Movies from 1939

Across the Plains (1939)

59 mins     Western      

I've watched quite a few of these old westerns from the 1930s, the sort which generally come in a shade under 60 minutes and for the most they trade on very similar stories. But as you can see "Across the Plains" is different...

Bachelor Mother (1939)

82 mins     Comedy, Romance      

Bachelor Mother: Ginger Rogers is the department store temp mistaken as the mother of a baby left on the steps of an oprhange and now her boss's son becomes involved...

Destry Rides Again (1939)

94 mins     Comedy, Western      

Destry Rides Again (1939) James Stewart stars as Thomas Jefferson Destry, the pacifist son of a famous lawman who is brought to Bottleneck to bring order like his pappy did....

Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)

104 mins     Drama, Romance, War      

John Ford made some stunning movies and to be honest with its story of the trials and tribulations of late-18th century pioneers "Drums Along the Mohawk" is a stunning movie. But it feels like a movie where you need to know a...

The Fighting Renegade (1939)

58 mins     Western      

Well trust me when I say they wouldn't get away with making "The Fighting Renegade" now or at least not one where you have an actor pretending to be Mexican and having one of the worst accents going. Tim McCoy's Mexican accen...

The First Rebel (1939)

81 mins     Adventure , Western      

The combination of Claire Trevor and John Wayne is thankfully enough to make "The First Rebel", also known as "Allegheny Uprising" worth watching. There is some fire between them which makes their various scenes together ente...

The Flying Deuces (1939)

89 mins     Comedy      

Laurel and Hardy made a lot of movies together, some shorts, some features, some where they were the stars others where they just popped up in supporting roles but for those who have never watched a Laurel and Hardy movie "Th...

The Four Feathers (1939)

129 mins     Action , Drama, Romance, War      

One of my usual gripes about modern cinema is that even when they have a good storyline they end us wasting it in favour of over the top action followed by more over the top action. Yet go back to a time, the 1930's, when tec...

Gone with the Wind (1939)

238 mins     Drama, Romance, War      

I honestly can't think of many movies that are nearly 4 hours long which once you've finished watching you want to watch again straight away. But that is what you get with "Gone with the Wind" a movie which is spectacular in ...

Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

114 mins     Drama      

What have Richard Dreyfuss, Robin Williams, Matthew Perry and Robert Donat all got in common? They all have in their time starred in movies about teachers making a difference in the lives of their students and becoming much l...

Gunga Din (1939)

117 mins     Action , Adventure , War      

I may be wrong but I suggest there are two types of people who would watch "Gunga Din" now, those who know Rudyard Kipling's poem on which the story is based and those who spot an actor they like and by that I pretty much mea...

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

117 mins     Drama      

Whilst fans of classic movies will know the name Thomas Mitchell for me his name is not held in high enough esteem especially when you consider he appeared in some of the greatest movies in cinema history, 5 of them being fro...

In Name Only (1939)

94 mins     Drama, Romance      

"In Name Only" is anything but a complicated movie. We have Alec who wants to leave his unhappy marriage to start one with the beautiful Julie but finds his manipulative wife is not going to make things easy leading to despai...

In Old Montana (1939)

61 mins     Western      

I can give you a glimpse of "In Old Montana" by explaining an early scene which sees Doc and Fred travelling to the trouble. As they drive along Fred sings with accompaniment from Doc and the singing involves yodelling and Do...

Jamaica Inn (1939)

108 mins     Adventure , Crime      

There are various reasons why you might want to watch "Jamaica Inn"; there is the fact it is a Hitchcock movie, there is the fact it is an adaptation of a Daphne Du Maurier novel, there is the fact it stars Charles Laughton. ...

Jesse James (1939)

106 mins     Western      

Alongside Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid, Jesse James is one of those iconic characters who have had more than their fare share of movies made about them. And even before Henry King gave us "Jesse James" in 1939 there had alrea...

Law of the Pampas (1939)

72 mins     Western      

"Law of the Pampas" sees two things happen, one is Hopalong heads into South America and two we have Sidney Toler show up in the comedy sidekick role which previously Gabby Hayes had filled. But beyond those two things the re...

The Little Princess (1939)

93 mins     Comedy, Drama, Family      

Watching Shirley Temple in "The Little Princess" some 70+ years since it was released it feels wrong to criticise it but by today's standard "The Little Princess" feels all a bit cheesy and sugar coated. But even if it does f...

Love Affair (1939)

88 mins     Comedy, Drama, Romance      

It's rather amusing that so many people bemoan modern cinema for being little more than remakes when in truth remakes have always been a part of the movie scene. Take "An Affair to Remember" the 1957 romantic drama starring C...

Made for Each Other (1939)

92 mins     Comedy, Drama, Romance      

"Made for Each Other" is a curious movie partly because whilst it came 7 years before James Stewart starred in "It's a Wonderful Life" it has a similar story of a man who ends up feeling a failure because of money worries and...