1939's Oscar Nominees

And by honor, I mean "honor."

Sort of want to throw my vote to, I dunno, Dark Victory.

Ninotchka

Mr. Smith, not because I'm a big fan of Capra, but because Claude Rains is sublime.

I happened across Ninotchka last week on TCM and was charmed out of my shoes. I have a little Classic Film Canon Fatigue with the others that I've seen, so Ninotchka it is.

Lots of those are as bad as any list the Academy would compile next year.

Ninotchka's a bit long, and Garbo's charm hasn't worked on me, but it's m favorite of the bunch, just slightly over The Wizard of Oz.

Lots of those are as bad as any list the Academy would compile next year.

Surely. This is not the best list of 10 they've ever come up with.

This one's going to get about 4 votes, right?

Prolly. I'll go for The Wizard of Oz but I actually don't have too much of a problem with these. You got McCarey and Ford and Lubitsch up there (although I can think of at least ten films by either of the latter two that top these). There's no much of a point of ripping on Gone With the Wind (reminds me of Xgau re: Neil Young: "great sometimes and good never").

What I DO have a problem with is the received wisdom that this (or 1951) was classical Hollywood's best year. TCM even has a doc all about it (anyone seen it?). To which I say (in Bart Simpson's voice), "Stop it. Stop it right now."

wizard, not a close call. i love ninotchka and stagecoach, respect gwtw and mr. smith, am not a fan of wuthering heights, and still need to see dark victory. but wizard operates on so many levels, and does all of them so well, it's just no contest.

mr smith by a long ways, but its wondrousness might elude you if you're not the kind of sap (like me) who chokes up at the lincoln memorial. ninotchka, as alfred notes, is just a litle too long (lubitsch, so wonderful at being witty, was not so good at being sentimental), but it's great anyway.

wizard is sort of hard to rank among these other films -- it's so familiar from childhood viewings, cultural presence, et al, that it barely even seems like a movie. (not that it's not great, of course -- prob the most lovable of the hollywood classics, way moreso than something like GWTW.)

wizard of oz

a textbook in my pop culture class claimed it was the most ubiquitously cited film of all time (i.e. referenced by other films, books, commercials, articles, etc)

but even its complete absorption into the DNA of popular culture can't diminish its crazy magic

and it's funny! so many great lines in it you could make an entire poll of underrated wizard of oz quotes

"are you hinting my apples aren't what they ought ta be?"
"what a world what a world! who would have thought a little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness!"

I've seen half of these, and honestly have to say GWTW, glorified lavishly-produced soap opera or not. That's part of what I like about it, the lack of a "line" through it. And the fact that the leading lady & protagonist is a total bitch, and that shot of Clark Gable walking away and vanishing into the fog forever.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Poor Leo McCarey. It's probably the best film on the list. But it lacks the mythos of so many of the others (and of 1939 too).

Sort of surprised there were this many votes.

Nice to see Ninotchka get so much love.

Was watching Mr Smith Goes to Washington earlier and was thinking that the set looks awfully familiar - it's the same one used 23 years later on Preminger's Advise and Consent!

For the scenes taking place inside the US Senate, Columbia dusted off its senate set built for Mr Smith Goes to Washington

Is there any resource for the history of the use of such sets I wonder? It can't have been only used for the two films, can it?

Stagecoach is the best of these. The way it introduces the other 12 characters before John Wayne appears around the 18th minute is just the most perfect exposition in the history of Hollywood.

it's a great film but more than a little ham-handed compared to ford's later westerns.

perhaps, i like me some OG ham with a gold-hearted prostitute