- August 12
- August 16 - Carole Shelley, English actress (died 2018)
- August 20 – Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor (died 2004)
- August 23 – Fernando Luján, Mexican actor (died 2019)
- August 25 – John Badham, English-American director
- August 29 – Joel Schumacher, American film director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020)
- August 30 – Elizabeth Ashley, American actress
- September 1 – Lily Tomlin, American actress; comedian; producer
- September 5
- September 8 - DeVeren Bookwalter, American actor and director (died 1987)
- September 11 – Tom Dreesen, American actor and stand-up comedian
- September 13 – Richard Kiel, American actor and voice artist (died 2014)
- September 23 – Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
- September 27 – Garrick Hagon, Canadian film, stage, television and radio actor
- September 28 - Sandra Dorsey, American actress (died 2023)
- September 30 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor and director
- October 5 – Carmen Salinas, Mexican actress and comedian (died 2021)
- October 6 – Ellen Travolta, American actress
- October 8 – Paul Hogan, Australian comedian and actor
- October 13 – Melinda Dillon, American actress (died 2023)
- October 18 – Salme Poopuu, Estonian actress and filmmaker (died 2017)
- October 21 - Peter Vere-Jones, English-born New Zealand actor (died 2021)
- October 22 – Tony Roberts, American actor
- October 23 – Stanley Anderson, American character actor (died 2018)
- October 24 – F. Murray Abraham, American actor
- October 25 – Nikos Nikolaidis, Greek film director (died 2007)
- October 27 – John Cleese, English actor, comedian and producer
- October 28 – Jane Alexander, American actress
- October 29 – Elizabeth Moody, English-born New Zealand actress and director (died 2010)
- October 31 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
- November 1 - Barbara Bosson, American actress (died 2023)
- November 8 – Meg Wynn Owen, Welsh actress (died 2022)
- November 10
- November 13 – G. R. Perera, Sri Lankan actor (died 2023)
- November 15 – Yaphet Kotto, American actor (died 2021)
- November 18
- November 22 – Allen Garfield, American actor (died 2020)
- November 23
- November 26
- Mark Margolis, American actor (died 2023)
- Tina Turner, American-born Swiss singer, songwriter and actress (died 2023)
- November 27 – Ulla Strömstedt, Swedish actress (died 1986)
- December 13
- December 27 – John Amos, American actor
- December 28 – Gloria Manon, American actress (died 2018)
Deaths
- January 19 – Tom Ricketts, 86, English actor, director, Love Bound, Thrill of Youth
- January 25 – Helen Ware, 61, American actress, Morning Glory, Abraham Lincoln
- February 22 – Joe Brandt, 56, American film producer and co-founder of C.B.C. which became Columbia Pictures
- April 22 – Ann Murdock, 48, American actress, Outcast, Please Help Emily
- May 5 – Clara Schønfeld, 82, Danish actress, Master of the House, Praesten i Vejlby
- June 9 – Owen Moore, 54, Irish actor, A Star is Born, She Done Him Wrong, The Red Mill, Cinderella
- August 23 – Sidney Howard, 48, American writer, Gone with the Wind, Dodsworth, Arrowsmith, A Lady to Love
- September 24 – Carl Laemmle, 72, German producer, Frankenstein, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, The Phantom of the Opera
- October 13 – Ford Sterling, 55, American actor, Tango Tangles, The Show-Off, Between Showers
- October 23 – Zane Grey, 67, American writer, Fighting Caravans, Riders of the Purple Sage, Western Union, Born to the West
- October 28 – Alice Brady, 46, American actress, My Man Godfrey, Young Mr. Lincoln, The Gay Divorcee, In Old Chicago
- November 7 – Kirsti Suonio, 67, Finnish stage and film actress, Substitute Wife
- November 13 – George Nicholls, Jr., 42, American director, Anne of Green Gables, Man of Conquest
- December 12 – Douglas Fairbanks, 56, American actor, The Thief of Bagdad, The Black Pirate, Robin Hood, Mr. Robinson Crusoe, and the father of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Debuts
External links
Notes and References
- News: Michael Giltz: DVDs: 1939 – The Best Year For Movies...Ever!. Giltz. Michael. February 15, 2008. The Huffington Post. January 10, 2012.
- News: Variety. York's 4,000,000. December 31, 1941. 20. June 14, 2020.
- 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)..
- News: Variety. All-time Film Rental Champs. October 15, 1990. M162 to 166.
- .
- 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
- Web site: Fristoe. Roger. Introduction to 1939, Hollywood's Greatest Year. Turner Classic Movies. August 6, 2011.
- 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.
- 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.
