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Post by I Love Melvin on Jun 19, 2023 12:21:01 GMT
Once again, it's been fun scanning these lists, both for the treasures which jump out in this particular year and for the intriguing-sounding rarities. The sheer volume of films is a reminder that, while some real gems were being produced, Hollywood was still hard at work cranking out "programmers" and B pictures for double bills. Even in the midst of such high artistic achievement the industry wasn't forgetting its bread and butter. Of the "lesser" films the one I'd most like to see is Paramount's The Gracie Allen Murder Case. My mind's going wild imagining what could be going on in that one.
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Post by topbilled on Jun 19, 2023 14:32:34 GMT
One thing I probably don't have to point out, because people may already realize it...but for any given year, usually the titles that are released during the first three months, are ones that were filmed at the end of the previous year and were being edited in post-production and awaiting release.
A few stars did not make any films that were released in 1939. Katharine Hepburn comes to mind. She had a break between BRINGING UP BABY (1938) and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940).
As I Love Melvin said, a lot of it was "business as usual" with Hollywood still turning out a slate of programmers and unheralded B films, just getting product out to the theaters.
While I agree with Fading Fast and others who cite 1939 as a vintage moviemaking year with many real gems, personally I don't consider it the best year. My favorite period is from 1946 to 1949, and I would probably choose 1948 as the best year...because of the sheer variety, with many different high points across genres (especially noir) and some very well-known European titles.
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Post by sepiatone on Jun 19, 2023 15:23:40 GMT
All you've done with that post up there Top is prove that what makes some year the "best" year is completely subjective. But then too, it must be determined what criteria was used when( and for decades) 1939 was decided to be the "best" year for movies. And so far as anyone else knows, your choice of 1946-1949 as the "best" period gets at least one vote so far.  And it's probably assumed that many more people who are more knowledgeable about such things made the determination that 1939 was the "best" year for movies. But as I stated, based on a criteria we all these years later have yet to learn or be privy to. Sepiatone |
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Post by topbilled on Jun 19, 2023 16:14:30 GMT
All you've done with that post up there Top is prove that what makes some year the "best" year is completely subjective. But then too, it must be determined what criteria was used when( and for decades) 1939 was decided to be the "best" year for movies. And so far as anyone else knows, your choice of 1946-1949 as the "best" period gets at least one vote so far. And it's probably assumed that many more people who are more knowledgeable about such things made the determination that 1939 was the "best" year for movies. But as I stated, based on a criteria we all these years later have yet to learn or be privy to. Sepiatone
I think the reason 1939 gets a lot of attention, and I am just speculating...is because when people watch THE WIZARD OF OZ and GONE WITH THE WIND, which are very visible many years later, they see that common copyright date of 1939, then they get this feeling it must have been a golden year in Hollywood. Then every time they watch a movie from that year they like it unscientifically adds to their thesis that it's the best year.
But I don't grade a year that way. I look at variety across genres, I look at the socio-political climate (and I think noir is a perfect genre for this type of analysis), and I look at how production models were at their most successful before changes in technology...in this case, before television took hold.
I also think that a lot of people who make lists and talk about 1939 are being a bit lazy, because it's easy to focus on a year where others have already done preliminary discussion for (general) you which (general) you can piggyback on.
It's more admirable to me to pick a year that everyone neglects and create a thesis about why that overlooked year may be the best, even if I disagree or don't fully share those sentiments, because digging deep and repositioning the analysis might cause other people to see something new.
This is not to say that 1939 doesn't contain very good films. We know it does. And people can still consider it a vintage year, we are not arguing against that. But to say it's the best year, when there are people who have yet to look deeply at other years, just seems a bit false to me. Plus, we cannot count out the fact that a year we have yet to live and produce films could end up being the best. We cannot disprove that 2083 won't be the best year. All we can see is that 1939 is a vintage year. But in my viewpoint, there are other vintage years I favor more, for some of the reasons I have outlined above.
If someone is clinging to 1939 and cannot accept other forms of analysis or discussion, that is their insecurity they are grappling with...and that is on them. I hope I have worded this respectfully. We don't all have to agree on every single little point. We can be tolerant of different (perhaps controversial) views.
I remember someone on the old TCM board took me to task because I said my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film was THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. Shame on me for not picking REBECCA, PSYCHO or THE BIRDS. But THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is the one that resonates most with me, and I have had a long time to arrive at these conclusions! LOL Conclusions for me. Like I said, I am not speaking on behalf of others. |
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Post by NoShear on Jun 19, 2023 16:35:39 GMT
Best Picture: GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Director: Victor Fleming for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Actor: Robert Donat for GOODBYE MR. CHIPS – Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell for STAGECOACH – United Artists
Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Highest grossing film: GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick The absence of George Cukor on the list of director nominees for that seminal year seems a huge slight: Said to have been hired in advance of Margaret Mitchell's story release, Cukor contributed heavily to the pre-production of GONE with the WIND, made his mere week troubleshooting the WIZARD of OZ count and directed THE WOMEN!! George Cukor is seen here with two of THE WOMEN:  |
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Post by topbilled on Jun 19, 2023 16:40:28 GMT
Best Picture: GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Director: Victor Fleming for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Actor: Robert Donat for GOODBYE MR. CHIPS – Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell for STAGECOACH – United Artists
Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel for GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick
Highest grossing film: GONE WITH THE WIND – Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Selznick The absence of George Cukor on the list of director nominees for that seminal year seems a huge slight: Said to have been hired in advance of Margaret Mitchell's story release, Cukor contributed heavily to the pre-production of GONE with the WIND, made his mere week troubleshooting the WIZARD of OZ count and directed THE WOMEN!! George Cukor is seen here with two of THE WOMEN:
If you could have nominated Cukor for THE WOMEN, which one of the other nominees would you have eliminated to make room for Cukor?
Victor Fleming - GONE WITH THE WIND
Frank Capra - MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
John Ford - STAGECOACH
Sam Wood - GOODBYE MR. CHIPS
William Wyler - WUTHERING HEIGHTS
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Post by NoShear on Jun 19, 2023 17:21:36 GMT
The absence of George Cukor on the list of director nominees for that seminal year seems a huge slight: Said to have been hired in advance of Margaret Mitchell's story release, Cukor contributed heavily to the pre-production of GONE with the WIND, made his mere week troubleshooting the WIZARD of OZ count and directed THE WOMEN!! George Cukor is seen here with two of THE WOMEN:
If you could have nominated Cukor for THE WOMEN, which one of the other nominees would you have eliminated to make room for Cukor?
Victor Fleming - GONE WITH THE WIND
Frank Capra - MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
John Ford - STAGECOACH
Sam Wood - GOODBYE MR. CHIPS
William Wyler - WUTHERING HEIGHTS
At first glance, TopBilled, the choice seems like "Next question!", but Sam Wood seems a logical bump for me: Movies are collections of sets 'n' sounds, and Goodbye, Mr. Chips didn't rely much on this holistic vision of film. I realize this is somewhat myopic a stance as it discredits the proverbial actor's studio, but I will jump forty years ahead to emphasize my point... Apocalypse Now and Francis Ford Coppola lost out to Kramer vs. Kramer and Robert Benton even though Benton's entry is largely confined to simplistic sets and its audio doesn't seem much as well. Apocalypse Now on the other hand: Or, TopBilled, perhaps a special Oscar for George Cukor's collective contributions for 1939 could have been offered the director. |
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Post by kims on Jun 19, 2023 18:34:16 GMT
1939 has been called the greatest year by I'd call them professional fans-the professional critics and film historians. Maybe they know more about filmmaking and the bios of cast and crew and the stories about the making of the films. So, I can agree that people who know more than me say the greatest year is 1939. I also think that the sheer volume of films produced certain years will yield more great films than, for instance, fifties- sixties when studios produced fewer films. Not a hard and fast rule. But I agree with Top that the year I chose for Greatest Year for films is the year with the films I liked, not what the professionals told me I should like. I sat through films I was told were great, but I didn't like. And, no I'm not saying what year is my greatest year. I don't want to reveal the degree of my UN-sophistication  |
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Post by Swithin on Jun 20, 2023 1:02:51 GMT
My favorite movie of 1939 is nowhere to be found on these lists: The Light that Failed. It was a Paramount picture released in December 1939. (I just noticed that TCM lists it as 1940. I've never seen it listed that way. Everywhere else, it's 1939).
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Post by topbilled on Jun 20, 2023 2:09:37 GMT
Thanks Swithin for noticing that omission. I've just added it into the Paramount post under December.
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Post by sepiatone on Jun 20, 2023 16:17:40 GMT
I remember someone on the old TCM board took me to task because I said my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film was THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. Shame on me for not picking REBECCA, PSYCHO or THE BIRDS. But THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is the one that resonates most with me, and I have had a long time to arrive at these conclusions! LOL Conclusions for me. Like I said, I am not speaking on behalf of others.I think I recall some of that. While I can't say THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is my favorite Hitchcock movie, I certainly don't see anything wrong in somebody making that claim. And while not really my "favorite", I do like it a lot. Long before I got around to seeing it I saw on a Saturday afternoon BILL KENNEDY PRESENTS broadcast Hitchcock's "failed" attempt at comedy(Kennedy's opinion) MR. AND MRS. SMITH with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. I didn't think it was all that bad, but certainly wasn't that bright of a comedy. But Kennedy kept on about how it was Hitchcock's "only" attempt at comedy and it was SO bad he NEVER tried comedy after that. But I've always seen "Harry" as a dark comedy, and plenty humorous at that. And incidentally, my "favorite" Hitchcock film is actually a three way tie between NORTH BY NORTHWEST, REAR WINDOW and THE 39 STEPS('35) Sepiatone |
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Post by Swithin on Jun 20, 2023 23:12:47 GMT
I remember someone on the old TCM board took me to task because I said my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film was THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY. Shame on me for not picking REBECCA, PSYCHO or THE BIRDS. But THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is the one that resonates most with me, and I have had a long time to arrive at these conclusions! LOL Conclusions for me. Like I said, I am not speaking on behalf of others.I think I recall some of that. While I can't say THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY is my favorite Hitchcock movie, I certainly don't see anything wrong in somebody making that claim. And while not really my "favorite", I do like it a lot. Long before I got around to seeing it I saw on a Saturday afternoon BILL KENNEDY PRESENTS broadcast Hitchcock's "failed" attempt at comedy(Kennedy's opinion) MR. AND MRS. SMITH with Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery. I didn't think it was all that bad, but certainly wasn't that bright of a comedy. But Kennedy kept on about how it was Hitchcock's "only" attempt at comedy and it was SO bad he NEVER tried comedy after that. But I've always seen "Harry" as a dark comedy, and plenty humorous at that. And incidentally, my "favorite" Hitchcock film is actually a three way tie between NORTH BY NORTHWEST, REAR WINDOW and THE 39 STEPS('35) Sepiatone
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Post by sepiatone on Jun 21, 2023 15:31:10 GMT
I suppose if I had to pick one of Alfred's movies I like the least it would be SUSPICION. Not because I think it's poorly made, of course it isn't. I just think Cary Grant's "monkey face" thing was too overdone. I still think they should sell DVDs of it with the original score excised and replaced with excerpts of this...... Sepiatone |
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