12th Academy Awards: choose your alternate nominees (1939)
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — General Discussion
sheetsadam1 — 1 month ago(February 09, 2026 06:11 PM)
The idea is this: what if the nominees for Best Picture each year weren't nominated? Which films should have taken their place in that scenario? Pick your alternate selections for Best Picture and, if you wish, mention anybody who you feel was overlooked in any other category. No need to confine yourself to the types of films which typically get nominated or to English-language cinema. If you missed the previous years, they can be found on the classic film board.
All films released in 1939 are eligible.
The nominees were:
Gone With the Wind- Victor Fleming
Dark Victory - Edmund Goulding
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - Sam Wood
Love Affair - Leo McCarey
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Frank Capra
Ninotchka - Ernst Lubitsch
Of Mice and Men - Lewis Milestone
Stagecoach - John Ford
The Wizard of Oz - Victor Fleming
Wuthering Heights - William Wyler
What a lineup! This is often cited as one of the best years for American film and for good reason. I've watched eight of the ten and all of them are more than worthy. I'd probably have gone with
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
or
The Wizard of Oz
for the winner over
Gone With the Wind
, but it's hard to quibble with these picks. Still, the Academy could have perhaps replaced two or three of the less-storied nominees with some of these without losing credibility.
My alternate picks:
Young Mr. Lincoln - John Ford
Jamaica Inn - Alfred Hitchcock
The Roaring Twenties - Raoul Walsh
Each Dawn I Die - William Keighley
Gunga Din - George Stevens
The Women - George Cukor
Only Angels Have Wings - Howard Hawks
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - William Dieterle
Draft Barron Trump
- Victor Fleming
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PygmyLion — 1 month ago(February 10, 2026 01:22 AM)
1939 is pretty loaded
From the original nominees, I'd keep:
Gone With the Wind
, "
Goodbye, Mr. Chips
",
Mr.Smith Goes to Washington
, and
Stage Coach
. The other movies on that list are pretty good, but perhaps not to my taste so much.
From your list I like
Young Mr. Lincoln
,
The Roaring Twenties
,
Gunga Din
and
Only Angels have Wings
.
Other nice movies include
The Hound of the Baskervilles
,
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
,
Another Thin Man
,
The Four Feathers
,
Beau Geste
,
Bachelor Mother
,
Drums Along the Mohawk
,
In Name Only
,
The Spy in Black
,
Destry Rides Again
, …
My List of Nominees would be:
Gone With the Wind- Victor Fleming
Goodbye, Mr. Chips - Sam Wood
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - Frank Capra
Stagecoach - John Ford
Young Mr. Lincoln - John Ford
The Roaring Twenties - Raoul Walsh
Gunga Din - George Stevens
Only Angels Have Wings - Howard Hawks
Beau Geste - William Wellman
The Spy in Black - Michael Powell
I'd probably pick
Gone With the Wind
as the winner. Although, I think I like
Stagecoach
the best
- Victor Fleming