1939 in film

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Last updated January 08, 2025

The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 12th Academy Awards (which honored the best in film for 1939)— Dark Victory , Gone with the Wind , Goodbye, Mr. Chips , Love Affair , Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , Ninotchka , Of Mice and Men , Stagecoach , The Wizard of Oz , and Wuthering Heights —range in genre and are considered classics.^[1]

Top-grossing films (U.S.)

The top ten 1939 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:

Highest-grossing films of 1939
Rank	Title	Distributor	Domestic rentals
1	Gone with the Wind	MGM/Selznick International	$18,000,000^[2]
2	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	Columbia	$3,500,000^[3]
3	Jesse James	20th Century Fox	$2,335,000^[4]
4	Babes in Arms	MGM	$2,311,000^[5]
5	The Wizard of Oz		$2,048,000^[5]
6	Goodbye, Mr. Chips		$1,777,000^[5]
7	Dodge City	Warner Bros.	$1,668,000^[6]
8	The Rains Came	20th Century Fox	$1,656,000^[4]
9	The Women	MGM	$1,610,000^[5]
10	Drums Along the Mohawk	20th Century Fox	$1,558,000^[4]

Events

Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood".^[7]^[8] Hollywood studios were at the height of their Golden Age, producing a number of exceptional motion pictures, many of which became honored as all-time classic films.

February 15 – John Ford's Western film Stagecoach starring John Wayne premieres in New York City and Los Angeles.
March 31 – Release of the 20th Century Fox film version of The Hound of the Baskervilles , first of a Sherlock Holmes film series starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.
June 10 – MGM's first successful animated character, Barney Bear, makes his debut in The Bear That Couldn't Sleep .
August 10 – The Wizard of Oz premieres at the Orpheum Theatre in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Its Hollywood premiere takes place on August 15 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.
October 17 – Mr. Smith Goes to Washington premieres in Washington, D.C.
November 6 – Hedda Hopper's Hollywood debuts on radio in the United States with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as host; the show runs until 1951, making Hopper a powerful figure among the Hollywood elite.
December 15 – The epic historical romance film Gone with the Wind , starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland and Leslie Howard, premieres at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, with a three-day-long festival. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel of 1936, it is the longest American film made up to this date (at nearly four hours) and rapidly becomes the highest-grossing film up to this time.
Canada establishes a National Film Commission, predecessor of the National Film Board of Canada, with John Grierson as first Commissioner.

Nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Director

The year 1939 was one in which the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated ten films for Best Picture:

Dark Victory
Gone with the Wind (Best Picture winner)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Love Affair
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Ninotchka
Of Mice and Men
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights

These films came from a wide variety of film genres and sources for their stories and settings, including: historical fiction (Gone with the Wind), contemporary affairs (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Of Mice and Men), love stories, classic novels (Wuthering Heights), fantasies/musicals, (The Wizard of Oz), tragic plays (Dark Victory), westerns (Stagecoach), and comedies (Ninotchka).

Each of the five nominees for Best Director of 1939 were or went on to become a legendary film director with multiple acclaimed films to his credit: Frank Capra (previous winner of the award), Victor Fleming, John Ford (who won a record four Best Director awards), Sam Wood, and William Wyler (who leads all directors in nominations with 11 while having three wins).^{[ citation needed ]}

Academy Awards

Best Picture: Gone with the Wind – David O. Selznick; Selznick International, MGM
Best Director: Victor Fleming – Gone with the Wind
Best Actor: Robert Donat – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Best Actress: Vivien Leigh – Gone with the Wind
Best Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell – Stagecoach
Best Supporting Actress: Hattie McDaniel – Gone with the Wind (first African American to win an Academy Award)

Gone with the Wind received in all ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations.

1939 film releases

United States

Notable films released in 1939

United States unless stated

A

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , starring Mickey Rooney and Rex Ingram
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
Allegheny Uprising , starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne
Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever , starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
The Angels Wash Their Faces , starring Ann Sheridan and the Dead End Kids
The Amazing Mr. Williams , starring Melvyn Douglas and Joan Blondell
Another Thin Man , starring William Powell and Myrna Loy
The Arizona Kid , starring Roy Rogers
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery – (GB)
Ask a Policeman , starring Will Hay, Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott – (GB)
At the Circus , starring the Marx Brothers

B

Babes in Arms , directed by Busby Berkeley, starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland
Bachelor Mother , starring Ginger Rogers and David Niven
Bad Lands , starring Robert Barrat and Robert Coote
Barricade , starring Alice Faye and Warner Baxter
Beau Geste , directed by William Wellman, starring Gary Cooper and Ray Milland
Bel Ami – (Germany)
Blackmail , starring Edward G. Robinson
Blue Montana Skies , starring Gene Autry
Boy Slaves
Boys' Reformatory , starring Frankie Darro
The Bronze Buckaroo , starring Herb Jeffries

C

The Cat and the Canary , starring Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard
Cesta do hlubin študákovy duše – (Czechoslovakia)
Charlie Chan at Treasure Island , starring Sidney Toler
Charlie Chan in Reno , starring Sidney Toler and Ricardo Cortez
Cheer Boys Cheer , starring Nova Pilbeam (GB)
Confessions of a Nazi Spy , starring Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas

D

Dark Victory , starring Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan
Daughter of the Tong , starring Evelyn Brent and Grant Withers
Days of Jesse James , directed by Joseph Kane, starring Roy Rogers
Destry Rides Again , directed by George Marshall, starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart
Dodge City , directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland
Drums Along the Mohawk , directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert

E

Each Dawn I Die , starring James Cagney and George Raft
The Empress Wu Tse-tien – (China)
Eva tropí hlouposti (Eva Fools Around) – (Czechoslovakia)
Everything Happens at Night , starring Sonja Henie and Ray Milland
Fifth Ave Girl , starring Ginger Rogers and Walter Connolly

F

The Face at the Window , starring Tod Slaughter
First Love , starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Stack
Five Came Back , directed by John Farrow, starring Lucille Ball and Chester Morris
The Flying Deuces , directed by A. Edward Sutherland, starring Laurel and Hardy
The Flying Irishman , starring Douglas Corrigan
The Four Feathers , starring John Clements and Ralph Richardson – (GB)
The Four Just Men , directed by Walter Forde (GB)
Frontier Marshal , starring Randolph Scott, Caesar Romero, John Carradine
Full Confession , starring Victor McLaglen

G

The Girl from Mexico , starring Lupe Vélez
A Girl Must Live , directed by Carol Reed, starring Margaret Lockwood – (GB)
Golden Boy , starring Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden, Adolphe Menjou
Gone with the Wind , directed by Victor Fleming, starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Hattie McDaniel – Academy Awards for best picture, director, actress and supporting actress
Goodbye, Mr. Chips , directed by Sam Wood, starring Robert Donat and Greer Garson. Academy Award for best actor. – (GB)
Gulliver's Travels , starring Jessica Dragonette and Lanny Ross
Gunga Din , directed by George Stevens, starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Sam Jaffe

H

The Hardys Ride High , starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden
Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence , starring Glenn Ford
Hello Janine! , starring Marika Rökk – (Germany)
Hollywood Cavalcade , starring Alice Faye, Don Ameche, J. Edward Bromberg, Alan Curtis
Honolulu , starring Eleanor Powell, Burns and Allen
The Hound of the Baskervilles , first in Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce
The Hunchback of Notre Dame , directed by William Dieterle, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara

I

I Met a Murderer , starring James Mason – (GB)
Idiot's Delight , starring Clark Gable and Norma Shearer
In Name Only , starring Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, Kay Francis
Inspector Hornleigh on Holiday , starring Gordon Harker and Alastair Sim – (GB)
Intermezzo , starring Ingrid Bergman and Leslie Howard
It's a Wonderful World , directed by W. S. Van Dyke, starring James Stewart and Claudette Colbert

J

Jamaica Inn , directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara – (GB)
Jesse James , directed by Henry King (director), starring Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott
Juarez , directed by William Dieterle, starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Claude Rains, John Garfield, Brian Aherne
Le Jour se lève (Daybreak), directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin and Arletty – (France)
Judge Hardy and Son , starring Lewis Stone, Mickey Rooney, Cecilia Parker, Fay Holden

K

King of the Underworld , starring Humphrey Bogart and Kay Francis

L

The Lambeth Walk , directed by Albert de Courville, starring Lupino Lane and Sally Gray – (GB)
The Last Turning (Le Dernier Tournant), starring Michel Simon – (France)
Lenin in 1918 (Lenin v 1918 godu) – (USSR)
Let Us Live , starring Maureen O'Sullivan and Henry Fonda
The Little Princess , starring Shirley Temple and Richard Greene
Love Affair , starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer (Academy Award nominee)
Lucky Night , starring Myrna Loy and Robert Taylor

M

Made For Each Other , starring Carole Lombard, James Stewart, and Charles Coburn
Maisie , starring Robert Young and Ann Sothern
The Man in the Iron Mask , starring Louis Hayward, Joan Bennett, Warren William
Man of Conquest , starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Joan Fontaine
Mexicali Rose , starring Gene Autry
Midnight , starring Claudette Colbert and Don Ameche
The Mikado , a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, first British film shot in Technicolor – (GB)
Million Dollar Legs , starring Betty Grable
Mr. Moto Takes a Vacation , starring Peter Lorre
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington , directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains
Mr. Wong in Chinatown , starring Boris Karloff
The Mystery of Mr. Wong , starring Boris Karloff

N

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase , starring Bonita Granville
Never Say Die , starring Martha Raye and Bob Hope
Ninotchka , directed by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi

O

Of Mice and Men , directed by Lewis Milestone, starring Burgess Meredith, Betty Field, Lon Chaney Jr.
Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise , a comedy short starring The Three Stooges
The Oklahoma Kid , starring James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Donald Crisp
The Old Maid , starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins
On Borrowed Time , starring Lionel Barrymore and Cedric Hardwicke
On Dress Parade , starring The Dead End Kids
On the Night of the Fire (aka The Fugitive), starring Ralph Richardson – (GB)
On Your Toes , screenplay by Lawrence Riley, starring Vera Zorina and Eddie Albert
Only Angels Have Wings , starring Cary Grant, Rita Hayworth and Jean Arthur

P

Prisioneros de la tierra (Prisoners of the Land) – (Argentina)
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex , starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland

Q

Q Planes , starring Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier – (GB)

R

The Rains Came , starring Tyrone Power and Myrna Loy
Range War , a Hopalong Cassidy western starring William Boyd
Remember? , starring Greer Garson, Robert Taylor, Lew Ayres
The Return of Doctor X , a horror film starring Humphrey Bogart
The Roaring Twenties , starring James Cagney, Priscilla Lane, Humphrey Bogart
The Rules of the Game (La règle du jeu), directed by Jean Renoir – (France)

S

The Saint in London , starring George Sanders
The Saint Strikes Back , starring George Sanders
Seven Little Australians , directed by Arthur Greville Collins – (Australia)
Son of Frankenstein , starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi
De Spooktrein (The Ghost Train) – (Netherlands)
The Spy in Black , directed by Michael Powell, starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson – (GB)
Stagecoach , directed by John Ford, starring John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Berton Churchill, John Carradine
Stanley and Livingstone , starring Spencer Tracy and Cedric Hardwicke
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (Zangiku monogatari), directed by Kenji Mizoguchi – (Japan)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle , starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
Susannah of the Mounties , starring Shirley Temple and Randolph Scott
Swanee River , starring Don Ameche

T

Tarzan Finds a Son! , starring Johnny Weissmuller
These Glamour Girls , starring Lew Ayres, Lana Turner, Tom Brown
They Made Me a Criminal , starring John Garfield
They Shall Have Music , starring Jascha Heifetz, Joel McCrea, Andrea Leeds, Walter Brennan
The Three Musketeers , starring Don Ameche and The Ritz Brothers
Three Smart Girls Grow Up , starring Deanna Durbin and Robert Cummings
Three Texas Steers , directed by George Sherman, starring John Wayne
Tower of London , starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price
Tsuchi (Japan)
The Trip to Tilsit (Die Reise nach Tilsit) – (Germany)

U

Union Pacific , directed by Cecil B. DeMille, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Joel McCrea

V

Vasilisa the Beautiful (Vasilisa prekrasnaya) – (U.S.S.R.)
The Vyborg Side (Vyborgskaya storona) – (U.S.S.R.)

W

Way Down South , directed by Leslie Goodwins and Bernard Vorhaus
Wilton's Zoo (Boefje), directed by Douglas Sirk – (Netherlands)
The Wizard of Oz , directed by Victor Fleming, starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Margaret Hamilton
The Women , directed by George Cukor, starring Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell
Wuthering Heights , directed by William Wyler, starring Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven, Flora Robson
Wyoming Outlaw , starring John Wayne, directed by George Sherman

Y

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man , starring W. C. Fields
Young Man's Fancy , directed by Robert Stevenson, starring Anna Lee – (GB)
Young Mr. Lincoln , directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda and Alice Brady

Z

Zenobia , directed by Gordon Douglas, starring Oliver Hardy
Zorro's Fighting Legion , starring Reed Hadley

Serials

Buck Rogers , starring Buster Crabbe
Dick Tracy's G-Men , starring Ralph Byrd
Daredevils of the Red Circle , starring Herman Brix and Charles B. Middleton
Flying G-Men
The Lone Ranger Rides Again
Mandrake the Magician , starring Warren Hull
The Oregon Trail
Overland with Kit Carson
The Phantom Creeps , starring Bela Lugosi
Scouts to the Rescue
Zorro's Fighting Legion , starring Reed Hadley

Comedy film series

Charlie Chaplin (1914–1940)
Lupino Lane (1915–1939)
Buster Keaton (1917–1944)
Laurel and Hardy (1927–1945)
Our Gang (1922–1944)
The Marx Brothers (1929–1946)
The Three Stooges (1934–1959)

Animated short film series

Krazy Kat (1925–1940)
Mickey Mouse (1928–1953)
Silly Symphonies (1929–1939)
- The Practical Pig
- The Ugly Duckling
Looney Tunes (1930–1969)
Terrytoons (1930–1964)
Merrie Melodies (1931–1969)
Scrappy (1931–1941)
Betty Boop (1932–1939)
Popeye (1933–1957)
Color Rhapsodies (1934–1949)
Donald Duck (1937–1956)
Barney Bear (1939–1954)
Walter Lantz Cartunes (also known as New Universal Cartoons or Cartune Comedies) (1938–1942)
The Captain and the Kids (1938–1939)
Goofy (1939–1955)
Andy Panda (1939–1949)
Nertsery Rhyme Cartoons (1939 only)
Crackpot Cruise Cartoons (1939 only)
Lil' Eightball (1939 only)
Count Screwloose and J.R. (1939 only)

Births

January 4 - Burt Sugarman, American film producer
January 8 – Ruth Maleczech, American actress (died 2013)
January 9 – Susannah York, English actress (died 2011)
January 10 – Sal Mineo, American actor (died 1976)
January 17 – Maury Povich, American television personality
January 22 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist (died 2021)
January 26 – Scott Glenn, American actor
January 30 – János Zsombolyai, Hungarian cinematographer, film director and screenwriter (died 2015)
February 3 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2016)
February 6 – Mike Farrell, American actor
February 9 – Janet Suzman, South African actress and director
February 16 – Angelo Infanti, Italian actor (died 2010)
February 20 – Antonina Girycz, Polish actress (died 2022)
February 24 – Marisa Mell, Austrian actress (died 1992)
February 28 – Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer and actor
March 1 - David Weatherley, British-born New Zealand actor (died 2024)
March 4
- John Moreno, British actor
- Robert Shaye, American actor and producer
- Carlos Vereza, Brazilian actor
March 5
- Samantha Eggar, English actress
- Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor, comedian and singer (died 1995)
March 7 – Michael Chow, Chinese-born British-American former actor
March 14
- Raymond J. Barry, American actor
- Héctor Bonilla, Mexican actor (died 2022)
March 21 – Marino Masé, Italian actor (died 2022)
March 26 - Phillip R. Allen, American actor (died 2012)
March 28 – Vic Vargas, Filipino actor (died 2003)
March 29 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, screenwriter and producer
April 1 – Ali MacGraw, American actress
April 5 – Roger Davis, American actor
April 7 – Francis Ford Coppola, director; producer; screenwriter
April 9 – Romeo Vasquez, Filipino actor (died 2017)
April 11 – Louise Lasser, American actress, writer and director
April 13 – Paul Sorvino, American actor (died 2022)
April 22 – Mark Jones, English actor (died 2010)
April 23
- David Birney, American actor and director (died 2022)
- Lee Majors, American actor
May 4 – Paul Gleason, American actor (died 2006)
May 7
- Ruggero Deodato, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2022)
- Marco St. John, American actor
May 13 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
May 15 – Barbara Hammer, American filmmaker (died 2019)
May 19
- James Fox, English actor
- Nancy Kwan, Chinese-American actress
May 22 – Paul Winfield, American actor (died 2004)
May 23 – Reinhard Hauff, German film director
- May 25
- Ian McKellen, English actor
- Dixie Carter, American actress (died 2010)
May 28 – Beth Howland, American actress (died 2015)
May 30 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (died 2019)
June 4 – Henri Pachard, American film director (died 2008)
June 8 – Bernie Casey, American actor (died 2017)
June 11 – Christina Crawford, American actress
June 15 - Daniel Richter, American mime and actor
June 24 – Michael Gothard, English actor (died 1992)
June 25 – Barbara Montgomery, American actress and director
July 1
- Karen Black, American actress, screenwriter and singer-songwriter (died 2013)
- Ines Aru, Estonian actress
July 5 – Sergio Di Stefano, Italian actor and voice actor (died 2010)
July 15
- Abdulhussain Abdulredha, Kuwaiti actor (died 2017)
- Patrick Wayne, American actor
July 16 – Corin Redgrave, British actor, political activist (died 2010)
July 21 – Sondra James, American sound coordinator and actress (died 2021)
July 22 - Gila Almagor, Israeli actress
July 28 – Charles Cyphers, American actor (died 2024)
July 30 – Peter Bogdanovich, American director, producer and screenwriter (died 2022)
July 31 – France Nuyen, French actress
August 1 – Terry Kiser, American actor
August 2
- Wes Craven, American director; producer; screenwriter (died 2015)
- Robert Wall, American actor and martial artist (died 2022)
August 4 – Mapita Cortés, Mexican actress (died 2006)
August 7 – Anjanette Comer, American actress
August 9 – Bulle Ogier, French actress
August 12
- Oliver Ford Davies, English actor and writer
- George Hamilton, American actor
August 16 - Carole Shelley, English actress (died 2018)
August 20 – Fernando Poe Jr., Filipino actor (died 2004)
August 23 – Fernando Luján, Mexican actor (died 2019)
August 25 – John Badham, English-American director
August 29 – Joel Schumacher, American film director, producer and screenwriter (died 2020)
August 30 – Elizabeth Ashley, American actress
September 1 – Lily Tomlin, American actress, comedian and producer
September 5
- William Devane, American actor
- George Lazenby, Australian actor
September 8 - DeVeren Bookwalter, American actor and director (died 1987)
September 11 – Tom Dreesen, American actor and stand-up comedian
September 13 – Richard Kiel, American actor and voice artist (died 2014)
September 22 - Bette Bourne, British actor, drag queen, campaigner and activist (died 2024)
September 23 – Janusz Gajos, Polish actor
September 27 – Garrick Hagon, Canadian film, stage, television and radio actor
September 28 - Sandra Dorsey, American actress (died 2023)
September 30 – Len Cariou, Canadian actor and director
October 5 – Carmen Salinas, Mexican actress and comedian (died 2021)
October 6 – Ellen Travolta, American actress
October 8 – Paul Hogan, Australian comedian and actor
October 13 – Melinda Dillon, American actress (died 2023)
October 18 – Salme Poopuu, Estonian actress and filmmaker (died 2017)
October 21 - Peter Vere-Jones, English-born New Zealand actor (died 2021)
October 22 – Tony Roberts, American actor
October 23 – Stanley Anderson, American character actor (died 2018)
October 24 – F. Murray Abraham, American actor
October 25 – Nikos Nikolaidis, Greek film director (died 2007)
October 27 – John Cleese, English actor, comedian and producer
October 28 – Jane Alexander, American actress
October 29 – Elizabeth Moody, English-born New Zealand actress and director (died 2010)
October 31 – Ron Rifkin, American actor
November 1 - Barbara Bosson, American actress (died 2023)
November 8 – Meg Wynn Owen, Welsh actress (died 2022)
November 10
- Anton Gorchev, Bulgarian actor (died 2000)
- Russell Means, Native American actor (died 2012)
November 13 – G. R. Perera, Sri Lankan actor (died 2023)
November 15 – Yaphet Kotto, American actor (died 2021)
November 18
- Max Phipps, Australian actor (died 2000)
- Brenda Vaccaro, American actress
November 22 – Allen Garfield, American actor (died 2020)
November 23
- Denis Arndt, American actor
- Maria Gladys, Brazilian actress
November 26
- Mark Margolis, American actor (died 2023)
- Tina Turner, American-born Swiss singer, songwriter and actress (died 2023)
November 27 – Ulla Strömstedt, Swedish actress (died 1986)
December 3 - Don Calfa, American character actor (died 2016)
December 13
- Eric Flynn, British actor (died 2002)
- Akiko Wakabayashi, Japanese actress
December 27 – John Amos, American actor (died 2024)
December 28 – Gloria Manon, American actress (died 2018)

Deaths

January 19 – Tom Ricketts, 86, English actor, director, Love Bound , Thrill of Youth
January 25 – Helen Ware, 61, American actress, Morning Glory , Abraham Lincoln
February 22 – Joe Brandt, 56, American film producer and co-founder of C.B.C. which became Columbia Pictures
April 22 – Ann Murdock, 48, American actress, Outcast , Please Help Emily
May 5 – Clara Schønfeld, 82, Danish actress, Master of the House , Praesten i Vejlby
June 9 – Owen Moore, 54, Irish actor, A Star is Born , She Done Him Wrong , The Red Mill , Cinderella
August 23 – Sidney Howard, 48, American writer, Gone with the Wind , Dodsworth , Arrowsmith , A Lady to Love
September 24 – Carl Laemmle, 72, German producer, Frankenstein , Dracula , Bride of Frankenstein , The Phantom of the Opera
October 13 – Ford Sterling, 55, American actor, Tango Tangles , The Show-Off , Between Showers
October 23 – Zane Grey, 67, American writer, Fighting Caravans , Riders of the Purple Sage , Western Union , Born to the West
October 28 – Alice Brady, 46, American actress, My Man Godfrey , Young Mr. Lincoln , The Gay Divorcee , In Old Chicago
November 7 – Kirsti Suonio, 67, Finnish stage and film actress, Substitute Wife
November 13 – George Nicholls, Jr., 42, American director, Anne of Green Gables , Man of Conquest
December 12 – Douglas Fairbanks, 56, American actor, The Thief of Bagdad , The Black Pirate , Robin Hood , Mr. Robinson Crusoe , and the father of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Debuts

Raymond Bailey – Blackwell's Island
Robert Beatty – Black Limelight
Regina Bianchi – Rosa de Sangue
Robert Blake – Bridal Suite
Dirk Bogarde – Come on George!
Linda Brent – Coast Guard
Lillian Bronson – First Love
Faten Hamama – Happy Day
Edgar Buchanan – My Son Is Guilty
Rod Cameron – Heritage of the Desert
Ada Colangeli – An Adventure of Salvator Rosa
Richard Conte – Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence
Peter Cushing – The Man in the Iron Mask
Linda Darnell – Hotel for Women
Diana Dei – Follie del secolo
Lupe del Castillo – United But Not Mixed
Kathryn Adams Doty – Fifth Avenue Girl
Charles Drake – Career
Glenn Ford – My Son Is Guilty
Greer Garson – Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Dabbs Greer – Jesse James
Anne Gwynne – Unexpected Father
Mary Beth Hughes – Within the Law
Ben Johnson – The Fighting Gringo
Jack Kelly – The Story of Alexander Graham Bell
Veronica Lake – Sorority House
Bruni Löbel – Homeland
Diana Lynn – They Shall Have Music
Marcello Mastroianni – Marionette
Victor Mature – The Housekeeper's Daughter
Gerald Mohr – Society Smugglers
Rina Morelli – An Adventure of Salvator Rosa
Gene Nelson – Second Fiddle
Edmond O'Brien – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
David Opatoshu – The Light Ahead
Hank Patterson – The Arizona Kid
Isabel Randolph – The Women
Dina Sassoli – Le père Lebonnard
James Seay – Back Door to Heaven
Florence Shirley – The Women
Charles Smith – Nancy Drew... Reporter
Robert Stack – First Love
Robert Sterling – Blondie Meets the Boss
Craig Stevens – Coast Guard
Brian Worth – Ask a Policeman
Maris Wrixon – Off the Record
Mahmoud Zulfikar – Apple Seller

References

↑ Giltz, Michael (February 15, 2008). "Michael Giltz: DVDs: 1939 – The Best Year For Movies...Ever!". The Huffington Post . Retrieved January 10, 2012.
↑ "York's 4,000,000". Variety. December 31, 1941. p. 20. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
↑ Eyman, Scott (1993). Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise. ISBN 0-8018-6558-1. Ninotchka's financial returns were less than those of the year's biggest hit, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which made $3.5 million, but considerably more than other hits like The Old Maid ($1.4 million), Only Angels Have Wings ($1.1 million), or The Rains Came ($1.65 million).
1 2 3 "All-time Film Rental Champs". Variety . October 15, 1990. p. M162 to 166.
1 2 3 4 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
↑ Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 20 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
↑ Fristoe, Roger. "Introduction to 1939, Hollywood's Greatest Year". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
↑ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (October 2, 2009). "1939: Film's finest year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2011.

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[Giltz-1] Giltz, Michael (February 15, 2008). "Michael Giltz: DVDs: 1939 – The Best Year For Movies...Ever!". The Huffington Post . Retrieved January 10, 2012.

[VarietyDec41-2] "York's 4,000,000". Variety. December 31, 1941. p. 20. Retrieved June 14, 2020.

[LubitschBook-3] Eyman, Scott (1993). Ernst Lubitsch: Laughter in Paradise. ISBN 0-8018-6558-1. Ninotchka's financial returns were less than those of the year's biggest hit, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which made $3.5 million, but considerably more than other hits like The Old Maid ($1.4 million), Only Angels Have Wings ($1.1 million), or The Rains Came ($1.65 million).

[AllTime-4] 1 2 3 "All-time Film Rental Champs". Variety . October 15, 1990. p. M162 to 166.

[Mannix-5] 1 2 3 4 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

[warners-6] Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 20 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551

[TCMIntro-7] Fristoe, Roger. "Introduction to 1939, Hollywood's Greatest Year". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved August 6, 2011.

[EW_Article-8] Schwarzbaum, Lisa (October 2, 2009). "1939: Film's finest year". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 23, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2011.

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