I
t was a brief, incandescent inter-
mission between cataclysms. In
1939, America was just coming
out of the crushing depths of the
Great Depression and two years
away from tragically getting dive-
bombed into World War II. When the nation
needed an emotional respite the most, Hol-
lywood delivered it with a record-breaking
505 films — ranging from lush Civil War ep-
ics (Gone With the Wind) and whip-smart
West er n s (Stagecoach) to idealistic politi-
cal dramas (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington)
and cathartic escapist fantasies (The Wizard
of Oz). “Audiences were appreciating mov-
ies that had a more upbeat, romantic tone
to them,” Turner Classic Movies host Dave
Karger tells Closer. “That’s what a lot of the
great 1939 movies share.”
As America’s industrial factories were
gearing up to provide the supplies needed
for the coming conflict, Hollywood’s dream
factory was humming right along. “You
could argue that 1939 was when the Holly-
wood factory was at its peak efficiency in
turning out entertainments that were well-
produced, well-designed, well-directed and
well-acted,” Ty Burr, author of Gods Like Us:
On Movie Stardom and Modern Fame, tells
Closer. “Everybody knew what they were do-
ing, and they had it down not to a science,
but to a craft, and arguably an art.”
Now on the 80th anniversary of this gold-
en cinematic year, Closer looks back at 1939’s
peak silver-screen achievements — and
ByBRUCEFRETTS
shares never-before-told stories about the
making of these timeless classics.
THE UNDEFEATED
The year came roaring out of the gate with
Stagecoach. Former USC offensive tackle
Marion Morrison had changed his name to
John Wayne and made his debut as a Yale
football player in 1926’s forgettable gridiron
drama Brown of Harvard. He toiled in more
than 80 films over the next 13 years before
director John Ford cast him as the Ringo
Kid, an escaped outlaw who protects a car-
riage full of disparate passengers through
Apache territory in 1880s New Mexico. The
breakout role transformed The
Duke into a superstar.
“This ‘new’ guy just daz-
zled people,” Thomas Hischak,
author of 1939: Holly wood ’s
Greatest Year, tells Closer. But
he was far from the movie’s
only attraction. “The scenery
is unbelievable,” ravesHis-
chak of Stagecoach, whichwas
the first film to shoot in Utah’s
breathtaking MonumentVal-
ley, with its striking red desert
dirt and stark rock formations.
Duke received second billing
beneath Claire Trevor (who’d
co-starred with Humphrey
Bogart in 1937’s Dead End) as
the proverbial hooker withthe
heart of gold who lassosthe
COVER STORY
FROMGONEWITHTHE WINDTOTHEWIZARDOF OZ,
1939 EXEMPLIFIEDTHEGOLDENAGEOF MOVIES.HERE’S
ANEXCLUSIVESCOOPON THEERA’SBESTPICTURES
HOLLYWOOD’S G
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