Posts Tagged ‘1939’

MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – PART TWO

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2025

Scott Reading A Book  Earlier this month I published a blahg about my goal of watching as many films from 1939 that I possibly can.  1939 has always been touted as a banner year for films with great films like “The Wizard Of Oz,” “Gone With The Wind,” “Stagecoach,” “Ninotchka,” and “Goodbye Mr. Chips” being some of the classics released.  In my blahg MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – PART ONE, I gave a write up of sorts on the first 30 films I’ve watched from my list.  So far, I’ve managed to watch 75 films and it’s time for Part Two and a review of the next 30. 

   Let’s start off by recapping the list of 75 films I’ve watched so far:

  1. A Child Is Born
  2. Disputed Passage
  3. We Are Not Alone
  4. Dust Be My Destiny
  5. The Girl From Mexico
  6. Frontier Marshall
  7. Good Girls Go To Paris
  8. Honolulu
  9. The Three Musketeers
  10. Cheer Boys Cheer
  11. The Amazing Mr. Williams
  12. Off The Record
  13. The Frozen Limits (fell asleep)
  14. Where’s That Fire
  15. The Kid from Kokomo
  16. The Ice Follies of 1939
  17. All Women Have Secrets (1939)
  18. A Girl Must Live (1939)
  19. $1000 a Touchdown (1939)
  20. …One Third of a Nation… (1939)
  21. Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)
  22. Arizona Legion (1939)
  23. Persons in Hiding
  24. Allegheny Uprising
  25. Ask A Policeman (Will Hayes)
  26. Gone With The Wind
  27. Society Lawyer
  28. Code of the Secret Service (1939)
  29. Secret Service of the Air (1939)
  30. Young Abe Lincoln
  31. The Little Princess
  32. East Side of Heaven
  33. Destry Rides Again
  34. Dodge City
  35. Smashing The Money Ring
  36. The Wizard Of Oz
  37. Midnight
  38. Stagecoach
  39. Made For Each Other
  40. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
  41. 20,000 Men a Year (1939)
  42. Flying Deuces
  43. Only Angels Have Wings
  44. Judge Hardy and Son
  45. Charlie McCarthy Detective
  46. Discoveries
  47. Across the Plains
  48. Back Door to Heaven
  49. Hitler – Beast of Berlin
  50. Barricade
  51. In Name Only
  52. King of the Underworld
  53. At The Circus
  54. The Real Glory
  55. Women On The Wind
  56. Gunga Din
  57. Rulers of the Sea
  58. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
  59. The Hound Of The Baskervilles
  60. Beau Geste
  61. After The Thin Man
  62. The Mysterious Miss X
  63. The Hardys Riding High
  64. Three Smart Girls Grow Up
  65. First Love
  66. Ambushed
  67. Bad Boy
  68. Bad Lands
  69. Bad Little Angel
  70. I Met A Murderer
  71. Boy Friend
  72. Coast Guard
  73. Boy Trouble
  74. Disbarred
  75. She Married a Cop

The majority of films on this list have not had DVD releases so I’ve been downloading copies of the more obscure films with the result that some of the versions I have found have ranged from excellent all the way down to just fair.  In my last blahg I noted about the film $1000 a Touchdown that the “only print I could find of this movie was on YouTube and the video quality was good but the audio wasn’t.  I had to watch it with generated subtitles and the subtitles didn’t always seem to match what was being said.”  This time around, I culled through my DVD collection and pulled a number of the 1939 films that had been released on DVD.  Still, there’s some rarer films being reviewed this time but I think you’ll recognize the more famous ones. 

   31.)  The Little Princess.  There are some great Shirley Temple films but this is by far, one of my favourites.  The Father of Shirley’s character, Sara, is called up to fight in the second Boer War.  She’s sent to board at Miss Minchin’s school for girls.  Her Father goes missing, his money to keep her dries up, and Sara is relegated to poorer and more dismal lodgings.  Do things get better?  Does her Father come home?  You’ll just have to watch this film.  Cesar Romero and Arthur Treacher have great supporting roles and the ending with Queen Victoria and Sara will have you in tears.  Great film!  

32.)  East Side Of Heaven.  This is one of two films with Bing Crosby released in 1939.  The other is “The Star Maker.”  This time Bing’s costarring with Joan Blondell, one of my favourites.  Last time, there were four Joan Blondell films reviewed in my part one blahg.  Mischa Auer’s also along for the ride.  IMDB’s desription:  A man finds himself the father, by proxy, of a ten-month-old baby and becomes involved in the turbulent lives of the child’s family.  Fun stuff with some nice singing by Bing and comedy antics by Blondell and Auer. 

33.)  Destry Rides Again.  In Part One, I reviewed James Stewart’s role in “The Ice Follies of 1939.”  At least this film was a much better starring role for Stewart.  He’s  brought in to help clean up a corrupt town.  The local Sheriff doesn’t think much of him but Stewart proves himself against bad guy Brian Donlevy.  Marlene Dietrich sings the songs and Mischa Auer’s back again in this one for comic relief. 

   34.)  Dodge City.   Another western and another corrupt town to be set right.  This time the law is Errol Flynn with his sidekicks Alan Hale and Guinn Williams.  Bruce Cabot is the bad guy and Olivia de Havilland  is Flynn’s love interest.  No singing in this one and not much comic relief but there’s lots of gun play in Dodge City.  Errol Flynn is good but what’s Dodge City without James Arness as Matt Dillon?  That’s a Gunsmoke reference and the only one I’m going to make. 

35.)  Smashing The Money Ring.  Last time, I reviewed the first two films in the Brass Bancroft series of films with Ronald Reagan and Eddie Foy Jr.  Those were “Code Of The Secret Service” and “Secret Service of The Air.”  This time, Brass goes undercover as a convict to infiltrate a counterfeit ring.  Always fun.  I’m not sure who’s the better comedian in these films, Reagan or Eddie Foy Jr.  The Brass Bancroft films are lighthearted fare but enjoyable. 

36.)  The Wizard of Oz.  Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!  Except there are no Tigers and Bears.  What you get, however, is a talented cast including Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, and the Munchkins!  You also get a great story with incredible songs.  I can’t watch this film without singing along.  A few years ago my daughter Abbie and I got to see the film on the big screen in our local theatre.  If you ever get a chance to see it in a theatre, you have to go!  Still one of my favourite films of all time. 

37.)  Midnight.  A screwball comedy with Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, and John Barrymore.  I’m going to rely on the IMDB synopsis again for this one:  A chorus girl stranded in Paris is set up by a millionaire to break up his wife’s affair with another man, while being romantically pursued by a cab driver.  You can guess who the chorus girl is but the millionaire is Barrymore and Don Ameche is the cab driver.  It drags in the middle but it’s got a funny ending with Monty Woolley as a judge.  I have always like Woolley and Claudette Colbert, for my money, is a highly underrated actress.  Don Ameche chews up the scenes in his role and is another reason to see this movie. 

38.)  Stagecoach.  This was my second film to watch from 1939 with John Wayne.  The first, reviewed in Part One, was Allegheny Uprising.  This time John Wayne is The Ringo Kid who has broken out of prison to avenge the murder of his brother and father.  The Ringo Kid joins the Stagecoach when his horse goes lames.  Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, and Andy Devine are along for the Stagecoach ride.  Lots of drama and action and a good starring role for John Wayne.  John Ford is the director on this one and he directed “Young Abe Lincoln” which I reviewed last time. 

   39.)  Made For Each Other.  James Stewart is back again and this time his wife is played by Carol Lombard.  He’s a young lawyer whose mother moves in with the happy couple and makes life difficult for the pair.  Another favourite actor of mine, Charles Coburn, plays Stewart’s boss.  This one is strictly melodrama but well acted by all and certainly worth watching. 

   40.)  Goodbye, Mr. Chips.  The book was written by James Hilton and in the golden age of cinema, his films were made into great films.  In Part One, I reviewed “We Are Not Alone.”  “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” is an outstanding film with Robert Donat portraying Charles Edward Chipping a professor at Brookfield school for boys.  The film is a flashback of his life as an educator and as a husband to beautiful Greer Garson.  Garson and Donat are two of the finest British actors.  This is a beautiful film with stellar acting.  It should be seen at least once by everyone.  There was a musical remake in 1969 with Peter O’Toole and Petulia Clark.  I had avoided watching the remake but finally got around to watching it after rewatching the original.  I enjoyed the 1969 film despite my hesitation but the 1939 film is by far the best. 

   41.)  20,000 Men a Year.  This is the second Randolph Scott film that I have viewed from my 1939 watch-list.  The first, reviewed last time, was “Frontier Marshall.”  It won’t be the last Randolph Scott film from 1939 I’ll review but that won’t be until Part Three.  This is also the first film in this second blahg that I didn’t have on DVD.  I don’t think there’s been a DVD release of this one.  Randolph Scott is a pilot who disobeys orders and loses his job. He then starts a flying school sponsored by the government that will hopefully produce 20,000 pilots a year.  The flying scenes and the ending are good but otherwise a dull film. 

   42.)  Flying Deuces.  Laurel and Hardy.  Should I say more?  I will.  This film has been in public domain with poor prints existing for years.  Finally VCI put out this restored Blu Ray (that’s the image to the right).  Stan and Ollie join the French Foreign Legion so Ollie can forget the woman who wouldn’t marry him.  Hilarity ensues.  This is a bit of a remake of their short from 1931 called “Beau Hunks” where they first joined the Legion after Ollie is jilted.  There’s a restored print of “Beau Hunks” available to be viewed on YouTube:  

   43.)  Only Angels Have Wings.  Cary Grant and Jean Arthur.  What a pair!  Cary Grant plays the manager of a air-freight company at a  South American trading port.  Jean Arthur is on a boat layover and meets and falls for Cary Grant.  There’s some exciting flying scenes in this one and that’s coincidental because the two previous films just reviewed, “Flying Deuces” and “20,000 Men A Year” also have exciting flying scenes.  The acting’s the thing in this one.  Thomas Mitchell is also in this one.

   44.)  Judge Hardy and Son.  There were three Andy Hardy films with Mickey Rooney in 1939.  Last time I reviewed “Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever.”  There will be a third one when I get around to Part Three.  Lewis Stone plays Judge Hardy and Mickey Rooney plays his son Andy.  A poor couple is about to be evicted from their home and Judge Hardy is trying to find the woman’s daughter with the help of Andy.  Andy has to woo almost every girl in town to find the one whose mother might be the daughter of the couple in trouble.  The Andy Hardy films have a certain formula with Andy getting in trouble and then getting out of it with the help of his Father.  This one was more enjoyable that “Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever.” 

   45.)  Charlie McCarthy Detective.  I thought I would like this one.  After all, it had ventriloquial figures Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd along with their handler Edgar Bergen.  Wikipedia entry:  Scotty Hamilton is a reporter who works for a crooked editor. Bill Banning is another reporter who is about to expose the editor’s ties to the mob. When the editor is killed, both reporter Banning and mobster Tony Garcia are suspected. However, Hamilton’s friend Edgar Bergen solves the case (without much help from Charlie McCarthy).  I dozed off again during this one.  That hadn’t happened since watching “The Frozen Limits,” number 13 from last time.  I expected more and got less. 

   46.)  Discoveries.  I couldn’t even find a movie poster for this one.  The best I could do is find the sheet music for the song “There’ll Always Be An England” that was introduced in this film.  Not much of a movie.  Some British talent want to be part of a program put on by a promoter.  Some fun with actors dressed as Laurel and Hardy and Groucho Marx, I think.  I dosed during the last part.  Skip it. 

   47.)  Across the Plains.  The film is about two brothers who are separated when they are young and who meet again as adults, one good and one bad.  Short film around 59 minutes.  Just okay.  Would have been better as an episode of a western show like Gunsmoke.  I guess you can tell by now, I like Gunsmoke.  Sorry, I guess I was going to make another Gunsmoke reference after all.

   48.)  Back Door To Heaven.  Frankie is a boy from the wrong side of the tracks.  The only one who ever really cared for him was his school teacher and a girl from his class.  He ends up going to reform school and then prison.  Years later he’s in trouble with the law although he tries to do good.  He has to get back to his hometown for a reunion that’s celebrating his old teacher.  No celebrities in this one but the story was okay.  

    49.)  Hitler – Beast of Berlin.  I went on a bit of an Alan Ladd kick.  This was one of the films he made in 1939.  The story concerns a man and his wife who lead an anti-Nazi propaganda movement. After an inadvertent betrayal, the husband is thrown into a concentration camp.  Alan Ladd plays the lead’s brother-in-law.  I’ve seen some better anti-Nazi films but this was an early one that predicted a lot of the atrocities that the Nazis, under Hitler, would wreak on Germany.  Definitely worth a watch. 

   50.)  Barricade.  Alice Faye and Warner Baxter meet on a train and get off in Mongolia.  There’s lots of marauding Mongolians and the couple have to hide out in an American Embassy.  Can they and the others barricade themselves in and survive the marauders?  Tense but interesting film.  Watch for Arthur Treacher in a supporting role like he was in “The Little Princess” that I reviewed earlier. 

   51.) In Name Only.  I’m going to throw this one in here because I don’t know exactly when I watched it.  I know it was before the film I would review as number 51.  Unlike 45 through 50, I had this one on DVD.  Here’s another Cary Grant film and yet another Carole Lombard film.  Kay Francis plays Cary Grant’s wife who doesn’t treat him nicely so he ends up taking up with Carole Lombard.  Yes, definitely a melodrama but great acting all around.  After this film, I started to look into other Kay Francis films.

   52.)  King Of The Underworld.  It stars Humphrey Bogart and Kay Francis.  I wanted to check it out for Kay Francis who was a great actress but is all but forgotten now.  Bogart is an underworld criminal and Kay Francis is the wife of a Doctor who is killed while tending to one of Bogart’s crew.  The catch is she’s a Doctor as well and no one trusts her after her husband dies because they think she’s linked with the underworld as well.  She eventually practises in a small town and meets up with Bogart and sets out to bring him down.  A very nice film with Bogart doing what he does best but Kay Francis holds her own. 

   53.)  At The Circus.  Earlier, in number 42, I reviewed the great comedy team of Laurel and Hardy in “Flying Deuces.”  This time it’s another comedy team, the Marx Brothers.  Grouch, Chico, and Harpo in a picture about a circus and some underhanded individuals.  No, the Marx brothers are not the underhanded ones.  Eve Arden is along for the ride.  My favourite scene happens near the beginning when attorney J. Cheever Loophole, played by Groucho, tries to get on the circus train in the pouring rain.  Chico keeps inviting him on the train and prevents him from getting on the train at the same time.  Harpo is hilarious as always. 

   54.)  The Real Glory.  IMDB description:  A small American contingent tries to train rural tribesmen to defend themselves against fanatical Muslim radicals in 1906 Philippines.  This one stars Gary Cooper and David Niven.  A buddy buddy picture in the jungle.  Lots of action and an interesting story.  Throw in a love interest for Gary Cooper and you get a good film. 

   55.)  Women On The Wind.  This was the other Kay Francis film released in 1939.  It’s not as good as “In Name Only” and “King Of The Underworld.”  Kay is an aviator in the women’s air derby from Los Angeles to Cleveland.  Yet another film with great and suspenseful flying scenes but it’s just okay.  Still, I like Kay Francis and it’s worth seeing it for her.  

   56.)  Gunga Din.  It’s another buddy buddy film set against the revival of the murderous Thuggee cult.   Cary Grant, Victor McLagen, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. are the buddies.  Sam Jaffe plays their guide, Gunga Din.  Lots of action and yet another famous film released in 1939.  This is my third film viewed with Cary Grant from 1939.  “In Name Only” and “Only Angels Have Wings” were reviewed earlier.  You’ll like this one. 

   57.)  Rulers Of The Sea.  This was on my list for Alan Ladd.  Unfortunately he only has a very brief role as a sailor.  Douglas Fairbanks Jr. of “Gunga Din” is back in this one as a sailor who invests money and time to help an inventor sail the first steam-powered ship to cross the North Atlantic from Britain to New York.  Unbelievable in some spots but a good story nonetheless.  

   58.)  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.  Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson.  It doesn’t get better than that.  This time they’re up against Professor Moriarty who is on a murderous spree to try and cover up what he’s really up to and to try and outwit Holmes.  Good luck with that Moriarity!  This was the second of fourteen films starring Rathbone and Bruce.  The first was “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”  Forgive me, I watched them out of order.

   59.)  The Hound of the Baskervilles.  Holmes and Watson, in the first film portrayed by Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  This time they’re on the Scottish moors dealing with murders and a murderous hound.  There’s more Doctor Watson than Sherlock Holmes in this one but that’s okay with me because Nigel Bruce is a very entertaining Watson.  I highly recommend all 14 films in the series. 

60.)  Beau Geste.  This is the last film in this Part Two series and what a great film to end on.  It’s back to the French Foreign Legion but this time with Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, and Robert Preston and a very cruel scene chewing villain played by Brian Donlevy (formerly the bad buy in “Destry Rides Again).  This is the other 1939 film that Gary Cooper made along with “The Real Glory” which I reviewed earlier in this blahg.  There’s two mysteries in this film.  Why is there a legion post in the desert full of dead soldiers and what happened to the Blue Water gem?  You’ll have to watch it to the end to learn the solutions.  Apparently there was a 1926 silent version with Ronald Coleman that was even better than this one.  It would have to go a long way to be better than this one.  I’ll let you know if I ever watch it. 

   That’s it for this time.  I’ve watched 75 films so far from 1939 but I don’t plan on writing a third part until I get to 90.  Maybe I’ll stretch that out to 100.  That would be a good goal.  There’s a few interesting ones in the next batch and some stinkers too.  You’ll just have to wait.

 

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MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – PART ONE

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025

Scott Reading A Book  I’ve been excited to write this blahg for some time.  I’d set a goal for myself that seems almost unbelievable but I’m moving right along with it.  I don’t want to write too much of an introduction because that might spoil a few things so I’ll just get into it. 

   In my previous blahg, UNPACKING THE 2025 FALSE DUCKS NEW YEAR’S DAY VIDEO RAMBLE…FINALLY!, I wrote the following:  “I’ve read for years that 1939 was one of the greatest years for films. Just look at the list below of strong classic films from 1939:

Gone with the Wind
Stagecoach
The Wizard of Oz
Wuthering Heights
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Ninotchka
Destry Rides Again
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Dark Victory
Young Mr. Lincoln
Of Mice and Men
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Babes in Arms
Beau Geste

That is just a sampling of 1939 films. I set a goal of watching as many films from 1939 that I possibly can. Some have had DVD releases and are already in my collection. Others can be viewed online but sometimes the prints are not great. I have a list of just over 400 films from 1939 and I’ve watched almost 50 films from that year. I’ll update my progress and thoughts in a later blahg.”  

   Well, this is that later blahg.  So far I’ve watched around 60 films.  Here’s the list of viewed films:

  1. A Child Is Born
  2. Disputed Passage
  3. We Are Not Alone
  4. Dust Be My Destiny
  5. The Girl From Mexico
  6. Frontier Marshall
  7. Good Girls Go To Paris
  8. Honolulu
  9. The Three Musketeers
  10. Cheer Boys Cheer
  11. The Amazing Mr. Williams
  12. Off The Record
  13. The Frozen Limits
  14. Where’s That Fire
  15. The Kid from Kokomo
  16. The Ice Follies of 1939
  17. All Women Have Secrets
  18. A Girl Must Live
  19. $1000 a Touchdown
  20. …One Third of a Nation…
  21. Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever
  22. Arizona Legion
  23. Persons in Hiding
  24. Allegheny Uprising
  25. Ask A Policeman
  26. Gone With The Wind
  27. Society Lawyer
  28. Code of the Secret Service
  29. Secret Service of the Air
  30. Young Abe Lincoln
  31. The Little Princess
  32. East Side of Heaven
  33. Destry Rides Again
  34. Dodge City
  35. Smashing The Money Ring
  36. The Wizard Of Oz
  37. Midnight
  38. Stagecoach
  39. Made For Each Other
  40. Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  41. 20,000 Men a Year
  42. Flying Deuces
  43. Only Angels Have Wings
  44. Judge Hardy and Son
  45. Charlie McCarthy Detective
  46. Discoveries
  47. Across the Plains
  48. Back Door to Heaven
  49. Hitler – Beast of Berlin
  50. Barricade
  51. King of the Underworld
  52. At The Circus
  53. The Real Glory
  54. Women On The Wind
  55. Gunga Din
  56. Rulers of the Sea
  57. The Hound Of The Baskervilles
  58. Beau Geste
  59. After The Thin Man
  60. The Mysterious Miss X

There were a few 1939 films that I decided not to watch over the past couple of months.  These are films that I watched recently or within the last six months.  Here are some of those films: 

  • Bachelor Mother
  • Blondie Brings Up Baby
  • Blondie Meets the Boss
  • Blondie Takes a Vacation
  • Chicken Wagon Family
  • Dark Victory
  • Everything Happens at Night
  • Second Fiddle

The last two films, “Everything Happens At Night” and “Second Fiddle” were part of my Sonja Henie viewing that I took on last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I talked about my Sonja Henie kick in the blahg, THIS IS 150ISH, PART TWO.  You’ll have to scroll down to 133. “Have You Watched Any Good Movies Lately?”  I will still count the Sonja Henie films and the others I watched last year as part of my grand total but I won’t offer any review of those at this time.     My viewing of the 1939 films have been all over the map.  I started watching some by going alphabetically down the list and then I started watching some of the bigger classics by pulling out the DVDs.  Finally, others I watched by actor or actress and tried to find the films they were in that were released in 1939.  It certainly made for some interesting watching.  Some were only available online and some of those were not the greatest prints.  This “Part One” blahg will highlight the first 30 films on my viewed list.


A Child Is Born     1.)  A Child Is Born.  I’ll rely on online sources to provide descriptions of the plot of some of these films.  Here’s the outline for “A Child Is Born”:  “Film about several mothers at hospital maternity ward. The nurses care for the mothers and their new born babies. The relationship that are formed with the mothers to be and the expectant fathers.”  I enjoyed this one.  A bit melodramatic with babies being born to different mothers and how they reacted to it.  Some nod to the mental health struggles some women have giving birth.  Not an easy film to find but well worth watching.

   2.) Disputed Passage.  This might have been the first film I watched, even before “A Child Is Born.”  I bought the blu-ray before Christmas but I don’t think I watched it until after New Year’s.  Great acting in this one.  Dorothy Lamour, Akim Tamiroff, and John Howard in a story about a driven medical student, Howard, under the tutelage of Tamiroff who is a great Doctor but an even more driven mentor.  Enter Dorothy Lamour and John Howard’s doctor has to choose between love or continuing to work with Tamiroff.  It ends up in the war torn Orient and becomes an even more dramatic film.  I thoroughly enjoyed this one.  

    3.)  We Are Not Alone.  This is based on a James Hilton book.  Many of his books like “Random Harvest”, “Goodbye, Mr. Chips”, and “Lost Horizon” have been turned into excellent films.  The plot for this one goes:  “A doctor hires a woman as a nanny for his son. When his wife becomes jealous, tragedy consumes all involved.”  I really liked this one but the ending is not for everyone.  My wife thought the film was too tragic but it’s a compelling film nonetheless.

  4.)  Dust Be My Destiny.  John Garfield’s early films like this one and “They Made Me A Criminal” (also 1939 but still on the to be watched list) have him as a misunderstood youth who runs afoul of the law.  In this one he’s been made hard by his attitude and even harder by not staying on the right side of things.  He meets Priscilla Lane and he tries even harder to go straight but not everything goes well for him.  An enjoyable but slightly predictable film.

   5.)  The Girl From Mexico.  Plot:  “An advertising executive goes to Mexico looking for talent and finds a hot-tempered singer, who goes to New York to stay with him, his aunt and uncle, and decides to steal him from his fiancé.”  Lupe Velez was a spitfire.  She could sing and dance and her acting seemed to be on fast-forward.  I dozed during this one so it failed to keep my interest.  If you want to see some hilarious acting between Lupe Velez and Laurel & Hardy from a few years previous, 1934, then check out this clip from “Hollywood Party”:

 

  6.)  Frontier Marshall.  An early story of Wyatt Earp, played by Randolph Scott, and Doc Holliday trying to bring law and order to Tombstone.  I found this an enjoyable but short western.  Two interesting things about this movie were the appearance of Caesar Romero as Doc Holliday and the comedian Eddie Foy Jr. appearing in the role of his father Eddie Foy Sr.  Eddie Foy Jr. will show up in a few other movies from my 1939 list. 

   7.)  Good Girls Go To Paris.  I went on a little Joan Blondell binge at one point so a number of her films are on my list.  This film pairs Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas.  They made a few films together including this one, “There’s Always A Woman,” and “She Played With Fire.”  Blondell and Douglas work well together.  Joan is a waitress who falls for Melvyn, a professor, and gets more than she bargained for when she eventually meets his fiancé and her family.  A nice comedy.

   8.)  Honolulu.  Last year I started collecting and watching the films of Robert Young.  This is one that I didn’t get around to until now.  Young plays two roles.  He’s a tired movie star who switches places with his doppelganger who is a businessman in Hawaii.  The problem is that the businessman has a fiancé in Honolulu but the movie star met a singer/dancer on the boat ride over played by Eleanor Powell.  The plot is weak but the best thing about this is the comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen.  They don’t appear together until the end of the film.  George is the movie star’s manager trying to keep the lookalike businessman from getting back to Hawaii and Gracie is Eleanor Powell’s gal pal.  Gracie steals every scene she’s in.

   9.)  The Three Musketeers.  I was very disappointed in this one.  When I read that it starred Don Ameche with The Ritz Brothers, I thought comedy and swashbuckling would abound.  Swashbuckling yes, Comedy no.  The only other thing to note about this film is this entry from Wikipedia: 

In the Leave it to Beaver episode “The Book Report” (1963), young Beaver Cleaver gets in trouble at school when he is assigned to write a book report about the Dumas novel, but instead of actually doing his homework and reading it, just watches the movie on television and bases his report on the film’s comedic scenes and Ritz Brothers’ zany antics.

   10.)  Cheer Boys Cheer.  This is a British comedy film about the attempt of Ironside Brewery to take over the smaller Greenleaf Brewery.  The son of the owner of Ironside Brewery falls in love with the daughter of the owner of Greenleaf.  Hilarity ensues.  Notable as well for the appearances of Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott.  Both actors appeared in a number of comedies with British comic Will Hay.  A number of those films also appear on my watch list.

   11.)  The Amazing Mr. Williams.  Back to Joan Blondell and Melvyn Douglas again.  He’s a police detective trying to solve crimes and she’s his fiancé  who wants him to give up police work and find something safer.  Good luck with that Joan!  Another great comedy pairing from this duo! 

   12.)  Off The Record.  Joan Blondell is back again but this time she’s the fiancé of Pat O’Brien.  “Two newspaper reporters, Thomas “Breezy” Elliott and Jane Morgan, inadvertently send a boy named Mickey Fallon to reform school after they write an exposé of the illegal slot-machine racket the boy was a spotter for. Guilt-ridden, Jane convinces Breezy that they should marry in order to adopt Mickey so they can get him out of reform school.”  Another great comedy with Blondell and this time she finally moves from fiancé to bride.

   13.)  The Frozen Limits.  A great premise for this film.  A group of British pioneers decide to take part in the 1898 Alaska and Yukon goldrush having read about it in the newspaper which wrapped up their fish and chips. Their main problem is that it is now 1939.  Unfortunately I dozed off during this one.  Another British comedy and Moore Marriott is back again.  Unfortunately, even he couldn’t save this film. 

  14.)  Where’s That Fire.  This is the third film I watched with Moore Marriott and the second one with Graham Moffatt.  Luckily, it also starred Will Hay.  The combination of those three British comics make this a funny film.  “A hapless fire crew are given the ultimatum: put out a fire successfully or else be sacked. They fail miserably, and their ancient fire engine is stolen by criminals attempting to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London.”  You’ll either like it or you won’t.  British humour isn’t for everyone but it was funny to me. 

   15.)  The Kid from Kokomo.  Pat O’Brien and Joan Blondell, the stars of 1939’s “Off The Record” are back again.  I told you I went on a Joan Blondell watching spree.  “A fight promoter (O’Brien) finds his new fighter, Homer Baston, in the sticks, a country hick left by his mother when he was young and he won’t leave his home as he is still waiting for her to return to him. Promoter “Square Shooting Murph”  (O’Brien) cons him into coming with him by telling him the exposure in the papers will help him find her. Murphy later hires an old drunk woman, Maggie Manell, to play the part of “mom”.  Blondell is along for the ride as O’Brien’s girlfriend.  There’s a double wedding at the end but O’Brien and Blondell aren’t one of the happy couples.  Not a bad little comedy.

   16.)  The Ice Follies of 1939.  James Stewart, Joan Crawford and Lew Ayres star in a film about ice skating and big ice skating productions.  You would think that with three big stars that this film would have been better.  Stick with Sonja Henie films if you want to see really good ice skating. 

   17.)  All Women Have Secrets.  The plot will tell you everything you need to know: Three young couples, all having financial struggles, decide to risk getting married. Joe Tucker and new wife Susie begin their new life living in a trailer. Slats Warwick is in a continuous quarrel with bride Jennifer, whose allowance from her parents is keeping them afloat. The couple having the hardest time is John and Kay Gregory, a pre-med student whose studies barely give him time to juggle part-time jobs and a singer who finds work in a nightclub, but hasn’t yet broken the news to her husband that she’s expecting a baby.  I don’t have much else to say about this film.  Pretty forgettable.

   18.)  A Girl Must Live.  A British romance comedy.  Is that a rom-com if the phrase hadn’t been invented yet?  A young woman runs away from a boarding school and tries to get work using her famous mother’s name.  The second half of the film ends up in a country mansion with an Earl pursuing the young woman.  He catches her.  You can probably pass on this one, too. 

   19.)  $1000 a Touchdown.  The only print I could find of this movie was on YouTube and the video quality was good but the audio wasn’t.  I had to watch it with generated subtitles and the subtitles didn’t always seem to match what was being said.  Another film with funny stars like Joe. E. Brown and Martha Raye where the pairing doesn’t guarantee a good film.  Martha inherits a run down University and hires Brown as the football coach.  The big football game can only be won by paying the opposing team $1,000 a touchdown to throw the game.  An unbelievable plot and hardly worth the effort. 

  20.)  …One Third of a Nation…  The only film title I’ve heard of that starts and ends with “…”.  The “one third of nation” it refers to are the people that live in tenements.  Interesting story of a tenement that catches fire and injuries a young boy.  His sister goes after the owner of the building to do the right thing and fix up the tenement but the snag is that the new owner is her love interest.  Held my interest.

   21.)  Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever.  In case you’ve lived under a rock, Mickey Rooney was Andy Hardy in a series of 16 films released from 1937 to 1958.  Three of the films were released in 1939, “The Hardys Ride High,” Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever,” and “Judge Hardy and Son.”  I watched them out of order because I didn’t realize until later that “The Hardys Ride High” came before the other two.  It’s on my “to watch list.”  Andy Hardy is a high school student who suffers the trials and tribulations of being a teenager and dealing with his family and his father who is a local Judge.  The plot of “Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever”:  Andy Hardy is upset that his girlfriend, Polly Benedict, has fallen for Lieutenant Charles Copley. Soon, however, Andy develops a crush on his drama teacher, Rose Meredith. After Andy’s play is chosen for the school’s annual production, he seizes the opportunity to spend time with his spring time crush. Andy’s dad, Judge Hardy, knows that his son is destined for heartache, so he talks to the teacher about it. Then, he decides to let Andy and Rose navigate the ups and downs of young love by themselves.  The Andy Hardy films are always enjoyable and are available on DVD.

   22.)  Arizona Legion. Back to the westerns.  Should I even say?  I guess I will, the bad guy played by George O’Brien is actually undercover with the Arizona Rangers.  He finds the leader of a gang of thieves and finds love along the way.  Not bad but not great either.  Worth a watch.

   23.)  Persons in Hiding.  Look at the poster.  “She’s the woman behind the killer behind the gun!”  It’s based on the book Persons in Hiding, credited to J. Edgar Hoover.  “Beautiful Dorothy Bronson has a big thirst for luxury, perfume and furs, due to this, she turns thief Freddie Martin into a notorious armed robber for her needs, and eventually gets him sent to Alcatraz.”  She was definitely the mastermind.  Kept my interest.  Have I said that before?

   24.)  Allegheny Uprising.  Another western and another one that’s been released on DVD.  This time it’s John Wayne.  “In 1759, in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Valley, local settlers and Indian fighters try to persuade the British authorities to ban the trading of alcohol and arms with the marauding Indians.”  Not your typical John Wayne western but thoroughly enjoyable.

   25.)  Ask A Policeman.  Another Will Hay film with Graham Moffatt and Moore Marriott.  Local Police Sergeant played by Will Hay stages a fabricated crime wave, with the help of his two officers, to save their jobs – then find themselves involved in the real thing.  Fast paced British comedy.  You’ll enjoy this one. 

   26.)  Gone With The Wind.  Yes, that “Gone With The Wind.”  I hadn’t seen it in years and wanted to watch it so I went looking for it in our Clark Gable collection.  Well, it’s my friend Bryan’s collection, housed at my home, and he wasn’t a fan of this film so he never picked up the DVD.  I bought it last year so I could watch it but never got around to it until I started this 1939 films project.  I think it holds up really well.  Of course there are some stereotypes of African Americans that don’t hold up well but the film is extremely well done.  Everyone should see this film at least once.  Civil War and plantations.  I don’t think I need to go on. 

   27.) Society Lawyer.  “Walter Pidgeon is society lawyer Christopher Durant agrees to defend his friend Phil Siddall after Siddall is arrested for the murder of an ex-girlfriend. With the help of nightclub singer Pat Abbott and crime boss Tony Gazotti (a former client), Durant launches his own investigation of the murder in order to prove his friend’s innocence.”  This one was short at only 77 minutes.  I like Walter Pidgeon’s acting and it’s interesting to see a high class lawyer have to work with criminals to try and solve a case.  He’s more of a detective than a lawyer but it works. 

   28.)  Code of the Secret Service.  A few years ago I bought a used DVD box set titled “Brass Bancroft of the Secret Service Mysteries Collection.”  These were a series of films starring Ronald Reagan.  I always meant to watch the films but they got put in pile and then mislaid.  I finally had an excuse to watch them, being three of the films were released in 1939, “Secret Service Of The Air,” “Code of the Secret Service,” and “Smashing the Money Ring.”  A fourth film, “Murder In The Air” was released in 1940.  I accidentally put in the wrong disc and watched “Code Of The Secret Service” first.  In this one, Brass Bancroft, played by Reagan, and his wisecracking sidekick Gabby, played by Eddie Foy Jr., are looking for stolen plates behind a counterfeit ring.  I mentioned during my review of “Frontier Marshall” that Foy Jr. would show up again.  He’s in all the Bancroft films and they’re all fun to watch…not just because of Foy.

   29.)  Secret Service of the Air.  After discovering my mistake, I got around to watching this film which is the first in the Brass Bancroft series.  The Secret Service needs a pilot to infiltrate a smuggling ring. They turn to commercial airline and former military pilot “Brass” Bancroft (Ronald Reagan), who has applied to join the Secret Service.  Gabby, Eddie Foy Jr., is back again for comedy relief in another great action film from Reagan.

   30.)  Young Abe Lincoln.  I’ve always enjoyed this film.  Henry Fonda is the young Abe Lincoln who is trying one of his first big cases.  Check out this dialogue between Abe Lincoln, Fonda, and a witness to the crime, J. Palmer Cass, played by Ward Bond:

Abe Lincoln: [cross-examining Cass] J. Palmer Cass.

John Palmer Cass: Yes, sir.

Abe Lincoln: What’s the “J” stand for?

John Palmer Cass: John.

Abe Lincoln: Anyone ever call you Jack?

John Palmer Cass: Yeah, but…

Abe Lincoln: Why “J. Palmer Cass?” Why not “John P. Cass?”

John Palmer Cass: Well, I…

Abe Lincoln: Does “J. Palmer Cass” have something to hide?

John Palmer Cass: No.

Abe Lincoln: Then what do you part your name in the middle for?

John Palmer Cass: I got a right to call myself anything I want as long as it’s my own name!

Abe Lincoln: Well then if it’s all the same to you, I’ll call you Jack Cass.

A very funny scene.  Get it?  Jack Cass?  Jackass?  I love that exchange and Fonda really looks like a young Abe Lincoln.  Directed by the great John Ford.  Ford and Fonda, the stuff of legends.  

   That’s it for part one.  I’ve got another 30 to review and probably another 340 more on my list.  The last count was 424 films released in 1939 but who knows if I’ll ever get them all watched.  I’m aiming for 100 but we’ll see.  In another 14 years it will be 2039 and I’ll be 77.  Something to look forward to.

 

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UNPACKING THE 2025 FALSE DUCKS NEW YEAR’S DAY VIDEO RAMBLE…FINALLY!

Thursday, March 13th, 2025

     Have you finished fainting yet?  Scott March 12, 2025Yes, this is the day I finally begin to unpack the 2025 False Ducks New Year’s Day Video Ramble.  I posted the video on January 1st of this year but was sidetracked a few times and didn’t get around to the unpacking.  The unpacking is basically me explaining or detailing some of the things I mentioned in the video ramble.  Normally I address the topics in the ramble in the following blahg but, as I said, I got distracted.  First there was the DARKWING DUCK AND THE NFT CASH GRAB…UNBOXING!, and then there was the two part blahg series of THIS IS 150ISH, PART ONE and THIS IS 150ISH, PART TWO.  Those were written after I discovered that the “Darkwing Duck And The NFT Cash Grab…Unboxing!” was blahg number 150 and I always review the previous 50 blahgs in some sort of summary form.  The “ish” is because “This Is 150ish, Part One” was actually number 151.  Then there was the posting of a new short story in the blahg, THE KEYS OF HIRAM CRENSHAW.  But, today’s the day, with no further excuses.  Let the unpacking begin!

   First I should post the 2025 False Ducks New Year’s Day Video Ramble so you will know what I’m talking about.  Here’s that video: 

The first thing I’ll address is the reference to launching our Christmas Tree into the creek.  This has become a tradition every year of me launching the tree and watching it float away or possibly me failing to get the tree to float away.  In previous blahgs like HOW WAS YOUR CHRISTMAS? and LAUNCHING AND RELAUNCHING, I posted videos of me launching the tree.  Here’s this year’s video.  Don’t be confused because it says “2025 Christmas Tree Launch” but I’m actually launching our Christmas 2024 tree.

Yes, it was an epic fail.  I went back two weeks later and the tree was still there.  I went down to the creek again this past weekend, the second weekend in March and the tree was still there.  It was partially submerged and probably waterlogged.  I’m not sure if it will ever find its way downstream.

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Update, April 9, 2025: 

I went back down to the creek on March 17th and filmed the following video of the creek:

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   I mentioned Jeanette’s health scare in this video.  There are no pictures.  Luckily, all was good.  During a routine mammogram in November, they noted that one of Jeanette’s breasts was not the same size since the previous mammogram.  This might have been the result of a mass or anything disastrous really.  She didn’t have a follow-up appointment until January and the results were that there was nothing abnormal.  We had to keep it from our kids over the holidays and stress and worry about it until the subsequent results gave us better news.  Enough on that. 

   Part of the ramble highlighted my accomplishment in reading all 30 of the Cool and Lam detective agency books by Erle Stanley Gardner.  Here’s what I said in my blahg last year after I had accomplished the task: I finally finished all 30 Cool and Lam books. In my previous blahg, UNPACKING THE 2024 FALSE DUCKS NEW YEAR’S DAY VIDEO RAMBLE., I detailed how I had about four to read.  This is a detective series by Erle Stanley Gardner (creator of “Perry Mason”) using the pen name of A. A. Fair.  There were 30 books and I finally finished “All Grass Isn’t Green” this past weekend.  So that’s something off my to do list for 2024.”  

I haven’t set a goal of reading any more books in a series but I did decide to try and do something else monumental.  I’ve read for years that 1939 was one of the greatest years for films.  Just look at the list below of strong classic films from 1939:

  • Gone with the Wind
  • Stagecoach
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Wuthering Heights
  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
  • Goodbye, Mr. Chips
  • Ninotchka
  • Destry Rides Again
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame
  • Dark Victory
  • Young Mr. Lincoln
  • Of Mice and Men
  • The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
  • Babes in Arms
  • Beau Geste

That is just a sampling of 1939 films.  I set a goal of watching as many films from 1939 that I possibly can.  Some have had DVD releases and are already in my collection.  Others can be viewed online but sometimes the prints are not great.  I have a list of just over 400 films from 1939 and I’ve watched almost 50 films from that year.  I’ll update my progress and thoughts in a later blahg. 

   Some of my ramble was dedicated to my writings.  I published my book “Pippa’s Passing” last year and it can be purchased in paperback and kindle versions from Amazon:  https://www.amazon.ca/Pippas-Passing-Scott-Henderson/dp/1738299120/ref=sr_1_1?crid=U0H43M9PQB3&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tZB__wB1CglXGVRj0WczhXkKeBXVXCHKTAWgkJXR50ZwZk3lK82YLeGm-7ee9xQd97pxJaD4WBhUB92aoptxVbDllZrcrRUeg8KSgpi9RD6qPY0NqaFijKeb8KumYT_Lx_WX2xsbw1L5AbAhgHThgQpRGE5kZ78iFdgYRtBd8qwJep2U7Z3xMUrcodprgw6P.nmkJUbcZzavDFklC4MIUEO5lG0DNaQamgDkd76XPF4w&dib_tag=se&keywords=pippa%27s+passing&qid=1741803229&s=books&sprefix=pippa%27s+passing%2Cstripbooks%2C196&sr=1-1

I also mentioned the short stories I wrote last year.  You can read them in the following blahgs:

THE HOHNER COMET

HOW GRANDPA PUT DOWN THE ROBOT UPRISING.

SEVEN FEET OF SNOW IN BUFFALO

THE XMAS DIP

I also said I wanted to do more writing this year.  I started off this year with another short story that I published last month, THE KEYS OF HIRAM CRENSHAW.  I hope to do even more writing.  I have an idea for a story that I’m tentatively calling “Pocket Pal.”  We’ll see if I get it written.  I still have to complete “The Soda Machine” which I started writing about two years ago.  It took me long enough to write this unpacking blahg as it is!

   Politics came up in my ramble.  I don’t know what to say.  I’m completely disgusted with this topic.  Our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau is stepping down in a few days and Mark Carney will be the new Prime Minister.  That will follow with a Federal Election in about six weeks.  It’s a wait and see what will happen.  We had a Provincial election and nothing changed.  Here’s what I posted on my Facebook (which I don’t usually do so you know I was upset): 

So the Ontario Progressive Conservatives won last week’s totally unnecessary election. Now, Doug Ford is going around saying he has the mandate from the Ontario voters to build a super tunnel under the 401 and an unnecessary bypass near Bradford Ontario. He’s saying he has a mandate to do all of the things he’s been talking about.
Really? Let’s examine his so-called mandate. 42.97% of voters who turned out voted PC. That means 57.03% voted for anyone but the PC Party. Elections Ontario reports the unofficial provincial total is a 45.4% voter turnout rate, or about 5 million of the almost 11.1 million people eligible to vote in Ontario weighed in for the 2025 provincial general election. That means that less than half of eligible voters turned out and less than half of those voted for Doug Ford and the PC party.
So Doug Ford thinks this gives him a mandate from the people. He wants to build a multi-billion dollar tunnel under the 401 and he thinks that we’ve given him a mandate. The numbers don’t add up Doug. And this guy wants us to trust he can handle the budget on a multi-billion dollar hole in the ground. If you can’t do basic math Doug then you shouldn’t be Premier.

Now, we have a tariff trade war going on with Donald Trump and Doug Ford is trying to antagonize Trump with reciprocal tariffs and then backing off and saying “let cooler heads prevail.”  The problem is that there are no cooler heads…just hot heads full of hot air. 

   I won’t talk further about Charlie’s lost Christmas gift and how it was found by our cat Rogue.  You can read about that in the 2025 FALSE DUCKS NEW YEAR’S DAY VIDEO RAMBLE blahg.  We’ve since mailed the missing gift back to Charlie. 

   Speaking of Charlies, or in this case, Charley, I discovered the other day that a new Charley Chase DVD set was released last November called “Charley Chase At Hal Roach: The Late Silents (1927).”  I’ve collected all of the other Charley Chase at Hal Roach studios DVDs and I had not known about this release.  Check out the description:

Both Charley Chase and the Hal Roach Studios Golden Era was in the late 1920’s, and 1927 was the year Charley Chase was the Lot of Fun’s Number One star. His films from that period, directed by his Brother James Parrott and supervised by Leo McCarey, were not only some of his best but were some of the best silent comedies from the silent era. Most of these classic shorts have never been seen since their original release, and this set combines materials from film archives and private collections from around the world to bring these shorts together for the first time, all with wonderful accompaniment from Dr. Andrew Simpson, commentary tracks by noted Hal Roach Historian Richard M Roberts, and restoration by the experts at CineMuseum. Fifteen great comedy shorts like MANY SCRAPPY RETURNS, WHAT WOMEN DID FOR ME, THE WAY OF ALL PANTS, and US show Charley Chase as a comedy talent at the top of his game, with interesting co-stars like Lupe Velez, Jean Arthur and Eugene Pallette, as well as Hal Roach regulars like Anita Garvin, Charley Hall, Noah Young and even Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I’ve only watched a handful but these are very funny shorts that I have never seen before.  I wanted to add that information into this blahg because that mention of world politics is no laughing matter…at least this new Charley Chase set is.  Here’s one of the videos on the set, “There Ain’t No Santa Claus.”  Of course it’s not as good as the print on the DVD and the music is not as good as that scored to the films on the set. 

 

   That’s just a little bit of the unpacking or maybe it’s the important bits.  I’ll end this blahg with the same quote I always use at the end of my ramble videos.  I don’t know who originated it but here’s the audio of Frank Sinatra saying something to the effect “In this upcoming year, may we find peace in the world and peace among ourselves.”

   Was the unpacking worth it?  Ask me again next year after I delay unpacking the 2026 False Ducks New Year’s Day Video Ramble.

 

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