Year by year: 1939
My 50 favorite films of 1939
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50 titles
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartJean ArthurClaude RainsA naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMarcel DalioNora GregorPaulette DubostA bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.
- DirectorVictor FlemingGeorge CukorSam WoodStarsClark GableVivien LeighThomas MitchellA sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.
- DirectorErnst LubitschStarsGreta GarboMelvyn DouglasIna ClaireA stern Soviet woman sent to Paris to supervise the sale of jewels seized from Russian nobles finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
- DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsShôtarô HanayagiKôkichi TakadaRyôtarô KawanamiThe adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinJacqueline LaurentArlettyAfter committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsCharles LaughtonMaureen O'HaraCedric HardwickeIn 15th-century France, a gypsy girl is framed for murder by the infatuated Chief Justice, and only the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame Cathedral can save her.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLon Chaney Jr.Burgess MeredithBetty FieldA mentally disabled giant and his level headed guardian find work at a sadistic cowboy's ranch in depression era America.
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandA depiction of the love/hate relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.
- DirectorZoltan KordaStarsJohn ClementsRalph RichardsonC. Aubrey SmithA British Army officer resigns, burning his last-day summons to war in the Sudan. Accusing him of cowardice, his girlfriend and three friends give him white feathers. To gain redemption, he shadows his friends to save their lives.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsClaudette ColbertDon AmecheJohn BarrymoreA chorus girl stranded in Paris is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife's affair with another man, while being romantically pursued by a cab driver.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonSebastian ShawA German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsBette DavisGeorge BrentHumphrey BogartA young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and must decide whether or not she'll meet her final days with dignity.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGary CooperRay MillandRobert PrestonThree adopted English brothers join the French Foreign Legion in North Africa after one of them steals their adoptive family's famous heirloom sapphire.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsBasil RathboneNigel BruceRichard GreeneSherlock Holmes and Dr Watson investigate the legend of a supernatural hound, a beast that may be stalking a young heir on the fog-shrouded moorland that makes up his estate.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
- DirectorSam WoodSidney FranklinStarsRobert DonatGreer GarsonTerry KilburnAn aged teacher and former headmaster of a boarding school recalls his career and his personal life over the decades.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsClaudette ColbertHenry FondaEdna May OliverNewlyweds Gil and Lana Martin try to establish a farm in the Mohawk Valley but are menaced by Indians and Tories as the Revolutionary War begins.
- DirectorHenry KingIrving CummingsStarsTyrone PowerHenry FondaNancy KellyAfter railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
- DirectorGarson KaninStarsGinger RogersDavid NivenCharles CoburnAn unemployed woman discovers an abandoned baby on the steps of an orphanage, and accepts an offer to take responsibility for the child in return for a job.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsFernand GraveyMichel SimonMarcel ValléeFrank, a hobo, ends up in a garage-truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Nick Marino, its older, kind and naive owner, is married to Cora, a sexy and mercenary woman half his age. Frank, although not a fan of hard work, accepts Nick's offer to work for him. Of course, it is not for Nick's sake that the young man becomes his attendant, but for the love of Cora under whose spell he has fallen at once. It does not take long before Cora, who despises her husband, asks her lover to help her get rid of him. Frank is reluctant at first but.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineVictor McLaglenIn 19th century India, three British soldiers and a native waterbearer must stop a secret mass revival of the murderous Thuggee cult before it can rampage across the land.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
- DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsBoris KarloffBasil RathboneBela LugosiReturning to the ancestral castle long after the death of the monster, the son of Dr. Frankenstein meets a mad shepherd who is hiding the comatose creature. To clear the family name, he revives the creature and tries to rehabilitate him.
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsLouis HaywardJoan BennettWarren WilliamDespotic King Louis XIV discovers he has a twin brother who has grown up under the tutelage of his foster father, the patriotic musketeer D'Artagnan.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsEdwige FeuillèreJorge RigaudDaniel LecourtoisAfter an unhappy marriage, a woman of the world is forced to become a dancer in a cabaret in order to raise her young son.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsIngrid BergmanLeslie HowardEdna BestA violinist's piano accompanist retires. He hears his daughter's piano teacher (Ingrid Bergman) play, asks her to play on his next international tour, and they fall in love.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyVirginia GreyAn explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in new parents Nick and Nora to sort things out.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsPaul MuniBette DavisBrian AherneLouis Napoleon III (Claude Rains) takes advantage of the American Civil War to circumvent the Monroe Doctrine and expand his power by helping Emperor Maximilian von Habsburg (Brian Aherne) to add Mexico to his empire.
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsMyrna LoyTyrone PowerGeorge BrentIn India, a married British aristocrat is reunited with an old flame, but she truly has her sights set on a handsome surgeon.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDeanna DurbinRobert StackEugene PalletteAn orphaned boarding school graduate secretly attends a prestigious ball, where she falls for the boyfriend of her snobbish cousin.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsBette DavisMiriam HopkinsGeorge BrentThe arrival of an ex-lover on a young woman's wedding day sets in motion a chain of events which will alter her and her cousin's lives forever.
- DirectorVictor SchertzingerStarsKenny BakerJohn BarclayMartyn GreenThe son of the Mikado of Japan, a wandering minstrel, falls for a girl who is engaged to her guardian.
- DirectorRouben MamoulianStarsBarbara StanwyckAdolphe MenjouWilliam HoldenA poor young Italian man who is a virtuoso on the violin wishes to become a champion boxer to make a fortune for his family. But what is the road to success and happiness, and what is the price?
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantJean ArthurRita HayworthAt a remote South American trading port, the manager of an air-freight company is forced to risk his pilots' lives in order to win an important contract as a traveling American showgirl stops in town.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsMickey RooneyJudy GarlandCharles WinningerA group of vaudevillians struggling to compete with talkies hits the road hoping for a comeback. Frustrated to be left behind, all of their kids put on a show themselves to raise money for the families and to prove they've got talent, too.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerBarbara O'NeilA concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally ill woman falls in love with a waitress.
- DirectorH.C. PotterStarsFred AstaireGinger RogersEdna May OliverThe story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step.
- DirectorIrving CummingsStarsDon AmecheLoretta YoungHenry FondaThe story of how Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallEdward F. ClineStarsW.C. FieldsEdgar BergenCharlie McCarthyThe owner of a debt-ridden circus contends with pursuing bill collectors and sheriffs, and his beloved daughter's relationships with one of his performers and a stuffy but wealthy young man.
- DirectorDave FleischerWillard BowskyOrestes CalpiniStarsJessica DragonetteLanny RossPinto ColvigA doctor washes ashore on an island inhabited by little people.
- DirectorWalter LangWilliam A. SeiterStarsShirley TempleRichard GreeneAnita LouiseA little girl is left by her father in an exclusive seminary for girls, when her father fights in the Second Boer War. Later, when he is presumed dead she is forced to become a servant.