20 Great Years of Movies, Part 2: 1939

This is the year often called the "greatest" in Hollywood's history. I certainly had no problem finding ten movies from 1939 that I liked, but I fear my list won't look exactly like anyone else's. Nor should it...

1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (director: Frank Capra): Here's Capra at his best, not to mention James Stewart & Jean Arthur. The film is remembered by some as an optimistic picture of how US politics work, but it's actually a pretty cynical picture, from the reporters who don't believe in anyone or any cause beyond good copy, to the opportunistic party faithful. This film has stood the test of time.
2. Gunga Din (director: George Stevens): This film has not quite stood the test of time, on the other hand. It's a big racist. But if you can get past that, this is a marvelous picture of high adventure as a soldier goes hunting for a fortune but instead wanders into the lair of Thugees preparing an attack. The tense climactic scene is what really drives this film up to the top for me
3. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (director: Sam Wood): This film is sentimental and that's it's greatest strength. Robert Donat is simply perfect as the schoolmaster who ages across the scope of the story. I still find it an emotional experience.
4. The Wizard of Oz (director: Victor Fleming): This was a classic of my childhood, one that my siblings and I watched repeatedly; I'm sure I still know every song. It's charming, and I've enjoyed seeing my nieces become fans of it.
5. Of Mice and Men (director: Lewis Milestone): At the other end of the spectrum, we have this, a stark drama. It's very well performed by Burgess Meredith and Lon Chaney Jr. -- pretty near the only time in his career that Chaney Jr. played outside the horror genre.
6. Only Angels Have Wings (director: Howard Hawks): This film stars cary Grant & Jean Arthur and features the lives of pilots who take on dangerous air mail routes. Grant's character is basically the opposite of what he played for Hawks' 1938 film Bringing Up Baby -- a much more assertive figure. How his relationship plays out with Arthur is immensely satisfying.
7. Ninotchka (director: Ernst Lubitsch): The last great hurrah for Greta Garbo! I'm not a great fan of her work but this film is pretty good. I particularly enjoy the black humour found in lines like: "The last mass trials were a great success. There are going to be fewer, but better Russians."
8. Destry Rides Again (director: George Marshall): You'll notice as we go that I don't often include westerns in my list, but this film is a fun exception - fairly light-hearted with James Stewart in the lead and Marlene Dietrich as his love interest. I think I like it because I never feel like I'm watching a western.
9. Bachelor Mother (director: Garson Kanin): An underrated comedy in which Ginger Rogers takes home an orphaned child, leading to complications as characters make various assumptions about who the father is. Ginger Rogers seems to have been best-remembered for her dancing but she was quite good at comedy.
10. Wuthering Heights (director: William Wyler): An outstanding adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel - atmospheric to the extent that at times it plays like a ghost story (which it arguably is).