{"id":6885,"date":"2025-07-04T22:01:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T16:01:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=6885"},"modified":"2025-07-04T23:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T17:05:10","slug":"my-1939-films-watch-list-to-100-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/?p=6885","title":{"rendered":"MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – TO 100 AND BEYOND!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Scott<\/a>\u00a0 Back at the beginning of April I posted my first blahg about my goal of watching as many films from 1939 that I possibly can.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 In my blahg MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – PART ONE<\/a>, I provided a write-up of sorts on the first 30 films I’ve watched from my list and then on April 22nd I published MY 1939 FILMS WATCH LIST – PART TWO<\/a>.\u00a0 At that time, I had watched 75 films on my way to 100 so I reviewed the next set of 30 up film 60.\u00a0 My plan was not to publish a part three until I had reached my goal.\u00a0 Last night, I watched number 101.\u00a0 I thought it was 100 but I’d lost count and overshot the magic number.\u00a0 Regardless, here’s part three and a recap of films 61 through 101.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 Let’s start off by recapping the complete list of 101 films I’ve watched.\u00a0 This last 41 I’d refer to as the good, the bad, and the snooze fest.\u00a0 That last phrase refers to when I fell asleep.\u00a0 Still, don’t let that deter you.\u00a0 Here’s the complete list of 101 films from 1939 that I’ve viewed:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. A Child Is Born<\/li>\n
  2. Disputed Passage<\/li>\n
  3. We Are Not Alone<\/li>\n
  4. Dust Be My Destiny<\/li>\n
  5. The Girl From Mexico<\/li>\n
  6. Frontier Marshall<\/li>\n
  7. Good Girls Go To Paris<\/li>\n
  8. Honolulu<\/li>\n
  9. The Three Musketeers<\/li>\n
  10. Cheer Boys Cheer<\/li>\n
  11. The Amazing Mr. Williams<\/li>\n
  12. Off The Record<\/li>\n
  13. The Frozen Limits (fell asleep)<\/li>\n
  14. Where’s That Fire<\/li>\n
  15. The Kid from Kokomo<\/li>\n
  16. The Ice Follies of 1939<\/li>\n
  17. All Women Have Secrets (1939)<\/li>\n
  18. A Girl Must Live (1939)<\/li>\n
  19. $1000 a Touchdown (1939)<\/li>\n
  20. …One Third of a Nation… (1939)<\/li>\n
  21. Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)<\/li>\n
  22. Arizona Legion (1939)<\/li>\n
  23. Persons in Hiding<\/li>\n
  24. Allegheny Uprising<\/li>\n
  25. Ask A Policeman (Will Hayes)<\/li>\n
  26. Gone With The Wind<\/li>\n
  27. Society Lawyer<\/li>\n
  28. Code of the Secret Service (1939)<\/li>\n
  29. Secret Service of the Air (1939)<\/li>\n
  30. Young Abe Lincoln<\/li>\n
  31. The Little Princess<\/li>\n
  32. East Side of Heaven<\/li>\n
  33. Destry Rides Again<\/li>\n
  34. Dodge City<\/li>\n
  35. Smashing The Money Ring<\/li>\n
  36. The Wizard Of Oz<\/li>\n
  37. Midnight<\/li>\n
  38. Stagecoach<\/li>\n
  39. Made For Each Other<\/li>\n
  40. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)<\/li>\n
  41. 20,000 Men a Year (1939)<\/li>\n
  42. Flying Deuces<\/li>\n
  43. Only Angels Have Wings<\/li>\n
  44. Judge Hardy and Son<\/li>\n
  45. Charlie McCarthy Detective<\/li>\n
  46. Discoveries<\/li>\n
  47. Across the Plains<\/li>\n
  48. Back Door to Heaven<\/li>\n
  49. Hitler – Beast of Berlin<\/li>\n
  50. Barricade<\/li>\n
  51. In Name Only<\/li>\n
  52. King of the Underworld<\/li>\n
  53. At The Circus<\/li>\n
  54. The Real Glory<\/li>\n
  55. Women On The Wind<\/li>\n
  56. Gunga Din<\/li>\n
  57. Rulers of the Sea<\/li>\n
  58. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes<\/li>\n
  59. The Hound Of The Baskervilles<\/li>\n
  60. Beau Geste<\/li>\n
  61. After The Thin Man<\/li>\n
  62. The Mysterious Miss X<\/li>\n
  63. The Hardys Ride High<\/li>\n
  64. Three Smart Girls Grow Up<\/li>\n
  65. First Love<\/li>\n
  66. Ambush<\/li>\n
  67. Bad Boy<\/li>\n
  68. Bad Lands<\/li>\n
  69. Bad Little Angel<\/li>\n
  70. I Met A Murderer<\/li>\n
  71. Boy Friend<\/li>\n
  72. Coast Guard<\/li>\n
  73. Boy Trouble<\/li>\n
  74. Disbarred<\/li>\n
  75. She Married a Cop<\/li>\n
  76. The Light That Failed<\/li>\n
  77. Night Work<\/li>\n
  78. Million Dollar Legs<\/li>\n
  79. Island Of Lost Men<\/li>\n
  80. Slightly Honorable<\/li>\n
  81. The Man In The Iron Mask<\/li>\n
  82. Shipyard Sally<\/li>\n
  83. My Son Is A Criminal<\/li>\n
  84. Smuggled Cargo<\/li>\n
  85. Wife, Husband and Friend<\/li>\n
  86. 6,000 Enemies<\/li>\n
  87. Homicide Bureau<\/li>\n
  88. S.O.S. Tidal Wave<\/li>\n
  89. News Is Made at Night<\/li>\n
  90. Sergeant Madden<\/li>\n
  91. Panama Patrol<\/li>\n
  92. Rio<\/li>\n
  93. When Tomorrow Comes<\/li>\n
  94. Invitation to Happiness<\/li>\n
  95. Taming of the West<\/li>\n
  96. They Made Me A Criminal<\/li>\n
  97. The Spy in Black<\/li>\n
  98. Espionage Agent<\/li>\n
  99. The Housekeeper’s Daughter<\/li>\n
  100. Undercover Agent<\/li>\n
  101. \u00a0Love Affair<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Again, 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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 61\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 After The Thin Man.\u00a0 <\/em>Ah, William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles.\u00a0 This is the second film in The Thin Man series.\u00a0 A whodunit murder mystery and a really early film for James Stewart.\u00a0 DVD release and well worth watching.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 62\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 The Mysterious Miss X.\u00a0 <\/em>Fast talking murder mystery with no real stars.\u00a0 Mabel Todd adds some comedy but gets annoying after a while.\u00a0 I fell asleep part way through but then woke up to discover the identity of the killer.\u00a0 Can’t even remember much else about it.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong> \u00a0 63\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 The Hardys Ride High.\u00a0<\/em>In the first 30, part one, I reviewed “Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever.”\u00a0 In the second batch I reviewed “Judge Hardy And Son.”\u00a0 Now, in part three, we have the last Andy Hardy film released in 1939.\u00a0 This time, Andy and his family are living the high-life in New York, thinking they’re going to inherit two million dollars.\u00a0 It’s a real test of the small town Hardy morals.\u00a0 Still, very entertaining and available on DVD.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 64\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Three Smart Girls Grow Up.\u00a0<\/em>Ah, Deanna Durbin.\u00a0 She was the young woman who basically turned around the fortunes of Universal Pictures.\u00a0 I dedicated an entire blahg to her in 2013 after learning she had passed away.\u00a0 You can check it out at\u00a0THE PUBLIC & PRIVATE LIFE OF DEANNA DURBIN<\/a>.\u00a0 This is the sequel to the popular “Three Smart Girls” from 1936.\u00a0 Deanna’s mixed up in her older sisters’ love affairs with humorous results.\u00a0 You can never go wrong with a Deanna Durbin film.\u00a0 Oh, and Robert Cummings is in this one.\u00a0 He and Deanna Durbin made a handful of movies together with “It Started With Eve” being one of their best.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 65<\/a>\"Deanna<\/a>.)\u00a0 First Love.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Deanna Durbin back again with the second of her films released in 1939.\u00a0 This time her costar is Robert Stack.\u00a0 It’s basically a Cinderella story where she’s an orphan who is sent to live with her rich New York relatives who aren’t so very nice to her.\u00a0 Great singing, some nice acting, and Eugene Pallette as Deanna’s uncle who is the only nice relative she has.\u00a0 Over course it’s sappy.\u00a0 Of\u00a0 course the ending is happy.\u00a0 Just watch it.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 66\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Ambush.\u00a0<\/em>Definitely a “B” picture with no great stars.\u00a0 I should add that Lloyd Nolan is in this one and I think he’s a fine actor.\u00a0 He went on to direct films as well.\u00a0 Four bandits rob a California bank.\u00a0 Gladys Swarthout is the sister of one of the gang members and she wants no part of it.\u00a0 Lloyd Nolan is a truck driver who gets hijacked and tries to help out the female lead.\u00a0 I enjoyed it.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 67\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Bad Boy.\u00a0 <\/em>I couldn’t remember this one so I had to check out the IMDB summary to recall the plot:\u00a0 “Johnny Fraser (Johnny Downs) leaves his mother (Helen MacKellar) in their small home town and sets out for the big city. He obtains a job with a large firm of architects. Steve Carson (Archie Robbins), a fellow employee, is constantly flaunting the money he has won at the race track. Johnny also bets the races, but loses heavily and takes some of the firm’s money to cover his losses. Steve also introduces Johnny to Madelon Kirby (Rosalind Keith), a gold-digging night club singer. When the firm’s boss McNeil (Holmes Herbert) learns that Johnny has embezzled some money, he fires him and has him jailed. Johnny’s mother comes to his aid, but he cannot find work when he is released. Through Steve Carson, Johnny becomes the head of a shady firm, Business Engineers, and is making a lot of money. Madelon returns and she and Johnny are married, but he is unaware that Steve is not only double-crossing him in the business but with Madelon also.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>I remember the ending now, sad.\u00a0 Still, I’m glad I watched it even if I couldn’t remember it.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 68\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Bad Lands.\u00a0 <\/em>From Wikipedia:\u00a0 “In 1875, a posse headed by Sheriff Bill Cummings is held at bay by Apache warriors. The posse members are picked off, one by one, until only the Sheriff is left.”<\/em>\u00a0 I definitely remember this one.\u00a0 It only runs about 70 minutes but has a good cast.\u00a0 It’s a remake of John Ford’s 1934 film, “The Lost Patrol.”\u00a0 Well worth watching.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0\u00a0 69\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Bad Little Angel.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Okay, I was obviously working my way through an alphabetical list with “Bad Boy”, “Bad Lands,” and now “Bad Little Angel.”\u00a0 Another orphan story, starring another former child star named Virginia Weidler.\u00a0 Virginia is living with an old widow woman who imparts the advice that when in trouble, Virginia should randomly open the bible and plunk her finger down on a passage and do what it says.\u00a0 After the old lady dies, Virginia selects a verse about Egypt and takes all the money she has and goes to Egypt, New Jersey.\u00a0 There she finds friends and a new family and helps everyone out of trouble with her random bible scriptures.\u00a0 Not much of a plot but Virginia is the best thing about this movie.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 70\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 I Met A Murderer.\u00a0 <\/em>Really made on a shoestring budget.\u00a0 James Mason is the murderer who is hiding out on the Isle of Wight.\u00a0 Pamela Mason, the real life wife of James Mason, is helping him hide out…or is she?\u00a0 The story is slight but the scenery is gorgeous.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 71\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Boy Friend.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>And yet another child star, Jane Withers, trying to help her brother the cop take down a criminal organization.\u00a0 The thing is he’s undercover and she thinks he’s gone bad.\u00a0 She does some singing and also pursues a military cadet as a love interest.\u00a0 Typical Little Miss Fix-It role for Withers.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 72\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 Coast Guard.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Randolph Scott and Ralph Bellamy as two different members of the Coast Guard.\u00a0 Bellamy is friendly and by-the-books while Scott is reckless and devil-may-care.\u00a0 Some good action and some unbelievable action.\u00a0 This is the third movie starring Randolph Scott to be released in 1939.\u00a0 I reviewed “Frontier Marshall” in part one and “20,000 Men A Year” in part two.\u00a0 Scott is a solid actor.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 73.\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 Boy Trouble.\u00a0<\/em>This is one of two films the great comic actor Charlie Ruggles made in 1939 as the character Homer C. Fitch.\u00a0 Homer’s wife thinks he’s in a rut so she adopts two boys.\u00a0 The problem is that Homer hates little boys.\u00a0 Some humour and some melodrama.\u00a0 Donald O’Connor plays one of the boys.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 74.\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 Disbarred.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>How do I explain this one?\u00a0 A lawyer gets disbarred for working with the underworld.\u00a0 He coaches an up-and-coming female lawyer and tricks her into defending his gangster cronies and getting them off.\u00a0 Of course she figures it out and has to work with the District Attorney’s office to go after her mentor.\u00a0 Not great but not bad.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 75.)\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>She Married a Cop.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Remember I said these films ranged from the good, the bad, and the snooze fest?\u00a0 This is the snooze fest.\u00a0 All I remember about this is a woman hires a police officer to be the singing voice of “Paddy,” the cartoon pig.\u00a0 It’s clearly an early Porky Pig but the cop doesn’t like it.\u00a0 He thinks he’s going to be a star and not provide vocals for a cartoon pig.\u00a0 That’s what I recall before I fell asleep.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 77.\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 The Light That Failed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>I like Ronald Colman.\u00a0 “Random Harvest” with Greer Garson and Ronald Colman is one of my favourite films.\u00a0 “The Light That Failed” is based on an 1891 novel by Rudyard Kipling.\u00a0 In part two of my series, I reviewed “Gunga Din” from 1939 which was based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling.\u00a0 Colman is a British Soldier from the Madhist War in the Sudan who retires after a head wound and then takes up painting.\u00a0 He eventually goes blind and he has to cope with the people in his life, not being a soldier, and losing his eyesight.\u00a0 A very nice drama.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a077.\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 Night Work.\u00a0<\/em>A sequel to number 73, “Boy Trouble.”\u00a0 Charlie Ruggles as the character Homer C. Fitch is now managing a hotel.\u00a0 The grandfather of the boy played by Donald O’Connor wants to take his grandson back to live with him unless Ruggles can prove he’s tough enough.\u00a0 Some sight gags and William Frawley along as a big-mouth character.\u00a0 Watch it only if you’ve watched “Boy Trouble.”<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 78.\"\"<\/a>)\u00a0 Million Dollar Legs.\u00a0<\/em>Another in the snooze-fest category.\u00a0 The Million Dollar Legs belong to Betty Grable but she doesn’t have much to do in the film.\u00a0 It’s a college film about creating a rowing team and bucking the system of the administration.\u00a0 I think I dozed off for a little bit during the film.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 79\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Island Of Lost Men.\u00a0<\/em>Great title but another “put me to sleep” film.\u00a0 From IMDB:\u00a0 “A Chinese general, who disappeared in the Malaysian jungles with stolen government funds, is sought by his cabaret-singing daughter who wants to clear his name.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>That’s more than I remember.\u00a0 Broderick Crawford is a bad guy and plays it well.\u00a0 Crawford was also in #54 “The Real Glory” and #60 “Beau Geste” which I reviewed in part two.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 80\"\"<\/a>.)\u00a0 Slightly Honorable.\u00a0 <\/em>Broderick Crawford is back again as the pal to Pat O’Brien who is a lawyer framed for murder.\u00a0 Eve Arden is along as his snappy secretary.\u00a0 I fell asleep before the reveal but had to go back and watch it again because it was worth it.\u00a0 A young Ruth Terry steals every scene she’s in.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"The<\/a>81.)\u00a0 The Man In The Iron Mask.\u00a0 <\/em>Based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas, this is the story of royal French twins separated at birth.\u00a0 One is raised as King and rules as a tyrant.\u00a0 The other is raised by d’Artagnan of the Four Musketeers fame.\u00a0 The cruel brother meets his twin and imprisons him and covers his face with an iron mask.\u00a0 Will d’Artagnan and the others save the good twin?\u00a0 You’ll just have to watch it.\u00a0 A great cast in a great swashbuckler.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 \"\"<\/a>82.)\u00a0 Shipyard Sally.\u00a0<\/em> A musical comedy with Gracie Fields.\u00a0 Last year, I wrote a blahg entitled\u00a0HAVE YOU WATCHED ANY GOOD MOVIES LATELY?<\/a>\u00a0 In that blahg, I reviewed two later films by Gracie Fields, “Holy Matrimony” and “Molly and Me.”\u00a0 They also starred Monty Woolley.\u00a0 Gracie Fields was a national British treasure and “Shipyard Sally” was probably very popular in its day.\u00a0 To be honest, I fell asleep.\u00a0 I wanted to give it more attention so I went back to it after a week.\u00a0 Gracie and her Father run a pub in a town where there are shipyards.\u00a0 The government decides to close the shipyards and Sally heads off to meet with a member of parliament to have him change his mind.\u00a0 Cute piece of fluff.\u00a0 I liked Gracie’s singing but it was weaker than the two other ones with Monty Woolley.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 83\"My<\/a>.)\u00a0 My Son Is A Criminal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This one had an interesting premise.\u00a0 A retired police chief hopes his son will follow in his footsteps to join the police force.\u00a0 The retired chief, however, can’t keep himself from investigating the new crime gang terrorizing town.\u00a0 Unbeknownst to the chief, his son is the criminal mastermind behind the new crime wave.\u00a0 No real stars to speak of but enjoyable.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 84.\"Smuggled<\/a>)\u00a0 Smuggled Cargo.\u00a0 <\/em>A corrupt group of fruit growers take advantage of migrant workers and cheat them out of their rightful wages.\u00a0 The son of one of the growers, goes after the gang and sets everything right.\u00a0 Again, no recognizable cast but entertaining none the less.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"Wife,<\/a>85.)\u00a0 Wife, Husband and Friend.\u00a0<\/em>I watched this film after watching “Smuggled Cargo” because there was a great character actor in both films.\u00a0 George Barbier always played grumpy husbands, cops, or overweight politicians.\u00a0 In this film, he co-stars with Loretta Young as his daughter and Warner Baxter as his son-in-law.\u00a0 Father-in-law’s advice:\u00a0 Don’t let your wife think she’s a singer.\u00a0 It’ll drive you nuts and ruin your life.\u00a0 Of course the son-in-law wants to be a happy husband so he encourages his wife.\u00a0 The problem is she’s not very good.\u00a0 He has a voice and gets tricked into performing on stage by the “and friend” but he gets stage-fright and can’t perform.\u00a0 It all works out in the end but George Barbier as the father-in-law could have said “I told you so” and he’d have been right.\u00a0 He steals all his scenes.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>86.)\u00a0 6,000 Enemies.\u00a0<\/em>Walter Pidgeon is lawyer Steve Donegan who gets frame for accepting a bribe and is sent up to prison.\u00a0 The prison is unfortunately full of convicts that Donegan sent up there and they all want a piece of him.\u00a0 He has to survive long enough to prove his innocence.\u00a0 Walter Pidgeon does not disappoint.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a> 87.)\u00a0 Homicide Bureau.\u00a0 <\/em>A police officer is demoted because of his off-the-books ways.\u00a0 He wants to solve a high profile murder but he’s not assigned the case.\u00a0 He also runs afoul of then befriends the new head of the police lab run by Rita Hayworth.\u00a0 Clocks in at 58 minutes but it gets the story told.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>88.)\u00a0 S.O.S. Tidal Wave.\u00a0<\/em>Where do I begin with this one?\u00a0 Well, it was on my to watch list because George Barbier was in it.\u00a0 It’s really about the early days of television and Barbier plays Uncle Dan Carter who hosts a kiddy show with his ventriloquist dummy pal.\u00a0 But the movie isn’t even about that.\u00a0 It’s about political corruption and a reporter who won’t don’t the right thing and expose the corruption because his wife and son are threatened.\u00a0 Uncle Dan tries to help but that goes badly.\u00a0 On election day, the crooks try to prevent people from voting by broadcasting footage of a tidal wave destroying the east coast of the United States.\u00a0 People run around in panic.\u00a0 The footage is actually from the 1933 film “Deluge.”\u00a0 It’s too crazy to believe but oh so entertaining.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>89.)\u00a0 News Is Made at Night.\u00a0<\/em>I like a good newspaper story film.\u00a0 I was hoping better from this film.\u00a0 IMDB description:\u00a0 Newspaper editor will do almost anything to increase circulation. He campaigns to free a condemned man while accusing a wealthy ex-criminal of a string of murders.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/em>Tries too hard to be a comedy.\u00a0 George Barbier is in this one as well but the story isn’t strong enough.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a>90.)\u00a0 Sergeant Madden.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>Wallace Berry is Irish police office Madden.\u00a0 In 1920s New York, he adopts the son of his partner who dies.\u00a0 He raises him along with his own son and hopes that both will become police officers one day.\u00a0 When they grow up, the biological son becomes a bad copy and the adopted son is true, righteous, and loyal.\u00a0 Directed by the great Josef von Sternberg.\u00a0 He wasn’t too happy about how it turned out but I enjoyed it. <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a> 91.)\u00a0 Panama Patrol.\u00a0 <\/em>Major Phillip Waring, the head of the Cipher Bureau in Washington gets called into the office when he’s supposed to be getting married.\u00a0 He has to decipher a code that leads to a spy ring and to him keeping his fianc\u00e9e waiting for him to come back and marry her.\u00a0 It’s called Panama Patrol because the gang’s secret plans are to destroy the Panama Canal.\u00a0 They never go there and the film is less than exciting.\u00a0 Still, I stayed awake through this one, so that’s something.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>92.)\u00a0 Rio.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This one had a lot going for it.\u00a0 Basil Rathbone who is a British con-artist who gets arrested in Paris and sent to a prison on an island off the coast of Rio.\u00a0 He tells his new wife to leave him but she follows him to Rio and works in a nightclub.\u00a0 She plans to wait out his ten year term there.\u00a0 Unfortunately he gets bitter in prison and she falls for a washed up drunken architect played by Robert Cummings.\u00a0 Rathbone escapes from the inescapable prison but then when he meets up with his wife, the movie is over in five minutes.\u00a0 Good story that could have been better.\u00a0 At least in this film, they got to Rio unlike no Panama locales in “Panama Patrol.”\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>93.)\u00a0 When Tomorrow Comes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Despite what critics thought of this film, I liked it.\u00a0 I’m a big fan of Charles Boyer and he and Irene Dunne are a delight in this film.\u00a0 It starts off as a comedy but them becomes a melodrama.\u00a0 Boyer and Dunne fall in love but he can’t leave his wife because she has mental health issues.\u00a0 This was the second pairing of Boyer and Dunne in 1939.\u00a0 They appeared in the very popular “Love Affair” and the studio was hoping for lightning to strike twice.\u00a0 “When Tomorrow Comes”\u00a0<\/em>didn’t do as well but not every movie needs a happy ending.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>94.)\u00a0 Invitation to Happiness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>I wanted to see another Irene Dunne film.\u00a0 This is one she made with Fred MacMurray and Charlie Ruggles.\u00a0 Irene Dunne’s father invests in a prize-fighter played by MacMurray.\u00a0 Dunne falls in love with the fighter and marries him.\u00a0 They also have a son.\u00a0 He’s always off training and trying to win the next fight but not spending enough time with her or the kid.\u00a0 Again, comedy in the beginning and melodrama by the end.\u00a0 This was another one that could have been much more than it was.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"Taming<\/a>95.)\u00a0 Taming of the West.\u00a0 <\/em>Short, 55 minute western.\u00a0 The new Sheriff, Wild Bill Saunders, played by Wild Bill Elliott, has to clean up the town.\u00a0 Nothing special here but it was apparently the first in a series of four films to feature the Wild Bill Saunders character.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>96.)\u00a0 They Made Me A Criminal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This is the second John Garfield film on my list.\u00a0 The first, #4, was “Dust Be My Destiny.”\u00a0 In this one, Garfield is a boxer who is believed to have murdered someone and is advised to go on the run and change his name.\u00a0 He ends up in Arizona on a farm and meets the East Side Kids.\u00a0 You can check out more about them here: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/East_Side_Kids<\/a>.\u00a0 Some fun scenes as Garfield tries to be the tougher guy but also tries to help save the farm.\u00a0 Good story and good fun.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>97.)\u00a0 The Spy in Black.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This is a British film released as U-Boat 29 in the United States.\u00a0 Taut spy film about Germans during the first world war trying to sink the British fleet.\u00a0 Watch out for the double-cross.\u00a0 Great movie!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>98.)\u00a0 Espionage Agent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Another actor I really admire is Joel McCrea.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough for him to do in this film.\u00a0 McCrea is an American diplomat working with his wife to try and smash an espionage ring.\u00a0 Brenda Marshall as his wife has more to do in this film than McCrea.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>99.)\u00a0 The Housekeeper\u2019s Daughter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>I’m not sure if this was meant as a comedy or not.\u00a0 It was directed by Hal Roach who was the genius behind Our Gang, The Little Rascals, and some of the early Laurel and Hardy films.\u00a0 Joan Bennett is The Housekeeper’s Daughter.\u00a0 She used to be the girlfriend of an underworld gangster.\u00a0 Now, she’s a good girl and working with a reporter to try and expose the people behind a murder.\u00a0 Adolph Menjou is very funny as one of the reporters but sometimes the film tries to be way too serious.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"Undercover<\/a>100.)\u00a0Undercover Agent.\u00a0 <\/em>“A railway postal clerk goes after a sweepstakes counterfeiting ring.<\/span>”\u00a0 Not much here folks.\u00a0 Some comedy.\u00a0 Some crime.\u00a0 Ultimately, very dull.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \"\"<\/a>101.)\u00a0 Love Affair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>This was the first film starring Irene Dunne and Charles Boyer.\u00a0 They meet on a ship sailing to the United States.\u00a0 He’s a renowned French playboy who is engaged to a socialite in New York.\u00a0 She’s also engaged to her boss.\u00a0 They try to fight their attraction to each other and commit to try and improve themselves to see if they are worthy of their relationship.\u00a0 They plan to meet six months later at the top of the Empire State Building if they think they’ve managed to work things out.\u00a0 He’s there but something happens to prevent her from meeting up with him.\u00a0 Will they ever get together?\u00a0 There’s a wonderful scene with the great Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya as Boyer’s grandmother.\u00a0 If you’ve never heard of her, definitely check out her other films.\u00a0 Directed by Leo McCarey, he would also direct the 1957 remake, “An Affair To Remember,” starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr.\u00a0 \u00a0Of course, Kerr and Boyer would star together in 1939’s “When Tomorrow Comes” which I reviewed earlier.\u00a0 They would do a third film together in 1944, “Together Again.”\u00a0 I haven’t watched that one but it’s definitely on my to-watch list.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0Well, there you have it, 101 films from 1939.\u00a0 As I said, I lost count and thought “Undercover Agent” was number 99 and “Love Affair” was number 100.\u00a0 I’m still happy to have “Love Affair” in my list.\u00a0 I won’t discuss the popular films like “Gone With The Wind” and “The Wizard Of Oz” but here are a few that stood out for me that are lesser known:\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

    2)\u00a0 Disputed Passage (Dorothy Lamour in a great story)<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n

    3)\u00a0 We Are Not Alone (Paul Muni in an adaptation of a James Hilton novel)<\/h4>\n

    11) The Amazing Mr. Williams (Joan Blondell in a fun movie)<\/h4>\n

    12) Off The Record (Joan Blondell again with Pat O’Brien)<\/h4>\n

    32) East Side Of Heaven (Bing Crosby and Joan Blondell.\u00a0 Nice comedy and good singing)<\/h4>\n

    39) Made For Each Other (James Stewart and Carole Lombard in a melodrama)<\/h4>\n

    51) In Name Only (Another melodrama with Carole Lombard as well as Cary Grant and Kay Francis)<\/h4>\n

    53) At The Circus (The Marx Brothers.\u00a0 Very funny film)<\/h4>\n

    60) Beau Geste (Gary Cooper in a French Foreign Legion mystery adventure)<\/h4>\n

    65) First Love (Deanna Durbin.\u00a0 I really like her films)<\/h4>\n

    73) Boy Trouble (Charlie Ruggles adopts two boys and he hates kids!)<\/h4>\n

    77) The Light That Failed (Ronald Colman in another Rudyard Kipling story)<\/h4>\n

    81) The Man In The Iron Mask\u00a0 (A great Alexandre Dumas story.\u00a0 Action adventure.)<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

    85) Wife, Husband and Friend (Lovely Loretta Young in a funny story with George Barbier as the hilarious father-in-law)<\/h4>\n

    88) S.O.S. Tidal Wave (just because it was so unbelievable and it has George Barbier as a ventriloquist)<\/h4>\n

    93) When Tomorrow Comes (the second pairing in 1939 of Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne.\u00a0 Not as good as Love Affair but still very good)<\/h4>\n

    97) The Spy In Black (Great WW1 spy film)<\/h4>\n

    101) Love Affair (Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne in a great love story)<\/h4>\n

    That’s it for now.\u00a0 I still have a few 1939 films downloaded and will continue to watch them but I’m not going to post a part 4.\u00a0 Who knows though, I might mention a few more of them in a future blahg.\u00a0 Keep checking back.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u00a0 Back at the beginning of April I posted my first blahg about my goal of watching as many films from 1939 that I possibly can.\u00a0 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” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[310,322,4,323,3],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6885"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6925,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6885\/revisions\/6925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/falseducks.com\/theblahg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}