1939

1939 is considered one of the best years of movies. The 10 Best Picture Nominations were Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights, and of course the winner that year Gone With the Wind. Five of them are on AFI Top 100 Greatest Movies of all time the most of any year,and two of them are in the top 10. Gone With the Wind is #4, The Wizard of Oz is #6, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is #29, Stagecoach is #63, and Wuthering Heights is #73. Ninotchka and Dark Victory made the list of Greatest Passions along with Wuthering Heights and Gone With The Wind. After watching Gone With the Wind I decided to check out some of the other movies that were nominated. Luckily for me TCM had them on TV recently and I could DVR most of them, I didn't realize that Dark Victory was one of the movies nominated because that was on TCM too but didn't tape it. But I had The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, and Wuthering Heights on my DVR. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington I can get on Netflix on demand.

So, I spent my Sunday watching movies much to the displeasure of my wife. Although I did get a few chores in but only managed to see the three movies I had on my DVR. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is going to have to wait even though it is one of my favorite out of the bunch. Anyway, started with the Wizard of Oz. I haven't seen the whole movie in a long time. While it is a good movie and I love the transition from black and white to color I still see it as a movie for kids.


Next on the list was Wuthering Heights. Based on the book by Emily Bronte about two lovers who just never can be together. Cathy loves Heathcliff but he is a poor stable boy and she is from a prominent family. Eventually she marries the rich guy next door and he marries the rich guys sister to get back at her. Not sure what it is about people using marriage to get back at someone. Similar to Gone With the Wind where Scarlett uses marriage to get what she wants. Basically a sad and dark movie. It's another movie that while it is not bad just doesn't do much for me. I do like the fact its not another happy love story and that it takes their love to a dark place.

Then on to Stagecoach after mowing the lawn and doing some weed whacking. This is the movie that made John Wayne a movie star and changed the genre of Westerns. It is a movie about a group taking a stagecoach through Indian territory. The group of social misfits includes among others a prostitute, a drunk doctor, an outlaw, a thief, and a pregnant women. It was one of the first Westerns that dealt with societal prejudice. I like movies where a bunch of people who wouldn't normally be together are forced to work together. Each character has their flaws but also their virtues and its fun to see that played out. The one thing I didn't like about the movie was the final shootout. You see one shot fired then the camera cuts away and all you do is hear the shots. Not sure how John Wayne takes out three guys(hope I didn't just ruin the movie for anyone). The movie now (as most Westerns are from that time period) is criticized for its portrayal of Indians as butchers. And while that would take another John Ford movie to help change that in Westerns this movie doesn't get into that much and mostly focuses on the group of people dealing with fear.

Well maybe I will get to see Mr. Smith Goes to Washington soon and hopefully TCM plays some more 1939 movies that I haven't seen.