1939

I tried to listen to the news today, but it hurt my heart.  Time passes and nothing changes.  I fear for our country, and there's nothing I can do about it. 

So, I'm focusing on the wonderfulness that was 1939.  Not World War II or the end of the Great Depression, but the movies that were released that year.  That's what makes me smile.

The Best Picture nominees alone would fill my DVR - Gone With the Wind, Love Affair, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Goodbye Mr. Chips, The Wizard of Oz, Ninotchka, Dark Victory, Of Mice and Men, Wuthering Heights.  I've never gotten past the crazy Communists in the first few scenes of Ninotchka, but otherwise those films are all on my list of All Time Favorites. 

But there is more, so much more.  Babes in Arms, Beau Geste, Drums Along the Mohawk, Elizabeth and Exeter, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Intermezzo.... I'll watch any of them anytime.  And I have.

Last week, TBG and I watched Five Came Back (again) in Indiana.  It was released in 1939. So were The Roaring Twenties and Another Thin Man.  I'll watch Nick and Nora even in their lesser outings, and I have.

The Women came out in 1939 and so did Lady of The Tropics.  Hedy Lamarr is the perfect antidote to the bitchiness of those Hollywood icons, if you're looking for a double feature.

Gunga Din  and Young Mr. Lincoln, Son of Frankenstein and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - every great male actor has a star turn in 1939. 

Destry Rides Again, Dodge City, Union Pacific, Jesse James - the Wild West is well represented.

Shirley Temple's Little Princess and Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever would keep a youngster occupied on a rainy afternoon. 

Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Billie Burke, Edna May Oliver, Una Merkel, C. Aubrey Smith, Maria Ouspenskaya, Mischa Auer, Wendie Barrie, Flora Robson... actors I recognize, whose names I remember, who impress me..... they were all in films in 1939.

And these don't include the noir films that didn't make the top 50.  TCM shows them on Saturday nights; it's our Date Night treat. 

Spending the last hour with you and these films has been like sorbet.  My brain is cleansed.  Thanks for helping me through.