… what many to this day consider the greatest year in movie history — 1939 — many people had no idea about munchkins and yellow brick roads, had said neither hello nor goodbye to Mr. Chips, and, frankly, didn’t give a damn whether Rhett Butler gave a damn. They went about their daily lives, not knowing that in the year to come, the equivalent of one movie a day would be released. Of course, they weren’t all classics. But wow, the ones that were:
- The Wizard of Oz
- Gone With the Wind
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Wuthering Heights
- Of Mice and Men
- Dark Victory
- Goodbye Mr. Chips
- Stagecoach
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Ninotchka
And that’s just to name a few (3.65%, to be exact).
Turner Classic Movies is in the midst of its 31 Days of Oscar, the time each year that I religiously scan the guide and record some of the classics I’ve never seen. Sure, some are kind of dated, and sometimes you have to force yourself to hang in there awhile, but usually they hold up and it’s well worth it. Take a look at the TCM Schedule for the weeks that remain and give something new a whirl. I bet you won’t be disappointed.
Of course, many of the films in 1939 came as no surprise to a certain segment of society — the voracious readers. They were waiting with bated breath to see if justice was done to the beloved masterpieces of Margaret Mitchell, L. Frank Baum, Victor Hugo, Emily Bronte and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (again, to name just a few). Kind of like 62 years later, when people lined up at midnight to see how Harry, Ron and Hermoine looked on the big screen. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
[2/14/16 – Writing Prompt]
