1939

1939 was a phenomenal year in Hollywood. One incredible movie topped another one as future movie classics rolled out of the studios.

That was 70 years ago, and TCM is paying tribute to that year during the month of July. Every Thursday evening, TCM will be showing 1939 movies (listings below taken from the TCM Web site):

The 2nd

• 8:00 PM The Wizard Of Oz (1939): A Kansas farm girl dreams herself into a magical land where she must fight a wicked witch to escape. Cast: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr. Dir: Victor Fleming. C-102 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
• 10:00 PM 1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year (2009): This documentary focuses on 1939, considered to be Hollywood's greatest year, with film clips and insight into what made the year so special. BW-75 mins, TV-G, CC
• 11:15 PM The Women (1939): A happily married woman lets her catty friends talk her into divorce when her husband strays. Cast: Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell. Dir: George Cukor. BW-133 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
• 1:30 AM Ninotchka (1939): A coldhearted Soviet agent is warmed up by a trip to Paris and a night of love. Cast: Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire. Dir: Ernst Lubitsch. BW-111 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
• 3:30 AM Babes in Arms (1939): A group of second-generation entertainers puts on a show to launch their careers. Cast: Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Charles Winninger. Dir: Busby Berkeley. BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
• 5:15 AM The Story Of Vernon And Irene Castle (1939): True story of the dancing team who taught the world to two-step. Cast: Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edna May Oliver. Dir: H.C. Potter. BW-94 mins, TV-G, CC

The 9th

• 8:00 PM Union Pacific (1939): A crooked politician tries to stop construction of the first intercontinental railroad. Cast: Joel McCrea, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston. Dir: Cecil B. DeMille. BW-135 mins, TV-PG, CC
• 10:30 PM Dodge City (1939): A soldier of fortune takes on the corrupt boss of a Western town. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Sheridan. Dir: Michael Curtiz. C-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
• 12:30 AM Stagecoach (1939): A group of disparate passengers battle personal demons and each other while racing through Indian country. Cast: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, George Bancroft. Dir: John Ford. BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC
• 2:15 AM The Oklahoma Kid (1939): A cowboy sets out to avenge his father's lynching. Cast: James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, Rosemary Lane. Dir: Lloyd Bacon. BW-81 mins, TV-PG, CC
• 3:45 AM Blind Alley (1939): When a gangster takes him hostage, a psychiatrist psychoanalyzes the criminal. Cast: Ralph Bellamy, Chester Morris, Ann Dvorak. Dir: Charles Vidor. BW-69 mins, TV-PG
• 5:00 AM Each Dawn I Die (1939): A crusading reporter becomes a hardened convict when he's framed. Cast: James Cagney, George Raft, Jane Bryan. Dir: William Keighley. BW-92 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 16th

• 8:00 PM Stanley and Livingstone (1939): An American newspaper searches Africa for a lost explorer. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Nancy Kelly, Richard Greene. Dir: Henry King, Otto Brower BW-101 mins, , CC
• 10:00 PM Beau Geste (1939): Three brothers in the French foreign legion fight off murderous Arabs and a sadistic sergeant. Cast: Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston. Dir: William A. Wellman. BW-113 mins, TV-PG
• 12:00 AM Golden Boy (1939): A crooked promoter lures a young violinist to give up music for boxing. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Adolphe Menjou, William Holden. Dir: Rouben Mamoulian. BW-99 mins, TV-PG
• 2:00 AM Gunga Din (1939): Three British soldiers seek treasure during an uprising in India. Cast: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Victor McLaglen. Dir: George Stevens. BW-117 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
• 4:00 AM Only Angels Have Wings (1939): A team of flyers risks their lives to deliver the mail in a mountainous South American country. Cast: Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth. Dir: Howard Hawks. BW-121 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 23rd

• 8:00 PM Of Mice and Men (1939): A drifter and his slow-witted pal try to make their way in the West. Cast: Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney, Jr., Betty Field. Dir: Lewis Milestone. BW-106 mins, TV-14
• 10:00 PM Dark Victory (1939): A flighty heiress discovers inner strength when she develops a brain tumor. Cast: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart. Dir: Edmund Goulding. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
• 12:00 AM Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939): A cold-hearted teacher becomes the school favorite when he's thawed by a beautiful young woman. Cast: Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Paul Henreid. Dir: Sam Wood. BW-114 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
• 2:00 AM Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939): An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption. Cast: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains. Dir: Frank Capra. BW-130 mins, TV-G, CC
• 4:15 AM The Old Maid (1939): An unmarried mother gives her illegitimate child to her cousin. Cast: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Jane Bryan. Dir: Edmund Goulding. BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC

The 30th

• 8:00 PM Gone With the Wind (1939): Classic tale of Scarlett O'Hara's battle to save her beloved Tara and find love during the Civil War. Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland. Dir: Victor Fleming. C-233 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
• 12:00 AM The Rains Came (1939): A Hindu doctor's affair with a British noblewoman is disrupted by a violent flood. Cast: Myrna Loy, Tyrone Power, George Brent. Dir: Clarence Brown. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
• 2:00 AM Wuthering Heights (1939): A married noblewoman fights her lifelong attraction to a charismatic gypsy. Cast: Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon, Geraldine Fitzgerald. Dir: William Wyler. BW-104 mins, TV-PG, CC
• 4:00 AM Intermezzo: A Love Story (1939): A married violinist deserts his family when he falls for his accompanist. Cast: Leslie Howard, Ingrid Bergman, Edna Best. Dir: Gregory Ratoff. BW-70 mins, TV-14, CC
• 5:15 AM Love Affair (1939): Near-tragic misunderstandings threaten a shipboard romance. Cast: Charles Boyer, Irene Dunne, Maria Ouspenskaya. Dir: Leo McCarey. BW-86 mins, TV-G, CC