If you’re wondering what movies won the most Academy Awards in 1939, you aren’t alone. The Los Angeles Times published the names of the winners before the ceremony, ruining the suspense. The year 1939 was the first time that two movies won two Oscars.
Gone With the Wind
Gone With the Wind was one of the most popular films of the era and won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. This historical drama starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, and Ona Munson. The film is one of the best known movies of all time and is still a classic today.
The film was a smash hit when it was released and remained the highest-earning film for a quarter century. It still holds the record for highest-grossing film in history when adjusted for inflation. It was re-released several times throughout the twentieth century and became deeply embedded in popular culture. Despite its controversial content, Gone With the Wind is also widely praised and credited for changing the way African Americans were depicted in cinema.
Mr Smith Goes to Washington
In 1939, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, a movie that won two Oscars, was a cultural phenomenon. The film was an American drama directed by Frank Capra and starring James Stewart. It was a controversial film that enraged the political establishment, but won broad acclaim from the public.
The movie was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Original Story, and won two of them, including the Best Original Story award. In addition, the film was also nominated for Best Director and Best Screenplay. It also won the New York Film Critics Circle’s Best Actor award. The film was a big hit at the box office, earning $3.5 million in the United States. It was also the third highest grossing film of the 1930s.
The story follows a young senator, who is appointed by his state to represent his district in Washington. He has high ideals and principles, but he is a political rookie and is disillusioned by Washington’s machine. But, his secretary gives him a pep talk and he fights back. Despite the opposition and acrimony on the senate floor, Mr. Smith is ultimately reelected, earning him two Oscars.
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz won several awards during the 1939 film season. It won Best Song for “Over the Rainbow,” but failed to win any technical awards. But its technical achievements had been the talk of Hollywood’s press for years. In 1939, the Academy introduced a new category called special effects. One film, ‘The Rains Came,’ won for its realistic depiction of a devastating flood.
When the film was in pre-production, W. C. Fields was the early favorite to play the title role, but MGM executives became impatient with his fee and did not let him have the role. Wallace Beery also lobbied for the role of the Wizard, but MGM refused to use him during the long filming schedule. In the end, Frank Morgan was cast in the role, and veteran vaudeville star Pat Walshe was cast as Nikko.
Bette Davis’ performance in The Letter and The Little Foxes
Bette Davis’ first two Oscar nominations came from the films The Letter and The Little Foxes, which she starred in with Elizabeth Taylor. Both films were box office successes. Davis also appeared in three other films that year, including Juarez and The Old Maid with Miriam Hopkins. This was the only time she appeared in a color film during the height of her career. She also shaved her eyebrows in the first two films.
The Letter is a simple, straightforward movie with an obscene opening sequence, but it works largely because of Bette Davis’ performance. In the film, she plays Leslie Crosbie, a woman who kills a man in cold blood and claims it was self-defense. However, she has a fear that someone will read the letter in her handwriting and discover the truth. While the movie is simple, the opening sequence is one of the most famous in cinema history.
Greta Garbo’s comedy
The film was one of the most successful of all the Garbo films, winning two Oscars and establishing her as one of the world’s greatest actresses. This romantic melodrama about a part-Javanese dancer and a German secret agent stars Greta Garbo, Mexican Ramon Novarro, and Americans Lewis Stone and Lionel Barrymore as Frenchmen. It became one of the biggest box-office hits of the early 1930s.
After the success of Ninotchka, MGM had scheduled Garbo’s next film Madame Curie for release. The studio was pleased with Garbo’s performance and teamed her with Douglas for another romantic comedy. The two actors also appeared together in Two-Faced Woman, which was Garbo’s final film.