Top 25 Films of 1939
Considered the greatest year in motion pictures and it's hard to argue.
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- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.There are a few films on here that I haven't seen in a while that might be able to challenge "The Women" for top spot but after seeing it again,in terms of pure entertainment it'll be hard to beat...I just think it's an absolute treat to watch.
10 - 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.10
- 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.10
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaAlice BradyMarjorie WeaverA fictionalized account of the early life of the American president as a young lawyer facing his greatest court case.10
- 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.10
- 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.10
- 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.10
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMerle OberonLaurence OlivierDavid NivenA servant in the house of Wuthering Heights tells a traveler the unfortunate tale of lovers Cathy and Heathcliff.10-
- 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.9
- DirectorLeo McCareyStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerMaria OuspenskayaA French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship.9
- 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.9
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinJacqueline LaurentArlettyAfter committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.9
- 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.9
- 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.9
- 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.9
- 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.9
- 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.9
- 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.9
- DirectorHenry KingOtto BrowerStarsSpencer TracyNancy KellyRichard GreeneTasked by his editor, American reporter Henry M. Stanley travels to a dangerous and uncharted region of East Africa to find the missing Scottish pioneer missionary Dr. David Livingstone.9
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandAnn SheridanA Texas cattle agent witnesses first hand, the brutal lawlessness of Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff to clean the town up.9
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsCary GrantCarole LombardKay FrancisAfter a wealthy man finds out his wife is a gold digger, he meets and falls for a widowed mother, and complications ensue.9
- DirectorClarence BrownStarsNorma ShearerClark GableEdward ArnoldA group of disparate travelers are caught and thrown together in a posh Alpine hotel when the borders are closed at the beginning of World War II.9
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.9
- 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.9
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsBette DavisErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandA depiction of the love/hate relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.9
- 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.
9 - DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonSebastian ShawA German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
9 - 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.
9 - DirectorGarson KaninStarsJohn BarrymorePeter HoldenVirginia WeidlerIn 1923, Gregory Vance, a widower with two children, is a former scholar who has turned from book-to-bottle. He works, slightly, as a night-watchman and his children, who know him for what he is and what he isn't, are his only admirers. Then, it is discovered that he is the only registered voter in a key precinct and the politicians, from both parties, arrive in droves bearing inducements. What he does about this situation, and the relatives who want to take his children away from him make up the story.
9 - 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.
8 - 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.
8 - DirectorElliott NugentStarsBob HopePaulette GoddardJohn BealWhen an eccentric family meets in their uncle's remote, decaying mansion on the tenth anniversary of his death for the reading of his will, murder and madness follow.
8 - 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.
8 - DirectorElliott NugentStarsMartha RayeBob HopeAndy DevineA wealthy hypochondriac and an heiress are both experiencing romantic complications, prompting them to marry each other.
8 - 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.Truthfully after seeing it again I found many of the characters annoying at times and if it wasn't for Judy Garland and some enjoyable musical numbers I'm not sure there'd be much here.
8 - 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.
8 - 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.
8 - DirectorRowland V. LeeStarsBasil RathboneBoris KarloffBarbara O'NeilIn the 15th century Richard Duke of Gloucester, aided by his club-footed executioner Mord, eliminates those ahead of him in succession to the throne, then occupied by his brother King Edward IV of England. As each murder is accomplished he takes particular delight in removing small figurines, each resembling one of the successors, from a throne-room dollhouse, until he alone remains. After the death of Edward he becomes Richard III, King of England, and need only defeat the exiled Henry Tudor to retain power.
7 - DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
7 - DirectorNick GrindeStarsBoris KarloffLorna GrayRobert WilcoxWhen Dr. Savaard's experiment in cryonics is interrupted by the short-sighted authorities, his volunteer dies, and he is condemned to death. He vows vengeance if he can survive his own hanging.
7 - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
7 - 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.
7 - 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.
7 - DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsBasil RathboneNigel BruceIda LupinoThe master sleuth hunts his archenemy, Professor Moriarty, who is planning the crime of the century.Sadly the film just wasn't as fun and engaging as I once thought.
6 - DirectorNorman FosterStarsSidney TolerCesar RomeroPauline MooreCharlie's investigation of a phony psychic during the 1939 World Exposition on San Francisco's Treasure Island leads him to expose a suicide as murder.
6 - DirectorHenry HathawayStarsGary CooperDavid NivenAndrea LeedsA small American contingent tries to train rural tribesmen to defend themselves against fanatical Muslim radicals in 1906 Philippines.
6 - DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartRosemary LaneDuring the Oklahoma Land Rush, the lawlessness is exacerbated by the McCord gang's feud with the Kincaids, who are trying to bring law and justice to the region.
6 - 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.
6 - DirectorSam WoodWilliam WylerStarsDavid NivenOlivia de HavillandMay WhittyMan about town and first class cricketer A.J. Raffles keeps himself solvent with daring robberies. Meeting Gwen from his schooldays and falling in love all over again, he spends the weekend with her parents, Lord and Lady Melrose. A necklace presents an irresistible temptation, but also in attendance is Scotland Yard's finest, finally on the trail.
6 - DirectorIrving CummingsBuster KeatonMalcolm St. ClairStarsAlice FayeDon AmecheJ. Edward BrombergStarting in 1913 movie director Connors discovers singer Molly Adair. As she becomes a star she marries an actor, so Connors fires them. She asks for him as director of her next film. Many silent stars shown making the transition to sound.
6 - DirectorVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartRosemary LaneWayne MorrisA hotshot reporter and a young doctor team up to investigate a series of grisly murders and a mysterious sample of synthetic blood.
6 - DirectorAllan DwanStarsThe Ritz BrothersJimmy RitzHarry RitzWhen a wealthy man is threatened by a killer known as The Gorilla, he hires the Ritz Brothers to investigate. A real escaped gorilla shows up at the mansion just as the investigators arrive.
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