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Welcome to theOscarSite's yearly Oscars® pages
This page covers the Awards for 1939, the year that many consider the greatest in American film history. If you wish, read my disclaimer.
Click here for information on the Awards Ceremony for this year's nominees.
Use this link to go to my listing of every film and every person ever nominated for an Award!
Use this link to see every film nominated for an Award this year and how it ranks in nominations and Awards!
"Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in history, I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable falling on his face and not me." -- Gary Cooper
Or use this link to view a larger version of the film.
Outstanding ProductionPrior to the Awards for 1951, no producer(s) named with nominations
Scientific Or Technical Class I (Statuette): No award given for 1939.
Class II (Plaque): No award given for 1939.
Class III (Citation): George Anderson (Warner Bros. Studio) - For an improved positive head for sun arcs.
John Arnold (MGM Studio) - For the M-G-M mobile camera crane.
Thomas T. Moulton & Fred Albin (Sound Department of the Samuel Goldwyn Studio) - For the origination and application of the Delta db test to sound recording in motion pictures.
Farciot Edouart, Joseph E. Robbins & William Rudolph (Paramount Pictures Inc.) - For the design and construction of a quiet portable treadmill.
Emery Huse & Ralph B. Atkinson (Eastman Kodak Company) - For their specifications for chemical analysis of photographic developers and fixing baths.
Harold Nye (Warner Bros. Studio) - For a miniature incandescent spot lamp.
A. J. Tondreau (Warner Bros. Studio) - For the design and manufacture of an improved sound track printer.
F. R. Abbott, Haller Belt & Alan Cook (Bausch & Lomb Optical Company) - For faster projection lenses. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Mole-Richardson Company - For a new type automatically controlled projection arc lamp. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Mitchell Camera Company - For a new type process projection head. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Charles Handley, David Joy (National Carbon Company) - For improved
and more stable high-intensity carbons. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Winton Hoch (Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation) - For an auxiliary optical system. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Don Musgrave (Selznick International Pictures Inc.) - For pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production, GONE WITH THE WIND. (Part of a Multiple Award for important contributions in cooperative development of new improved Process Projection Equipment).
Special Awards Douglas Fairbanks - Recognizing the unique and outstanding contribution of Douglas Fairbanks, first President of the Academy, to the international development of the motion picture. Winner of this Commemorative Award received a Statuette.
Motion Picture Relief Fund -- Jean Hersholt, President; Ralph Morgan, Chairman of the Executive Committee; Ralph Block, First Vice-President & Conrad Nagel - Acknowledging the outstanding services to the industry during the past year of the Motion Picture Relief Fund and its progressive leadership. Winners presented Plaques.
Judy Garland - For her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year. Winner presented a Miniature Statuette.
William Cameron Menzies - For outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of GONE WITH THE WIND. Winner presented a Plaque.
Technicolor Company - For its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen. Winner presented a Statuette.
FIRSTS · Gone with the Wind's nine-Award sweep (8 competitive, 1 honorary) was a landmark.
· Hattie McDaniel broke the color barrier not only by winning an Oscar® but by being the first black guest at the Academy Awards.
· Bob Hope made his debut as Oscar® host, the first of 19 such appearances as host or co-host.
· Following the leak of winners' names by the Los Angeles Times, from this point forward only Price, Waterhouse would have the names prior to the ceremony.
· G.W.T.W. screenwriter Sidney Howard, killed in a freak tractor mishap on his Massachusetts farm, was the first posthumous Oscar® winner.
RULE CHANGES · "Special Effects" added.
· Cinematography split into "Black and White" and "Color" categories.
· Directors could be nominated for only one motion picture in a single year.
· English-language films now eligible in all categories.
ROLE REVERSALS · The seriously considered Scarletts: Jean Arthur, Claudette Colbert, Bette Davis, Jean Harlow, Tallulah Bankhead, Miriam Hopkins, Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Norma Shearer, and Carole Lombard. Among the Rhetts: Errol Flynn and Margaret Mitchell's own choice, Basil Rathbone.
· The Wizard of Oz was launched as a star vehicle for Shirley Temple.
SINS OF OMISSION Picture: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Women, Four Feathers, Gunga Din Actor: Henry Fonda - Young Mr. Lincoln, Charles Laughton - The Hunchback of Notre Dame Actress: Merle Oberon - Wuthering Heights Supporting Actor: Frank Morgan - The Wizard of Oz Supporting Actress: Ina Claire - Ninotchka Song: "Good Morning," "Lydia, the Tattooed Lady"
UNMENTIONABLES · Hattie McDaniel and her escort were seated at a table in the back of the room, near the kitchen.
· When McDaniel's name was announced, Olivia De Havilland leaped up and ran to the kitchen to sob. Irene Mayer Seznick followed her, told her to grow up, that she'd have plenty of other chances for an Oscar®, and ordered her to go out and congratulate McDaniel. De Havilland, putting on her prettiest Melanie smile, did just that.
· McDaniel's performance in G.W.T.W. was harshly criticized by the N.A.A.C.P., which thought that her role as the long-suffering, loyal slave Mammy was a giant step backward for the "Negro" image.
· Frank Capra was a working director on Oscar® Night, as well as a nominee. He'd made the Academy a quick $30,000 by selling Warners the rights to film the banquet for a short subject. With cinematographer Charles Rosher shooting away under Capra's direction, the 1,200 guests prepared for the roving cameras by dressing to the nines; Daily Variety estimated that "the ermine and mink and silks and satins that constituted the femme finery for the occasion represented an investment of better than half a million dollars."
· The Los Angeles Times broke its vow not to publish the names of the winners until after the ceremony. The 8:45 edition spilled the beans and late arrivals Clark Gable and Bette Davis were among those who knew whether or not they were winners by the time they entered the Ambassador.
· New Academy president Walter Wanger promised that he would strive to create "an Academy that will see that our public relations are maintained on the same level as the great steel, iron and motor industries." The audience heartily applauded -- all except director Alfred Hitchcock, seated at Wanger's guests of honor table, and fast asleep during the ovation.
· As he accepted his Award for Best Supporting Actor, Thomas Mitchell confessed, "I didn't think I was that good. I don't have a speech, I'm too incoherent."
· After presenting the Best Actor and Actress statuettes to Robert Donat and Vivien Leigh, Spencer Tracy never attended another Oscar® ceremony.
· Clark Gable was upset with the way things had gone. Mrs. Gable tried to cheer up her husband on the way home: "Aw, don't be blue, Pappy. I just know we'll bring one home next year." "No, we won't," Gable responded. "This was it. This was my last chance. I'm never gonna go to one of these things again." "Not you, you self-centered bastard," Carole Lombard answered. "I mean me."
· Number one box-office attraction Mickey Rooney handed 17-year-old Judy Garland what would be her only Oscar®. She rewarded the audience by singing her heart-tugging fairy tale rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," which had won that evening for Best Song.
· MGM execs thought Oz was running too long and seriously considered cutting "Rainbow."
And, of course, here's the place where I have to put the disclaimer: This page was created for my own personal use and was intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. "Oscar" and "Academy Awards" are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The "Oscar" Statuette is copyrighted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. These pages are neither authorized nor endorsed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I cannot take responsibility for any errors or omissions on these pages; i.e., if you lose a bet because of something I missed, don't expect me to pay it off!
Sidebar highlights come from several sources, most notably The Academy Awards® - The Complete Unofficial History, by Gail Kinn & Jim Piazza, and Inside Oscar® - The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards®, by Mason Wiley & Damien Bona.
This page is authored by Gary Moody. If you have comments or questions about the page, please e-mail me at gary@theOscarSite.com.
Use this link to go to my listing of every film and every person ever nominated for an Award! 
Motion Picture Relief Fund --