Being old, I’ve seen several movies released in 1939. Not being that old, unfortunately I saw most of them on TV or on video. These are the movies that I enjoyed the most. I saw Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz in a movie theater, but did not enjoy either of them.
Stagecoach
Alexander Nevsky
Dark Victory
Dodge City
Each Dawn I Die
Gunga Din
La Bête humaine
Le Jour se lève
Love Affair
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Port of Shadows
The Old Maid
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Rains Came
The Roaring Twenties
The Rules of the Game
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums
Wuthering Heights
You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man
This film critics poll was conducted by FILM DAILY for the best films of 1939 published in January 1940. Each 0f 542 ballots list ten best of that year and each film is based on most number of appearence.
TEN BEST PICTURES OF 1939
1. GOODBYE MR. CHIPS (472) VOTES
2. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (433)
3. PYGMALION (349)
4. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (283)
5. DARK VICTORY (280)
6. THE WOMEN (254)
7. THE WIZAD OF OZ (244)
8. JUAREZ (216)
9. STANLEY AND LIVINGSTONE (213)
10. THE OLD MAID (166)
THE HONOR ROLL LIST:
11. STAGECOACH (153)
12. YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (152)
13. BABES IN ARMS (135)
14. LOVE AFFAIR (128)
15. UNION PACIFIC (112)
16. ON BORROWED TIME (111)
17. BACHELOR MOTHER (93)
18. GUNGA DIN (82)
19. NURSE EDITH CAVELL (82)
20. THE RAINS CAME (77)
21. JESSE JAMES (69)
22. THE STORY OF VERRNON AND IRENE CASTLE
23. THE BEACHCOMBER (67)
24. IDIOT’S DELIGHT (60)
25. THE STORY OF ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL (59)
26. THE GREAT WALTZ (56)
27. FOUR FEATHERS (52)
28. THE LADY VANISHES (47)
29. ONLY ANGEL HAVE WINGS (46)
30. BEAU GESTE (40)
31. GOLDEN BOY (38)
32.DODGE CITY (36)
33.KENTUCKY (33)
34. HOLLYWOOD CALVACADE (32)
35. DAUGHTERS COURAGEOUS (31)
36. CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (30)
37. ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (29)
38. ANDY HARDY GETS SPRING FEVER (28)
39. INTERMEZZO: A LOVE STORY (25)
40. THE MIKADO (25)
41. THEY SHALL HAVE MUSIC (24)
42. THE DAWN PATROL (22)
43. DISPUTED PASSAGE (21)
44. IF I WERE KING (19)
45. A CHRISTMAS CAROL (17)
46. JAMAICA INN (17)
47. THE GREAT MAN VOTES (16)
48. HONEYMOON IN BALI (16)
49. THE ROARING TWENTIES (15)
50. SWEETHEARTS (15)
51. THREE SMART GIRLS GROW UP (15)
52. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (14)
53. MAN OF CONQUEST (14)
54. THE REAL GLORY (13)
55. DUST BE MY DESTINY (12)
56. FIVE CAME BACK (12)
57. MADE FOR EACH OTHER (11)
58. MAISIE (10)
59. THE YOUNG IN HEART (10)
If you noticed that GONE WITH THE WIND is noticeably absent, it is because it was released late in 1939 and that it was a roadshow attraction that it was not generally releases until 1941 and it will topped the poll for the best of 1941 list.
Stagecoach
Rules of the Game
Gone With The Wind
Of Mice and Men
Wizard of Oz
Rules of the Game took me more than one viewing to ‘get’, but now I appreciate it for it’s ironic presentation of upper class morality and it’s graceful simultaneous handling of multiple threads. But I don’t think it deserves to be right at the very top of all time polls because I think some of the characterization isn’t believable. It’s one of those movies that you have to be told why to like it.
With Gone With The Wind, I think they get away with being a soap opera with way too many plot contrivances and conveniently timed random deaths by having immaculate production value. Plus it’s got that ‘Nostalgia for an idealized past that never really existed’ thing about it.
Stagecoach
The Rules of the Game
Wizard of Oz
Gone with the Wind
Wuthering Heights
Rules of the Game and Stagecoach are very, very close. I still have many to see…
The Roaring Twenties
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Only Angels Have Wings
Gone With the Wind
The Wizard of Oz
You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man
Drums Along the Mohawk
Midnight
Jesse James
Young Mr. Lincoln
Son of Frankenstein
Stagecoach
The Rains Came
The Little Princess
Gunga Din
Beau Geste
The Four Feathers
Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Man of Conquest
Saga of Death Valley
1. Young Mr. Lincoln
2. The Rules of the Game
3. Story of the Late Chrysenthenmum
4. The Roaring Twenties
5. Stagecoach
6. Only Angels Have Wings
7. Ninotchka
8. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
9. Dark Victory
10. Destry Rides Again
1.The Four Feathers
a sentimental choice, but still one of the great classics of the genre
Beau Geste
Destry Rides Again
Gone with the Wind
Gunga Din
La règle du jeu
Le jour se lève
Magokoro
Midnight
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Only Angels Have Wings
Stagecoach
Stanley and Livingstone
Union Pacific
Young Mr. Lincoln
Zangiku monogatari
With respect to Spanish language films:
Cada loco con su tema
really funny
Prisioneros de la tierra
unfortunately I believe it’s still unrestored, moreover it’s not Soffici’s best (which would be Rosaura a las 10) and is far from Del Carril’s Las aguas bajan turbias (with similar plot)
L’espoir
completed in 1939 but not shown until 1945
Most wanted:
Oshidori utagassen
Shchors
After 25 ballots The Rules of the Game gets 25 points, the number 1 is not a surprise. Still one or two weeks until the final tally.
@Kevin: Hope to see your own vote (probably better).
@Angel: Good point on L’espoir (I will have to take into account some special cases, e.g. Ivan the Terrible II in 1958 is completely ridiculous).
1. Only Angels Have Wings
Rules of the Game
Young Mr. Lincoln
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Gone with the Wind
Ninotchka
Intermezzo
Goodbye Mr. Chips
01. LA REGLE DU JEU (Jean Renoir)
02. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS (Howard Hawks)
03. DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (George Marshall)
04. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (Frank Capra)
05. THE ROARING TWENTIES (Raoul Walsh)
06. STAGECOACH (John Ford)
1. Ninotchka
2. Stagecoach
3. Young Mr Lincoln
4. The Wizard of Oz
5. The Roaring Twenties
6. La Regle du Jeu
7. Mr Smith Goes to Washington
8. Gone With the Wind
9. The Spy in Black
10. Only Angels Have Wings
11. The Four Feathers
12. Another Thin Man
13. Drums Along the Mohawk
14. Dodge City
15. Gunga Din
16. Q Planes
17. Son of Frankenstein
18. Intermezzo
19. Jesse James
20. Bachelor Mother.
We all need to laugh a bit more…
1. Young Mr Lincoln
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Roaring Twenties
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
Le jour se leve
The Wizard of Oz
The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums
Only Angels Have Wings
The Four Feathers
Midnight
- OF MICE AND MEN
- EACH DAWN I DIE
- WAY DOWN SOUTH
- ANOTHER THIN MAN
- CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY
- THE ROARING ’20’S
- THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
- STAGECOACH
- THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
- DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK
- THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
- TOWER OF LONDON
- BABES IN ARMS
- THE FOUR FEATHERS
- SNIFFLES AND THE BOOKWORM
- STAND UP AND FIGHT
- THE WOMEN
- GUNGA DIN
- FIVE CAME BACK
- DEVIL’S ISLAND
favourites released in the U.S. in 1939
1) THE RULES OF THE GAME
2) THE WIZARD OF OZ
3) STAGECOACH
4) GONE WITH THE WIND
5) THE ROARING TWENTIES
6) ALEXANDER NEVSKY
7) ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
8) PORT OF SHADOWS
9) MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
10) YOUNG MR. LINCOLN
11) THE WOMEN
12) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
13) THE FOUR FEATHERS
14) OF MICE AND MEN
1. THE RULES OF THE GAME
2. GONE WITH THE WIND
3. STAGECOACH
4. STORY OF LATE CHRYSANTHEMUMS
5. MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
6. WUTHERING HEIGHTS
7. LE JOUR SE LEVE
8. YOUNG MR LINCOLN
9. THE ROARING TWENTIES
10. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
11. NINOTCHKA
1. (La Regle Du Jeu) The Rules of the Game
Gone with the Wind
Young Mr. Lincoln
Stagecoach
Dark Victory
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Wizard of Oz
Zangiku Monogatari (The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums)
Wuthering Heights
Love Affair
Only Angels Have Wings
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Pygmalion
The women
Union Pacific
Drums Along the Mohawk
The Roaring Twenties
Destry Rides Again
Le Jour Se Leve
For the time being, that it:
Story of Late Chrysanthemums (Mizoguchi)
Rules of the Game (Renoir)
Earth (Uchida)
Four Seasons of the Children (Shimizu)
Sincerity (Naruse)
The Whole Family Works (Naruse)
Daybreak (Carné)
Fighting Soldiers (Kamei)
My Apprenticeship (Donskoy)
Ninotchka (Lubitsch)
Stagecoach (Ford)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Capra)
The Color Print of Edo (Mori)
The Roaring Twenties (Walsh)
@Uli Cain: Sorry, I’m a blatant denier of film history then.
@Angel: Here’s to you:
Not the whole movie, of course, but it’s already a start. And those tunes are catchy!
1. The Roaring Twenties
2. Gone With the Wind
3. Only Angels Have Wings
4. The Rules of the Game
5. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
6. The Women
7. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
8. Ninotchka
Wow, where do I begin
1. “Gone with the Wind”: It not only exemplifies 1939, but introduces a complex story far beyond all of the critical analysis I’ve ever read. To say “Gone with the Wind” deals only with Scarlet’s libido and the men in her life, is like saying “The Rules of the Game” is only a story about rich snobs at a party gathering. Layers can be dug far beneath both masterpieces. Unfortunately, only the latter is recognized for this achievement.
2. “The Rules of the Game”
3. “The Wizard of Oz”
4. “Stagecoach”
5. “Mr.Smith Goes to Washington”
6. “Only Angels Have Wings”
7. “Dark Victory”
Passed the fourth slot I love all the others equally :)
Some missing from my list because I have yet to see them:
1. "Ninotchka
2. “Story of Late Chrysanthemus”
3. “Young Mr. Lincoln”
4. “Wuthering Heights”
5. “Gunga Din”
6. “The Roaring Twenties”
7. “Love Affair”
1. Destry Rides Again
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Gunga Din
Young Mr. Lincoln
Stagecoach
Midnight
Wuthering Heights
Ninotchka
The Wizard of Oz
Three Stooges Shorts package (A Ducking They Did Go, Yes We Have No Bonanza, Oily to Bed Oily to Rise)
Only Angels Have Wings
The Roaring Twenties
The Old Maid
Beau Geste
Gone With the Wind
Jesse James
1. The Roaring Twenties – 5/5
2. The Rules of The Game – 5/5
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington – 5/5
4. Stagecoach – 5/5
5. The Wizard of Oz – 5/5
6. Ninotchka – 4.5/5
7. Only Angels Have Wings – 4/5
8. Young Mr. Lincoln – 4/5
9. Alexander Nevsky – 4/5
10. The Women – 4/5
The Wizard of Oz, The Rules of the Game, The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, Ninotchka, Le jour se leve and The Women.
My full top ten can be seen at http://mubi.com/lists/3641
1939 was certainly a good year for films, the level of solidly good movies made by Hollywood studios that year would be tough to argue against, and France and Japan may have had even more top level works, but since I haven’t had a chance to see some of the films that I suspect would have ended up on my list I can’t say for certain. Missing the Naruse and Uchida films is galling, but not having a chance to see the Duvivier and Shimizu films is even worse since those two directors are favorites of mine. (Missing Carol Reed’s film that year is also annoying to me.) I am sure there are also films from other parts of the world that are worth listing, but I am even less familiar with those, so my list is mostly US films since those are the ones I’ve had a chance to see.
I’ve seen 75 or so features and couple dozen assorted shorts that I can find reference to, and in that group a large proportion of them are at least good and often better than that, but only a handful that are really great. In terms of the top level films, I would say that 1979 is a better year, and one which I think should be looked at as being the best “9” year for films. Anyway, I digress, as I was trying to say, the list below could easily be enitrely different after the first ten or so since I’m almost randomly picking between more or less equal films. I ended up choosing many of these based on a combination of whim and personal viewing interests, not any deeper qualification.
1. The Rules of the Game / La règle du jeu (Renoir)
2. Ninotchka (Lubitsch)
3. Daybreak / Le jour se lève (Carné)
4. The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums / Zangiku monogatari (Mizoguchi)
5. Vasilisa the Beautiful / Vasilisa prekrasnaya (Rou)
6. They Made Me a Criminal (Berkeley)
7. Way Down South (Vorhaus)
8. The Roaring Twenties (Walsh)
9. Son of Frankenstein (R. V. Lee)
10. Love Affair (McCarey)
11. Confessions of a Nazi Spy (Litvak)
12. Wuthering Heights (Wyler)
13. Babes in Arms (Berkeley)
14. The Four Feathers (Korda)
15. Of Mice and Men (Milestone)
16. The Wizard of Oz (Fleming)
17. The Tower of London (R. V. Lee)
18. It’s the Natural Thing to Do (D. Fleischer)
19. Fresh Vegetable Mystery (D. Fleischer)
20. The Obedient Flame (N. McLaren)
Ninotchka
Beau Geste
5th Ave Girl
Gunga Din
Juarez
Love Affair
Midnight
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Only Angels Have Wings
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Real Glory
The Roaring Twenties
Stagecoach
Stanley and Livingstone
Union Pacific
When Tomorrow Comes
Young Mr. Lincoln
Ils étaient neuf célibataires
The Rules of the Game
Shchors
1. THE RULES OF THE GAME
2. ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
3. DAYBREAK
4. DESTRY RIDES AGAIN
5. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
stagecoach
wuthering heights
gone with the wind
the hunchback of notre dame
jamaica inn
Summarizing: The Rules of the Game, first (44 votes); Stagecoach, second (33 votes).
However, only 34 films with three or more votes (half that of 1964). Therefore, the final tally will be within a week, giving latecomers time to add your ballot.
Please, short, large, mainstream, idiosyncratic, public or by pm, all kinds of votes are welcome. They all improve the final result!
Ok…. Gone with the Wind & golden 7:
1. Gone with the Wind
Daybreak
Love Affair
Midnight
Ninotchka
The Rules of the Game
The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums
The Wizard of Oz
Angel
@arsaib
Earth / Uchida: Sill incomplete, right?
Sincerity / Naruse: Just saw it and loved it. Greatest elliptical ending of the year, the climactic scene (the reconciliation of the two mothers) is not shown!