Tag Archives: Watching 1939

Watching 1939: Bad Little Angel (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

bad little angel1939 film:
Bad Little Angel (1939)

Release date:
Oct. 27, 1939

Cast:
Virginia Weidler, Gene Reynolds, Elizabeth Patterson, Guy Kibbee, Ian Hunter, Reginald Owen, Henry Hull, Lois Wilson, Harlan Briggs (uncredited), Esther Dale (uncredited), Mickey Kuhn (uncredited), Mitchell Lewis (uncredited), Ann E. Todd (uncredited), Rex the Dog (uncredited), Douglas Madore (uncredited)

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Wilhelm Thiele

Plot:
Set in 1900, Patsy (Weidler) is an orphan, who believes she’s a jinx to everyone who adopts her — her guardians have lost money, died and lost jobs. When she is yet again sent back to the orphanage, Patsy runs away using the Bible to guide her where to go — which is to Egypt. She head to Egypt, N.J. where she befriends young Tommy Wilks (Reynolds) and newspaper editor Jim Creighton (Hunter). As she follows the word of the Bible, she still believes she’s a jinx to Tommy, Jim and their families as crises continue to happen.

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Watching 1939: Should a Girl Marry? (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

should a girl marry21939 film:
Should a Girl Marry? (1939)

Release date:
June 8, 1939

Cast:
Anne Nagel, Warren Hull, Mayo Methot, Weldon Heyburn, Aileen Pringle, Lester Matthews, Helen Brown, Sarah Padden, Gordon Hart, Edmund Elton, Robert Elliott, Claire Rochelle, Arthur Loft, Harry Hayden, Bess Flowers

Studio:
Crescent Pictures Corporation
Distributed by Monogram Pictures

Director:
Lambert Hillyer

Plot:
Margaret Wilson (Nagel) was born with a secret, but doesn’t know it. She was born in prison and adopted by the Wilsons (Padden, Hart), who have kept the secret from Margaret, who has had a happy childhood and is engaged to young Dr. Benson (Hull). But when a friend, Betty Gilbert (Methot) of Margaret’s birth mother is released from jail, the friend’s no good husband sees a get-rich-quick scheme with blackmailing the Wilsons. In tandem, Dr. Benson is in the running of being selected as the head doctor at the hospital, but another doctor will do anything to ruin his career.

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Watching 1939: Reform School (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

reform school21939 film:
Reform School (1939)

Release date:
April 27, 1939

Cast:
Louise Beavers, Reginald Fenderson, Eugene Jackson, Freddie Jackson, Eddie Lynn, DeForest Covan, Bob Simmons, Monte Hawley, Maceo Bruce Sheffield, Milton Hall

Studio:
Million Dollar Productions, Inc.

Director:
Leo C. Popkin

Plot:
Since he went to reform school, Eddie (Fenderson) has a hard time finding work and turns to crime. Probation officer Mother Barton (Beavers) tries to help Eddie and the other young people in reform school by demanding for better treatment in reform school and education for society that these young people aren’t hardened criminals when they are released from reform school. When Eddie is mistreated by the superintendent at the reform school, Mother Barton takes him to task and is appointed the head of the institution.

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Watching 1939: The Great Victor Herbert (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

Screenshot 2024-01-30 2136261939 film:
The Great Victor Herbert (1939)

Release date:
Dec. 6, 1939

Cast:
Walter Connolly, Allan Jones, Mary Martin, Lee Bowman, Susanna Foster, Judith Barrett, Jerome Cowan, John Garrick, Pierre Watkin, Richard Tucker, Mary Currier, Sandra Lee Richards

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Andrew L. Stone

Plot:
Louise Hall (Martin) has dreams of becoming a stage star. Her career is shepherded by the pushy tactics of performer John Ramsey (Jones). As Louise and John find success and star in a show by composer Victor Herbert (Connolly), they fall in love and marry. However, billing and Louise’s stardom hurts John’s ego, and even when Louise retires, John’s career falters.

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Watching 1939: Reno (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

1939 film:
Reno (1939)

reno

Release date:
Dec. 1, 1939

Cast:
Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, Anita Louise, Paul Cavanaugh, Laura Hope Crews, Louis Jean Heydt, Hobert Cavanaugh, Charles Halton, Astrid Allwyn, Joyce Compton, Frank Faylen, Carole Landis (uncredited)

Studio:
RKO Radio Pictures

Director:
John Farrow

Plot:
Told in retrospective, Lawyer Bill Shayne (Dix) arrives in Reno, Nev. in 1905 ready to go into business. He finds helping with legal issues related to mining, and soon marries Jessie (Patrick). When the mining industry in Nevada collapses, Bill becomes a successful divorce lawyer—and contributing to Reno later becoming the divorce capital of the U.S. Working on divorce cases causes issues for Jessie and Bill when the divorcees start to catch his eye. Jessie divorces Bill, taking their baby daughter, Joanne, who he doesn’t see for many years.

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Watching 1939: East Side of Heaven (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

east side of heaven1939 film:
East Side of Heaven (1939)

Release date:
April 7, 1939

Cast:
Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, Mischa Auer, Irene Hervey, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Kent, Jerome Cowan, Baby Sandy, Jane Jones, Helen Warner, Rose Valyda, Jack Powell, Matty Malneck, Chester Clute (uncredited), Phyllis Kennedy (uncredited), Sterling Holloway (uncredited), J. Farrell MacDonald (uncredited),
Specialty Acts: The Music Maids

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Plot:
Denny Martin (Crosby) is a singing cab driver is engaged to telephone operator Mary Wilson (Blondell), but they have had to postpone their wedding four times. Their nuptials are again in danger of being put on hold when Denny is saddled with a baby (Baby Sandy). His friend Mona Barrett (Hervey) is in the process of divorcing her alcoholic husband Cyrus Barrett Jr. (Kent). In response to the split, her father in law Cyrus Barrett, Sr. (Smith) decides Mona and Junior’s baby (Baby Sandy) needs to stay in his care and tries to legally take the baby away from her. To protect her baby, Mona leaves him with Denny who tries to secretly care for the baby with his roommate Nicky (Auer), while the whole town is searching for the baby.

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Watching 1939: Smashing the Money Ring (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

smashing21939 film:
Smashing the Money Ring (1939)

Release date:
Oct. 21, 1939

Cast:
Ronald Reagan, Margot Stevenson, Eddie Foy, Joe Downing, Charles D. Brown, Joe King, William B. Davidson, John Ridgely (uncredited)

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Terry O. Morse

Plot:
A mob printing counterfeit money are connected to a gambling ship. When the leader, Dice Matthews (Downing), lands in jail, a Secret Service agent, Lt. Brass Bancroft (Reagan), goes undercover as an inmate. While in jail, Bancroft investigates how and where the counterfeit money is printed and distributed.

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Watching 1939: Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

angels41939 film:
Angels Wash Their Faces (1939)

Release date:
Aug. 26, 1939

Cast:
Ann Sheridan, Frankie Thomas, Bonita Granville, Ronald Reagan, Henry O’Neill, Eduardo Ciannelli, Berton Churchill, Bernard Nedell, Dick Rich, Margaret Hamilton, Marjorie Main, Minor Watson, Cy Kendall, Grady Sutton, Aldrich Bowker, Cy Kendall, William Hopper (uncredited)
The Dead End Kids: Billy Halop, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Punsly, Gabriel Jordan, Bobby Jordan

Studio:
Warner Bros.

Director:
Ray Enright

Plot:
Teenager Gabe Ryan (Thomas) is released from reform school on good behavior, and he returns home to live with his older sister, Joy (Sheridan). However, life isn’t easy when Gabe returns home. After a local mobster’s (Ciannelli) romantic advances are turned down by Joy, a mob starts framing Gabe as an arsonist, accusing him of setting fires. Because of his reform school background, locals and school teachers corroborate the story. A group of neighborhood kids (Granville, The Dead End Kids) help to clear Gabe’s name after the mob burns down an apartment home and frames Gabe.

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Watching 1939: Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

three smart girls51939 film:
Three Smart Girls Grow Up (1939)

Release date:
March 24, 1939

Cast:
Deanna Durbin, Charles Winninger, Nan Grey, Helen Parrish, Nella Walker, Robert Cummings, William Lundigan, Ernest Cossart, Felix Bressart, Grady Sutton (uncredited),

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
Henry Koster

Plot:
With their parents (Walker, Winninger) back together, the Craig sisters (Durbin, Grey, Parrish) are all together as a family with their parents. Everything is happy when Joan Craig (Grey) gets engaged to Richard Watkins (Lundigan). However, the good news brings heartache to Kay Craig (Parrish), who also was in love with Richard. Seeing her sister unhappy, youngest sister Penny (Durbin) sets out to find Kay a boyfriend, which brings about family misunderstandings.

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Watching 1939: Susannah of the Mounties (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

susannah21939 film:
Susannah of the Mounties (1939)

Release date:
June 23, 1939

Cast:
Shirley Temple, Randolph Scott, Margaret Lockwood, Martin Good Rider, J. Farrell MacDonald, Maurice Moscovitch, Moroni Olsen, Victor Jory, Lester Matthews, Leyland Hodgson, Herbert Evans, John Sutton, Jack Luden, Eddie Big Beaver, Chief John Big Tree, Charles Iron Breast, Chief Victor Coward, Chief Thunderbird, Tom Spotted Eagle

Studio:
20th Century Fox

Director:
William A. Seiter

Plot:
Set in the 1880s, the Canadian Pacific Railway was being built, which upset the Native Americans as the railroad threatened their land. The Northwest Mounted Police had to keep the peace between the Native Americans and the railroad. After an attack on a wagon train, Susannah (Temple) is the only survivor. She is rescued by the Mounties and cared for by Inspector Angus Montague (Scott). While staying with the Mounted Police, Susannah befriends Blackfeet Native American, Little Chief (Rider).

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