In all honesty, I think this twelfth
year of the Oscars is one of the strongest in the award’s history. The calibre
of films released in 1939 was straight up exceptional – I mean, it’s the year that gave us Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering
Heights, Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Stagecoach in competition for the Best
Picture Oscar. So yeah. A pretty darn good year for cinema.
It was also a big year in terms of
awards – it was the first time a Special Effects Award was given (a bit nuts to
think of it even being a factor in 1940, even stranger to see it go to what is
essentially a natural disaster movie, The
Rains Came). It also saw Hattie McDaniel become the first African-American
to win an award (Best Supporting Actress for Gone
with the Wind) and Sidney Howard become the first posthumous winner
(Adapted Screenplay, also for Gone with
the Wind).
Perhaps most interestingly of all is that it shows a different take on storytelling before the dominance of war films or Hollywood revues (made with the specific
intention of distracting overseas soldiers) that would take over during the
coming years of World War II. It’s a year dominated by literary adaptations (Wuthering Heights, Of Mice and Men), fantasy films (The Wizard of Oz, Gulliver’s Travels, The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
and tragic romances (Love Affair, Dark
Victory, Gone with the Wind) and represents a marked shift away from backstage
musicals which were so prevalent in earlier years. A new taste in cinema that would, unfortunately, be put on hold for propaganda films during the war.
Five Films to Watch
Dark Victory really surprised me. The story of a young woman facing her own mortality has the potential to be melodramatic or twee, but a young Bette Davis lends a real power to the role of Judith and makes this a tender and moving picture.
Wuthering Heights. This has got to be the ultimate Wuthering Heights adaptation for me. It's a story that, strangely, doesn't easily translate to the screen, but Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier really revel in the darkness and the more sinister elements of the story. It makes it, ultimately, what it is - a heavy gothic tale.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Again, I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but this is such a well-made movie (and almost shot-for-shot foreshadows that later Disney adaptation). The make up is incredible, the performances moving and the cinematography wildly good.
Gone with the Wind. I’m not the hugest fan of this film. I find it way too long, and a
little too sure of itself in parts, but I can’t deny the cultural impact it’s
had. Plus, y’know, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable’s chemistry is off the charts.
The Wizard of Oz. Because no list from this year would be complete without it. Watching it in the context of the era makes it all the more remarkable. What a magical film.
Three Films to Miss
The Mikado. I
HATED this film. I know the opera’s supposed to be great, but this film is
horrifically racist and a real bastardisation of Japanese culture. Plus the
music isn’t even that good.
Eternally Yours.The story of a woman falling in love with a travelling magician would usually
be something up my alley, but everything falls flat in this dull little
romance.
Juarez. Boring
and too long, it makes the least of the effervescent Bette Davis, not to mention the total white wash of the film. Not worth the watch.
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