The Usual Choices
Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming)
Mr Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra)
Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch)
Stagecoach (John Ford)
The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming)
Wuthering Heights (William Wyler)
But how about...
Beau Geste (William Wellman)
Usually left off the list of the greatest films of the greatest year in Hollywood history (well, regarded by many as the greatest year...me, I'd vote for 1946), this rousing movie deserves more than just being sniffily dismissed as a Boy's Own yarn. The Foreign Legion film that all our beliefs about that organisation probably stem from (e.g. the dregs of the human race fill its ranks; they live to march and fight and die; decidedly overdressed for the desert in hats-with-flaps; hanging out in forts that look like castles etc.), it tells the tale of three brothers who join the Legion for adventure and to escape criminal action (one of them stole a jewel). While it is a big swallow to believe that Gary Cooper is British (and, on top of that, when he was a child, he was Donald O'Connor...HA!), the rest of the casting is spot-on. The opening scene will stay with you (a fort defended by dead men), and the whole tale is wrapped up with maximum satisfaction.
...and what about...
Drums Along the Mohawk (John Ford)
While it is obviously not up to the high watermark set by John Ford's 1939 masterpieces Young Mr Lincoln and Stagecoach, this is unjustly dismissed. The film doesn't so much tell a story as it lays out life in colonial frontier America, circa 1776. Structured as a series of lush Technicolor chapters (young couple starting out on a piece of farmland / Indian attack / start again on the farmland of a widow / men go off to fight / Indian attack / what's left of the community holes up in the fort / Indian attack), some sections are same-old same-old (Ford could never resist drunken buffoonery and social ceremonies) but many pack a real emotional wallop...the highlight being the return of the men from war, severely wounded, in shock, never to be the same again. Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert are a natural couple (this was their only film together), and the support cast is Hollywood character actors at their most memorable.
...not to mention...
The Spy in Black aka U-Boat 29 (Michael Powell)
Tense, exciting WWI film that, as usual for Director Michael, is decidedly unusual (and this is partly why it's good). German U-Boat commander Conrad Veidt (terrific in a distinctly non-cliched role) is sent to the Orkney Islands on a secret mission. He meets up with a schoolteacher (Valerie Hobson...perfectly cast) and a traitor / drunk British naval officer (Sebastian Shaw...no, I'd never heard of him either...he gets the job done) and together they plan to sink the British fleet. But things aren't all they seem / don't go according to plan and it all builds to an ironic and rather sad climax. The film's greatest strength is the refusal to fill itself with stock characters...there is a war on, and sides must be taken, sure...but nobody is particularly thrilled to be involved. In fact, if circumstances were different, they might all get along quite well. The first Powell + Pressburger collaboration and one of their very best.
...and one personal unmentionable...
The Women (George Cukor)
A big feminist deal is made of this clunker, purely because of its all-female cast (not a single bloke appears at any time...but they sure are talked about a lot). But for this to work, you have to agree that women should fight to keep a man who lies, cheats and is clearly too pissweak to even show his face. Surely the women in this would be better off turning to each other for intimate, fulfilling relationships (Joan and Paulette would make a splendid couple). The film is overlong, filled to the brim with some of the ugliest gowns and hats I have ever seen (is it a visual joke, another example of the vacuous taste of the rich?), and is halted midway by a full-colour fashion show where these ghastly creations are sashayed about and cooed over. The much-applauded dialogue that apparently worked to uproarious effect in the original stageplay, is so rapid-fire (and old) here, that most of its bite & bitchiness is muted. And, while this is the only Norma Shearer performance which I find bearable, Rosalind Russell, Marjorie Main and Mary Boland have been let off their leashes, mugging wildly in the pursuit of scene-stealing. The most overrated classic of the Golden Era.
My Top 10 Films of 1939
 |
| "Shall I be mother?" |
#02 A+ Of Mice and Men (Milestone)
#03 A Only Angels Have Wings (Hawks)
#04 A Stagecoach (Ford)
#05 A Gunga Din (Stevens)
#06 A Destry Rides Again (Marshall)
#07 A- Bachelor Mother (Kanin)
#08 A- The Hound of the Baskervilles (Franklin)
#09 A- Goodbye, Mr Chips (Wood)
#10 A- Stanley and Livingstone (King)
Overflow: More A-/B+ Films
#11 A- Mr Smith Goes to Washington (Capra)
#12 A- The Spy in Black (Powell)
#13 A- The Wizard of Oz (Fleming)
#14 A- Midnight (Leisen)
#15 A- Beau Geste (Wellman)
#16 A- Son of Frankenstein (Lee)
#17 A- Five Came Back (Farrow)
#18 A- Drums Along the Mohawk (Ford)
#19 A- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dieterle)
#20 A- The Four Feathers (Korda)
#21 B+ The Roaring Twenties (Walsh)
#22 B+ Gone With the Wind (Fleming)
#23 B+ Another Thin Man (Van Dyke)
#24 B+ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Werker)
#25 B+ Ninotchka (Lubitsch)
#26 B+ Tell No Tales (Fenton)
#27 B+ The Man They Could Not Hang (Grinde)
#28 B+ The Saint Strikes Back (Farrow)
#29 B+ Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (Foster)
#30 B+ Fifth Avenue Girl (La Cava)
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> B Confessions of a Nazi Spy [a commendable movie that sacrifices story for a commendable message]
> B Golden Boy [a toddler named William Holden in a boxing pic which tends to talk too much]
> B In Name Only [the ultimate noble 'n' illtreated man picture...bring a tissue]
> B Dark Victory [the ultimate noble 'n' courageous woman picture...bring the box]
> B Wuthering Heights [romantic & moody sure, but the leading performances aren't all they're cracked up to be]
> B The Man in the Iron Mask [effective swashbuckler burdened with some pantomime acting]
> B Blind Alley [home invasion thriller that spends too much time on the psychiatrist's couch]
> B- At the Circus [fairly standard Marx Brothers romp with 3 hilarious scenes and 5 ghastly musical numbers]
> B- Love Affair [Charles Boyer or Cary Grant? Irene Dunne or Deborah Kerr? Yep, I'll take the 1957 remake too]
> B- Nancy Drew...Reporter [the best of the series...which isn't saying all that much]
> B- Tarzan Finds a Son [aka Wife, Child, House, Everything...The Full Catastrophe]
> B- They Made Me a Criminal [John Garfield outclasses the breathless, faux-tough story]
> B- The Rains Came [earthquake, flood, plague and Tyrone Power trying to be Indian]
> B- Espionage Agent [Warner Bros spy movie which is more propaganda than entertainment]
> B- Invisible Stripes [ex-con tries to go straight but goes a little stale instead]
> B- The Cat and the Canary [to appreciate this, you need to be a fan of Bob Hope in chickenshit mode]
> B- You Can't Cheat an Honest Man [I've always thought Charlie McCarthy should've been used as kindling]
> B- Nurse Edith Cavell [climb the mountain in Alberta instead and have a drink to her]
> C Bad Little Angel [runaway orphan who loves Jesus and has a little dog...check your blood sugar afterwards]
> C It's a Wonderful World [lame screwball comedy with a murder and zero star chemistry]
> D The Women [A Personal Unmentionable]
> D The Light That Failed [a load of old macho cobblers, where war is better than having a disability]
"Ah!..Sweet Mystery of Life...": 1939 Films I Apparently Still Need to See
The Amazing Mr Williams (Hall); Angels Wash Their Faces (Enright); The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (Dickinson); Ask a Policeman (Varnel); Babes in Arms (Berkeley); Blackmail (Potter); Boy Slaves (Wolfson); The Dark Eyes of London / The Human Monster (Summers); Devil’s Island (Clemens); Dodge City (Curtiz); Dust Be My Destiny (Seiler); Each Dawn I Die (Keighley); Fast and Furious (Berkeley); Fast and Loose (Martin); The Girl From Mexico (Goodwins); A Girl Must Live (Reed); The Gracie Allen Murder Case (Green); The Great Man Votes (Kanin); Hell’s Kitchen (Seiler); Honeymoon in Bali (Griffith); The Housekeeper’s Daughter (Roach); Inspector Hornleigh (Forde); Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday (Forde); Intermezzo: A Love Story (Ratoff); Jesse James (King); Juarez (Dieterle); Let Us Live (Brahm); The Little Princess (Lang); Maisie (Marin); Miracles for Sale (Browning); The Oklahoma Kid (Bacon); The Old Maid (Goulding); On Borrowed Time (Bucquet); On the Night of the Fire / The Fugitive (Hurst); Poison Pen (Stein); The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Curtiz); Q Planes (Whelan; Woods); The Real Glory (Hathaway); Rose of Washington Square (Ratoff); The Saint in London (Carstairs); The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (Cummings); The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (Potter); Sudden Money (Grinde); Swanee River (Lanfield); The Three Musketeers (Dwan); Topper Takes a Trip (McLeod); Union Pacific (DeMille); We are Not Alone (Goulding); When Tomorrow Comes (Stahl); Zenobia (Douglas)
Best Performances of 1939
Bette Davis in Dark Victory
Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr Chips
Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind
Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz
Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind
Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind
Thomas Mitchell in Stagecoach
James Stewart in Mr Smith Goes to Washington
But how about...
Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Hound of the Baskervilles
Just as Robert Newton is the touchstone that all Long John Silver actors refer to, Basil is the permanent traditional Sherlock Holmes. While Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch have added something, er, new (I didn't say better) to the role, Basil nailed and maintained the characteristics that we all associate with the legendary detective. Sherlock's penchant for outlandish disguises (for example, in TAoSH, his spiffing music-hall routine and in THotB, his weird old hermit) is grabbed by Basil with relish and turned into a personal showcase. He is straightbacked, serious, supremely intellectual and, above all, having an absolute ball. I especially like how Basil takes trademarks like the violin, the pipe, the deerstalker and even the needle (Gosh!) and adds an air of comedy to their use. And he carried it on for 14 films.
...and what about...
Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother
Playing a shopgirl who, through a case of inevitable mistaken identity, is assumed to also be an unwed mother, Ginger shows how "average" she could be (or, at least, come across). That is a compliment...her starpower (in the early days anyway) was based on how much she was like the rest of the hard-up, wrestling with the Great Depression, the-simple-things-in-life-are-often-the-best ordinary schmoes. With open-mouthed amazement / amusement at the way rich people carry on, and an easygoing acceptance of what Life hands her, Ginger is a joy to watch as she (and we) knows that it's all going to turn out okay, after a few more comic misunderstandings and gentle kisses on the doorstep. Such a pleasure to watch an actress act naturally.
...not to mention...
Jean Arthur in Mr Smith Goes to Washington
I am honour-bound to admit a bias: Jean Arthur (along with Barbara Stanwyck and Margaret Sullavan) is my fave actress of the Golden Era. She could handle drama and comedy equally well but was clearly most at home with laughs (which is rather ironic, given that Jean was actually a rather troubled, anti-people soul who was befuddled with numerous anxieties). While the nod is usually given to her performance in The More the Merrier (her only Oscar nomination...for shame), it is as a cynical/tough/but not really Capra woman in MSGtW where she truly shines. Thinking that Jimmy Stewart is a combination stooge + hick, Jean gradually succumbs to his naivety + ideals, ditching her big city ways in the process. Her drunk scenes are the highlight...Jean doesn't overdo the slurring or double vision; instead, she fights with herself, not wanting to fall in love, but accepting that she has. And with a rube. While Jimmy stumbles and stammers, Jean shines. One of the best female comedic performances on film.
...and one personal unmentionable...
Lee J. Cobb in Golden Boy
Come and getta yer tootsie frootsie ice cream.
You canna foola me. There ain't no sucha thing as Sanity Claus.
Mebbe we can go and live ina San Franpizza, huh?
Hey, whatsa matter for you?
When was it exactly that the decision was made to portray all middle-aged Italian Papas like this? Lee jumps in, boots and all, doing his shouty thing, hugging everybody in sight and gushing with this ludicrous accent, screwing up the prepositions and placing an 'a' on the end of verbs. Eyes wide & rolling for emphasis and hands flailing about wildly, he plants the flag for cultural stereotyping for generations to come. God, he even sings "Funiculi Funicula" during a knees-up. How embarrassment. Thank goodness then that The Godfather, Goodfellas and The Sopranos replaced them all with other, vastly preferable, Italian stereotypes. Badda bing.
My 10 Favourite Performances of 1939
 |
| Using his local knowledge, Jimmy points out where to find the best stand-up in town. |
#02 Jean Arthur in Mr Smith Goes to Washington
#03 Vivien Leigh in Gone With the Wind
#04 Basil Rathbone in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes + The Hound of the Baskervilles
#05 Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother
#06 Thomas Mitchell in Only Angels Have Wings
#07 The ensemble cast of Stagecoach
#08 Conrad Veidt in The Spy in Black
#09 Henry Fonda in Young Mr Lincoln
#10 Claudette Colbert in Midnight
Overflow: More List-Worthy Performances
#11 Charles Bickford in Of Mice and Men
#12 Clark Gable in Gone With the Wind
#13 James Stewart in Destry Rides Again
#14 Betty Field in Of Mice and Men
#15 Margaret Hamilton in The Wizard of Oz
#16 James Stewart in Mr Smith Goes to Washington
#17 Cary Grant & Victor McLaglen & Douglas Fairbanks Jr in Gunga Din
#18 John Barrymore in Midnight
#19 Henry Fonda & Claudette Colbert in Drums Along the Mohawk
#20 Nigel Bruce in The Hounds of the Baskervilles
#21 Cary Grant in In Name Only
#22 Ginger Rogers & Walter Connolly in Fifth Avenue Girl
Sorry, They Didn't Make It...
> Robert Donat in Goodbye, Mr Chips [good as the young man; overdoes the crotchety old guy]
> Greer Garson in Goodbye, Mr Chips [just so terribly nice and genteel...emphasis on the terribly]
> Bette Davis in Dark Victory [I only really like Bette when she's a bitch]
> Hattie McDaniel in Gone With the Wind [a well-acted caricature]
> Charles Laughton in The Hunchback of Notre Dame [a few rounds with a chiropractor would get rid of that temper]
And so...onto the annual awards (with a nod of appreciation to Danny Peary)...
The Alternate Oscars for 1939 are:
FILM of the YEAR
GOLD: Young Mr Lincoln (John Ford)
SILVER: Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone)
BRONZE: Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks)
LEAD ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes + The Hound of the Baskervilles)
SILVER: Henry Fonda (Young Mr Lincoln)
BRONZE: Conrad Veidt (The Spy in Black)
LEAD ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Jean Arthur (Mr Smith Goes to Washington)
SILVER: Vivien Leigh (Gone With the Wind)
BRONZE: Ginger Rogers (Bachelor Mother)
SUPPORTING ACTOR: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Thomas Mitchell (Only Angels Have Wings)
SILVER: Charles Bickford (Of Mice and Men)
BRONZE: John Barrymore (Midnight)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Betty Field (Of Mice and Men)
SILVER: Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz)
BRONZE: Paulette Goddard (The Women)
ENSEMBLE or PARTNERSHIP: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Claire Trevor & John Wayne & Thomas Mitchell & Andy Devine & John Carradine & George Bancroft & Louise Platt & Donald Meek & Berton Churchill (Stagecoach)
SILVER: Cary Grant & Victor McLaglen & Douglas Fairbanks Jr (Gunga Din)
BRONZE: Henry Fonda & Claudette Colbert (Drums Along the Mohawk)
JUVENILE: PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
GOLD: Judy Garland (The Wizard of Oz)
SILVER: Bonita Granville (Nancy Drew...Reporter)
BRONZE: Rex Downing & Sarita Wooton & Douglas Scott (Wuthering Heights)
The Alternate Razzies for 1939 are:
CRAP FILM of the YEAR
The Light That Failed (William A. Wellman)
CRAP MALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
Lee J. Cobb (Golden Boy)
CRAP FEMALE PERFORMANCE of the YEAR
May Robson (Nurse Edith Cavell)
