ALFRED L. WERKER Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.5. USA, 1939. Twentieth Century Fox. Screenplay by Edwin Blum, William Absalom Drake, based on the play by William Gillette, from characters created by Arthur Conan Doyle. Cinematography by Leon Shamroy. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Music by Robert Russell Bennett, David Buttolph, Cyril J. Mockridge, David…
Category: 1939
When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
JOHN M. STAHL Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB. USA, 1939. Universal Pictures. Screenplay by Dwight Taylor, based on the story A Modern Cinderella by James M. Cain. Cinematography by John J. Mescall. Produced by John M. Stahl. Music by Frank Skinner. Production Design by Jack Otterson. Costume Design by Vera West. Film Editing by Milton Carruth. Academy Awards 1939. Irene Dunne is a…
Le Jour Se Leve (1939)
MARCEL CARNE Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. Alternate title: Daybreak France, 1939. Productions Sigma. Original scenario by Jacques Viot, dialogue by Jacques Prevert. Cinematography by Philippe Agostini, Andre Bac, Albert Viguier. Produced by Jean-Pierre Frogerais. Music by Maurice Jaubert. Production Design by Alexandre Trauner. Costume Design by Boris Bilinsky. Film Editing by Rene Le Haneff. A shot is heard, a man stumbles out an…
The Man In The Iron Mask (1939)
JAMES WHALE Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. USA, 1939. Edward Small Productions. Screenplay by George Bruce, based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas pere. Cinematography by Robert H. Planck. Produced by Edward Small. Music by Lucien Moraweck. Production Design by John DuCasse Schulze. Costume Design by William Bridgehouse. Film Editing by Grant Whytock. Academy Awards 1939. Loose adaptation of the third volume of Three…
Love Affair (1939)
LEO MCCAREY Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. USA, 1939. RKO Radio Pictures. Story by Leo McCarey, Mildred Cram, Screenplay by Delmer Daves, Donald Ogden Stewart. Cinematography by Rudolph Mate. Produced by Leo McCarey. Music by Roy Webb. Production Design by Van Nest Polglase. Costume Design by Howard Greer, Edward Stevenson. Film Editing by Edward Dmytryk, George Hively. Academy Awards 1939. Charles…
Of Mice And Men (1939)
LEWIS MILESTONE Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. USA, 1939. Hal Roach Studios. Screenplay by Eugene Solow, based on the novel by John Steinbeck. Cinematography by Norbert Brodine. Produced by Lewis Milestone. Music by Aaron Copland. Production Design by Nicolai Remisoff. Costume Design by Harry Black. Film Editing by Bert Jordan. Academy Awards 1939. John Steinbeck’s timelessly popular novel is adapted to the big…
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)
JOHN FORD Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB.5. USA, 1939. Twentieth Century Fox. Screenplay by Lamar Trotti. Cinematography by Bert Glennon. Produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. Music by Alfred Newman. Production Design by Richard Day, Mark-Lee Kirk. Costume Design by Royer. Film Editing by Walter Thompson. Academy Awards 1939. Henry Fonda is perfectly cast (with an impressive prosthetic nose) as Honest Abe, with John Ford’s sturdy direction telling…
Birthright (1939)
OSCAR MICHEAUX Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. USA, 1939. Micheaux Film. Screenplay by Oscar Micheaux, based on the novel by Thomas Sigismund Stribling. Cinematography by Robert J. Marshall. Produced by Oscar Micheaux, Alice B. Russell. One of Oscar Micheaux’s finest and most poignant works. A Harvard graduate returns to his home town with the prospect of giving his fellow…
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
SAM WOOD Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. United Kingdom, 1939. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios. Screenplay by R.C. Sherriff, Claudine West, Eric Maschwitz, based on the novel by James Hilton. Cinematography by Freddie Young. Produced by Victor Saville. Production Design by Alfred Junge. Film Editing by Charles Frend. Academy Awards 1939. Cannes Film Festival 1939. Robert Donat is fantastic in this superior adaptation of James Hilton’s…
The Mikado (1939)
VICTOR SCHERTZINGER Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. United Kingdom, 1939. G and S Films. Libretto based on the opera by William S. Gilbert. Cinematography by Bernard Knowles, William V. Skall. Produced by Geoffrey Toye. Music by Arthur Sullivan, Geoffrey Toye. Production Design by Ralph W. Brinton. Costume Design by Marcel Vertes. Film Editing by Philip Charlot, Gene Milford. Academy Awards 1939. Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular musical…
Intermezzo (1939)
GREGORY RATOFF Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB. Alternate title: Intermezzo: A Love Story USA, 1939. Selznick International Pictures. Screenplay by George O’Neil, based on an original story by Gosta Stevens, Gustaf Molander. Cinematography by Gregg Toland. Produced by David O. Selznick. Music by Robert Russell Bennett, Max Steiner. Production Design by Lyle R. Wheeler. Costume Design by Travis Banton, Irene. Film Editing by Francis D….
The Rules Of The Game (1939)
JEAN RENOIR Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBBB. Original title: La Regle Du Jeu France, 1939. Nouvelles Editions de Films. Scenario and dialogue by Jean Renoir, collaboration with Carl Koch. Cinematography by Jean-Paul Alphen, Jean Bachelet, Jacques Lemare, Alain Renoir. Produced by Jean Renoir. Music by Joseph Kosma. Production Design by Max Douy, Eugène Lourié. Costume Design by Coco Chanel. Film Editing by Marthe…
