1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year

[ClassyCo]

The year 1939 brought us a multitude of cinematic classics, headlined by GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ, perhaps two of the most iconic films to ever come out of Hollywood. You still memorabilia everywhere for these two films. Walk into just about any antique store or flea market, and you'll see what I mean.

Some other well-regarded films from 1939:

DARK VICTORY
GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS
WUTHERING HEIGHTS
NINOTCHKA
STAGECOACH
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
LOVE AFFAIR
ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS
THE ROARING TWENTIES
GUNGA DIN
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN
THE WOMEN
OF MICE AND MEN
THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME
YOUNG MR. LINCOLN
THE RULES OF THE GAME
BEAU GESTE
SON OF FRANKENSTEIN
BABES IN ARMS
ANOTHER THIN MAN

....and there's more, too.

How many movies from this year have you seen? Do you agree that this was Hollywood's most prolific year?

 

[ClassyCo]

Here's an awkward first response to this topic, but this YouTube channel has compiled a list of the "worst" movies from 1939.

 

[DallasFanForever]

How many movies from this year have you seen? Do you agree that this was Hollywood's most prolific year?

I think most film historians would agree that 1939 was the most prolific year in Hollywood history, although I think 1999 could honestly give it a good run for its money. Out of the 22 films you mentioned I’ve seen most of them but The Wizard of Oz still tops the list for me.

 

[Le Tits Now]

The Women is a classic!

 

[Crimson]

I haven't looked into the math to agree that 1939 was either the most prolific (most movies made) or most profitable year on Hollywood's Golden Age, although it's possible both are true. Regardless, 1939 feels like the pinnacle of the era. If the Golden Age covered from the tail end of the Silent era until the early 60s, then 1939 is practically dead center. It's also the beginning of a very slow end, as the power of the studios would be severely dented throughout the 1940s. WWII cut off the lucrative overseas markets. Actors began to rebel against longterm contracts. The Courts ruled against the studios for running a monopoly, forcing them to divest from owning theaters. And, by the end of the decade, television was massive competition. 1939 was kind of the highpoint of the studio system, before it gradually fell apart.

I've never really bought into the notion that 1939 had a higher ratio of great movies, though. Sure GWTW and OZ were colossal, but almost any year of the 1930s and 1940s has just as many classic films as 1939.

 

[ClassyCo]

prolific (most movies made)

I used "most prolific" in the OP to define all the classics made or released in 1939. There are so many of them.

As a side note, I'd like to see as many of these movies as I possibly could.

 

[ginnyfan]

The whole 1939 hype is a bit too much tbh. I agree that you could find a similar number of great movies, with 1 or 2 all time classics, for each year of 1940s.

You might say 1939 was the start of Hollywood's best and most profitable period. Studio system peaked during the war years with theatre attendance and box office numbers going through the roof and the Hollywood factory functioning better than ever before.