1939 is generally considered to be one of, if not the best, year for films including Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Destry Rides Again, Ninotchka, The Rules of the Game, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Here are some of my favorites: They Made Me a Criminal, The Roaring Twenties, The Rains Came, In Name Only, The Hound of the Baskervilles (first of the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes series) Dodge City (mostly for the dueling anthem preview to Casablanca.)
Bette Davis Films: Dark Victory, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, The Old Maid, Juarez.
I learned today that 1939 also marked the end of two of my favorite movie series: Nancy Drew and Torchy Blaine.
TCM had a series theme starting last Tuesday. I caught the end of my second favorite in the Nancy Drew series, Nancy Drew, Reporter. I actually said out loud--that Sergeant Entwhistle wasn't committed to drag like Tom Sandoval (exposing my Vanderpump Rules fandom here.) I recorded Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase--the last entry and my personal favorite. The TCM announcer said this was the best reviewed of the series. It should have been the first of a longer series, but Bonita Granville left Warner Brothers and that ended the films.
The Torchy Blane series ended the same year. According to the article linked above, Torchy and Nancy movies were shown together, had a similar structure and shared some of their writers. As part of TCM's series theme, the Torchy movies also ran this week. I recorded all of those. I love Torchy's introduction in Smart Blonde. Steve McBride is more of an ass in the first entry than others and can barely drive. At least the film ends with Steve taking Torchy out for steak.
Here's more on Torchy.
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