39 Days til Oscar
Wednesday, January 1, 2020 at 4:00PM With just 39 days to go until Hollywood's High Holy Night, let's look back on "Hollywood's Greatest Year" and tell us who had your vote and heart in the historic 1939 Oscar races? My votes are the choice of image ;). The ★ means they won the Oscar.
BEST PICTURE
- Dark Victory
- Gone With the Wind ★
- Goodbye Mr Chips
- Love Affair
- Mr Smith Goes to Washington
- Ninotchka
- Of Mice and Men
- Stagecoach
- Wizard of Oz
- Wuthering Heights
So many great pictures but there's nothing like the Emerald City for this cinephile... easily in the top ten of all time. Endlessly rewatchable. It was such a fine year that other popular pictures like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Babes in Arms, Drums Along the Mohawk, Beau Geste, and Only Angels Have Wings weren't even nominated for the top prize. Other enduring films like The Women, Destry Rides Again, and The Roaring Twenties didn't receive a single Oscar nomination!!!
BEST ACTRESS
- Bette Davis, Dark Victory
- Irene Dunne, Love Affair
- Greta Garbo, Ninotchka
- Greer Garson, Goodbye Mr Chips
- Vivien Leigh, Gone With the Wind ★
Hardcore greatness category. In most years under the sun, I'd vote for my favourite pre All About Eve Bette Davis performance with Garbo's Ninotchka a worthy runner up but... fiddle-dee-dee it's Scarlett's year forever.
BEST ACTOR
- Robert Donat, Goodbye Mr Chips ★
- Clark Gable, Gone with the Wind
- Laurence Olivier, Wuthering Heights
- Mickey Rooney, Babes in Arms
- James Stewart, Mr Smith Goes to Washington
No contest.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Olivia de Havilland, Gone With the Wind
- Geraldine Fitzgerald, Wuthering Heights
- Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind ★
- Edna May Oliver, Drums Along the Mohawk
- Maria Ouspenskaya, Love Affair
With warm regards to Hattie, of course, who was a deserving winner and my vote changes every so often. TIE between the GWTW ladies? But why was Joan Crawford not nominated for The Women? She'd have some sharp-tongued words about that, we're sure.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Brian Aherne, Juarez
- Harry Carey, Mr Smith Goes to Washington
- Brian Donlevy, Beau Geste
- Claude Rains, Mr Smith Goes to Washington
- Thomas Mitchell, Stagecoach ★
OOPS. My clear choice, Frank Morgan's multi-character nimbleness, comedy, wisdom, and heart in The Wizard of Oz wasn't nominated. But in truth this is the 1939 race where I must abstain since I have yet to see Juarez or Beau Geste. You?
WHERE DO YOUR VOTES GO?
Reader Comments (31)
Picture: For the longest time I would choose Oz, because of course, but nowadays I go back and forth between it and GWTW.
Actress: In any other year, I'd pick Garbo. But, Miss O'Hara is one of the screen's greatest works, so. Also, if Judy G had been nominated over either Dunne or Garson this still would be an all-timer in Oscar's history!
Actor: Imma be honest, I'm team Gable. Stewart's legitimately fantastic, but "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" is one the best line-readings ever!
Supporting Actress: I would also give a tie between the GWTW ladies. Also, this would've been an AMAZING year for this catagory if they nominated one of the Women and Margaret Hamilton, I'm sure.
Supporting Actor: Oof daa. If I had to choose from the nominated men, is pick Raines. But, I would totally choose from Oz as well! Mine would be either Larh or Bolger!
That photo of Olivia is beautiful.
I have always loved this particular Oscar year. It really does in many ways feel like the perfect Best Picture lineup for both narrative and qualitative reasons.
Picture/Director- GWTW is an easy choice for me amongst several sterling options. At least 7 stone cold masterpieces that would be worthy winners IMO.
Actress- All but Garson deserves to win for many reasons. Leigh is the reason Wind works. She’s in nearly every scene and carries it with neurosis, Aplomb and diva-licious power. Davis and Garbo though are Perfect and genuinely deserve to win.
Actor- Stewart easily, but Gable is so good particularly in his more vulnerable or manic moments.
Supporting Actress- Still a McDaniel voter because I think de Havilland gets strapped with some of the tougher dialogue.
Supporting Actor-Mitchell. He’s terrific in Stagecoach amongst many many other amazing roles that year alone.
Gable,Leigh,Rains,McDaniel.
Film
From the nominated titels : The Wizard of Oz
Should have been nominated and won : La regle du jeu
Actress
From the nominated titels : Vivien Leigh for Gone With the Wind
Should have been nominated and won : Jean Arthur for Mr. Smith Goea To Washington
Actor
From the nominated titels :James Stewart for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Should have been nominated and won : Jean Gabin for Le jour se leve
Supporting Actress
From the nominated titels : Olivia De Havilland for Gone With The Wind
Should have been nominated and won : Margaret Hamilton for The Wizard of Oz
Supporting Actor
From the nominated titels and should have won overall: Claude Rains for Mr. Smith Goes To Washington
Actor: write-in vote for Charles Laughton in "Hunchback of Notre Dame".
Actress: I don't love "GWTW" but it's hard to deny Leigh is the best part of it. ...but also a write-in nomination for Claudette Colbert in "Midnight".
Perhaps back in 1939 Joan Crawford was considered a lead in The Women.
Wind/Leigh/Stewart/McDaniel/Toto
Why wasn't joan crawford nominated for the women? The better question is why wasn't Roz nominated. Her Sylvia fowler is perfection. She would have been my winner.
Just curious for opinions... if Judy had been nominated for Best Actress, do you think it would be a deserved nomination upon reflection?
My judgement is slightly clouded... she's an iconic performance in my favorite movie of all time. But she's also great in the movie... someone you want to root for and follow. And when she shows her terror & despair @ the Witch's castle, with Aunt Em calling "Dorothy, Dorothy!?"... I would argue that it is powerful, vulnerable acting.
Gone with the Wind gets my vote for the best film of all time (recognizing that it is clearly problematic politically). So, even though I'm missing a number of these nominees, I have a hard time believing that any film / performance could top it or Vivien Leigh.
Re: Supporting Actresses from GWTW, it's an interesting situation... I think de Havilland gives a fuller picture of her character, but the script plays a large role in that since it gives Mammy so little to do. McDaniel definitely makes the most of what's on the page and the thought of Oscar not awarding a black actor/actress until 1963 is just horrific... so I think the right person won.
I think GWTW is one of the greatest movies of all time not just 1939 IF it is judged strictly from a cinematic perspective however it tarnishes a bit when you bring today’s political correctness.
Vivien Leigh also gives one of the greatest performances in movies and when she walks into the Wilkes house in that scarlet dress and raises that eyebrow she takes your breath away.
My pick: GWTW, Leigh, Steward, De Havilland, Rains.
I'd move Garson to supp category where she rightly belong, n nom Colbert in the 5th Spot. She's pitch perfect in Midnight!! Moreso than It Happened One Night, which she won.
Trivia: Crawford refused to campaign under supp, as the thinking back then, was tt this category was a huge step down! No way a mega star like Miss Joan Crawford gonna degrade herself like tt! 😂
How much tinks had changed w A listers jostling in the supp category now!! 😂
Wizard, Leigh (who'd tie with Garland if she was there), Stewart, McDaniel (who'd lose to Hamilton if she was there), Rains (who'd lose to Julien Carette in The Rules of the Game)
I'm pretty sure Ms. Crawford would have been furious to be suggested for the supporting actress at that point of her career.
Re: GWTW - "... it tarnishes a bit when you bring" the reality of the antebellum, wartime and Reconstruction South into the mix...
Best Picture - TIE: Wuthering Heights, Dark Victory I mean, DAMN
Best Actress - Bette Davis, Dark Victory hands down
Best Actor - Laurence Olivier, Wuthering Heights still swooning
Best Supporting Actress - Geraldine Fitzgerald, Wuthering Heights (and Dark Victory)
Best Supporting Actor - Claude Rains, Mr Smith Goes to Washington
It remains a goddamn miracle that Hattie won that year.
I vote for Gone with the wind in almost every category. Screw the political correctness.
Picture: THE WIZARD OF OZ. One of my eight 5-star (i.e. 5/5) movies
Actor: Clark Gable
Actress: Irene Dunne
Supporting Actor: Thomas Mitchell
Supporting Actress: Maria Ouspenskaya
I haven't seen every nominee in every category, but I've seen the vast majority and, as things stand, I'd go for GWTW, Donat (yes, over Gable and Stewart!), Davis (in a photo finish with Leigh), Rains and McDaniel (though de Havilland is excllent too).
Re: Crawford and supporting: remember that in the early days, the supporting categories were designed primarily for character actors in supporting roles. There would have been a lot of resistance if Crawford had gone supporting for The Women, and not just from Crawford herself. As Claran says, how times have changed!
Probably because of the super late release date, only two days before New Year's Eve, Destry Rides Again was considered for the 13th Academy Awards (1940). And La Règle du jeu was not released in the United States before... 1950, and thus appears in the reminder list of the 23rd ceremony.
As for The Women, the three ladies billed above the title, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell, were probably considered as leading ladies contenders. For sure, Russell fought hard to share top billing, and neither she nor Crawford would have been pleased to be nominated as a supporting actress. After all, Olivia de Havilland herself was furious to be nominated in this category for Gone with the Wind.
Anyways, the difference between lead and supporting is highly interesting. Brian Aherne, who is the actual lead of Juarez, when Bette Davis and Paul Muni feel far more supporting, was billed under the title and received a supporting nod. And Greer Garson was nominated as a lead actress for a supporting role because we all know that Louis B. Mayer wanted her to be the next big thing.
That being said, I like the Academy's nominations for the 12th Awards. But I wish Midnight and The Hunchback of Notre Dame were nominated as best pictures. I would get rid of Mr. Chips and... The Wizard of Oz. I know it's heresy here, but unfortunately, in Europe, we are not nurtured with Judy Garland's movies. I saw The Wizard for the first time as an adult and I did not respond to it, even though I stil consider it a fine picture. It's just that I find other movies from 1939 more exciting.
Actresses: This is a fantastic line-up, but Garson is supporting. Let's replace her by Claudette Colbert's career best turn in Midnght.
Actors: I'm not wild about this line-up, with the exception of Gable and Stewart who are for the ages, though I think Stewart is even better in Destry. I just want to say that even though he was viewed as a dilettante, Errol Flynn is actually very good in Elisabeth and Essex.
Supporting actresses: An embarrassment of riches! Between the cast of Gone with the Wind (de Havilland, McDaniel, Munson) and the cast of The Women (too many names to list here) we also have Geraldine Fitzgerald, magnificent as usual in Wuthering Heights, Mary Astor in Midnight, Greer Garson in Mr. Chips and Gladys George in the Roaring Twenties.
Supporting actors: Rains and Mitchell are brilliant, but I would replace the others by either John Barrymore for Midnight, Lee J. Cobb for Golden Boy, Cedric Hardwicke for The Hunchback or Ralph Richardson for The Four Feathers.
Peter - Unbelievable that Roz never won an Oscar. She was one of my all-time favorite actresses and absolutely deserved a nod this year. I would have nominated Jean Arthur as well, but at least she won a leading Oscar a few years later.
I would vote for Bette. I think she's magnificent in Dark Victory, maybe even better than in All About Eve. I'm inclined to vote for the film as well, though Mr. Smith and The Wizard of Oz are also very worthy.
"The Women" did not receive single nomination?!~- I would have imagine it would have gotten best screenplay adaptation and best costume design
The only Best Picture lineup as perfect as this one from 1939 is the one from 1975 (Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, Jaws, Nashville, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).
As problematic as GTWT is so many regards, it probs still deserves the top spot of that stellar lineup, but Wizard of Oz winning would've been great as well. I love both films so much.
Joan Crawford was totally robbed of a Best Supporting nom for The Women. I don't think she was ever better.
1939 is so interesting to me for the Oscars because I think 1937 and 1938 were so weak, particularly the Best Picture winners (there, I said it!).
Olivia de Havilland in the supporting race is clearly category fraud, and may be the first big example of it. I realize that MGM/Selznick probably wanted to clear the path for Vivien Leigh to win, but still.
But I mostly want to say that even though it would be nice if Claude Rains had AN Oscar, there can be no other winner than Thomas Mitchell. He only (!) made five movies in 1939 but they just happen to be: Stagecoach, Gone With The Wind, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Only Angels Have Wings, and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I mean, come on!
For such a stellar year, that supporting actress lineup is a choice. Keep the GWTW ladies, add Margaret Hamilton, Paulette Goddard, and your favorite wildcard.
I suppose Joan and Rosalind wouldn't submit themselves for supporting, as they were top billed with Shearer. They probably would have been nominated if they did go for it though.
@Jules: Jean Arthur never won an Oscar. Her only nomination was for The More the Merrier (1943).
The winners, in my opinion, should have been:
GWTW - Leigh - Stewart - McDaniel - Rains.
Some thoughts:
Colbert, and especially John Barrymore, should have been nominated for Midnight.
Garbo is wonderful, but she was even better in Camille.
Since we are talking about it... If we were to (rightly so) adjust box-office returns to inflation, GWTW would be the world's champion at the box office. According to Wikipedia, it grossed the equivalent of $ 3.7 billion dollars.
@Dave in Hollywood: Fiddle-dee-dee, Olivia de Havilland as Melanie in Gone With the Wind rightly received a supporting nomination. GWTW features only *one* leading lady, and that is Vivian Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara.
C'mon, everyone--where is the love for the magnificent Robert Donat. One of my fave winners ever in Best Actor. He was also wonderful the previous year in The Citadel.
Best Actress--one of the great lineups. This is one of Bette's most wonderful performances. But Vivien is one for the ages. A really difficult choice.
Best Picture--so many classics. But despite all the political missteps, GWTW remains a wondrous achievement.
I assume Nathaniel and others just haven’t seen all the options - Robert Donat is so good! I recently watched the film and was blown away and moved.
Ballot: Gone with the Wind (just barely over Ninotchka, Stagecoach)
Leigh (Garbo)
Stewart (Gable)
McDaniel (Oliver)
Mitchell (Donlevy)
Ford (Fleming)
Alternates
The Lady Vanishes
Ingrid Bergman (Intermezzo)
Henry Fonda (Young Mr Lincoln)
Bert Lahr (Wizard of Oz) / Bela Lugosi (Son of Frankenstein)
Margaret Hamilton (Wizard of Oz) / Claire Trevor (Stagecoach)
Alfred Hitchcock (The Lady Vanishes)