Movies from 1939 Trivia Quiz

Answer: First winner in the new category of Visual Effects

"Gone With the Wind" lost out in the Best Visual Effects category to "The Rains Came", which depicted a flood disaster. Some critics felt that the burning of Atlanta depiction in "Gone with the Wind" was more deserving of this award.

The first African-American winner was, of course, Hattie McDaniel. The posthumous winner was screenwriter Sidney Howard, who died in a farming accident on 8/23/39.

Answer: Goodbye, Mr. Chips

In "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", Donat played a retired teacher well into his 80s, who fell asleep and dreamed of his 58-year teaching career at a boys' boarding school. The flashbacks started at age 22 when he started out as a shy and unpopular teacher. Then we saw him develop his teaching skills with the help of a feisty woman (played by Greer Garson), whom he met and married. Donat thus played the character covering a period of over 60 years.

The wrong choices were earlier Donat films. According to the website filmsite.org, Donat was likely given the 1939 award to make up for his having been ignored for his earlier work. One suspects that if voting were done today, Clark Gable would surely win for his "Gone with the Wind" role, based on, if nothing else, his "Frankly, my dear..." line having become one of the most famous lines in movie history.

Answer: brain tumor

In "Dark Victory", the Bette Davis character had a brain tumor, diagnosed by a specialist, who immediately operated to remove it. They fell in love, married, and moved to Vermont. He attempted to hide the negative results of the biopsy from her, but she found out anyway and the film depicted her attempts to deal with this horrible news.

This film's fine supporting cast included Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan, and Geraldine Fitzgerald.

Answer: Of Mice and Men

"Of Mice and Men" faithfully told the Steinbeck story of two men, George and Lennie, wandering the country during the depression, seeking a better life for themselves. Lennie's mental retardation led to disastrous consequences for the pair.

In 1940 a film based on another Steinbeck depression-era work, "The Grapes of Wrath", was released.

Answer: The Hound of the Baskervilles

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" concerned the mysterious death of Sir Charles Baskerville, of an apparent heart attack. The victim's best friend, Dr. Mortimer, was convinced the death was caused by a supernatural creature who haunted the area in the form of a hound. Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone, was called in to investigate.

By 1946 Rathbone had tired of the Holmes role, and went on to other projects, mostly the stage. He died in 1967 at the age of 75.

Answer: Smith

In "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Stewart's character pursued his goal of creating a national boys camp, but ran into opposition from corrupt political bosses, who tried to destroy him.

Demonstrating how tough the competition was in 1939, the only Oscar won by "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" was for Best Original Story, although it was nominated for 10 other Oscars as well.

Answer: Stagecoach

Mitchell won for playing the drunken Doc Boone in "Stagecoach", a film about a simple stagecoach journey which got complicated by the fact that Geronimo was on the warpath in the area. The passengers on the trip included many interesting characters, whose interaction created the film's appeal.

Mitchell also played Scarlett O'Hara's father in "Gone With the Wind", another 1939 film.

Answer: Charles Laughton

In "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", a gypsy girl, Esmeralda, was accused of a murder, and Quasimodo and others tried to save her from the gallows.

Laughton did not receive even an Oscar nomination for his performance in "Hunchback", which can be explained only by the fact that perhaps the Academy felt he had already been sufficiently honored by his 1934 Oscar for "The Private Life of Henry VIII", and his 1936 nomination for "Mutiny on the Bounty".

Answer: Destry Rides Again

"Destry Rides Again" was a Western spoof starring Marlene Dietrich and Jimmy Stewart. Stewart played a sheriff hired to clean up a corrupt town, but the new sheriff did not believe in guns. Mel Brooks' 1974 movie "Blazing Saddles" borrowed a lot of ideas from "Destry Rides Again".

Answer: Intermezzo: A Love Story

In this film Bergman played a piano teacher who fell in love with the father of one of her students. The two travelled together on a tour and spent a vacation together. But the Bergman character recognized that the affair was only an "intermezzo" in their lives, and she sent him back to his family.

The New York Times praised Bergman's performance in its review of "Intermezzo", citing "the freshness, the simplicity and the natural dignity that are Miss Bergman's pleasant gift to our screen."

Bergman went on to have a marvelous film career, ending with her Emmy-winning portrayal of Golda Meir in a 1982 TV mini-series. Sadly, the award had to be given posthumously, as she died of cancer in 1982, a day after celebrating her 67th birthday in London.