Popular Movies.

Although the 1930s were generally a very strong decade for the American film industry, 1939 was an extraordinary year, even by Depression standards. This was a year in which two of the American Film Institute's ten most popular films of all time were released— Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both directed by Victor Fleming — and in which the country was treated to William Wyler's memorable adaptation of Wuthering Heights, to Greta Garbo's first comic role (in Ernst Lubitsch's humorous treatment of Soviets in Paris, Ninotchka), and to Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland's sentimental showbiz comedy Babes in Arms.

Americana, Hollywood Style.

As Europe teetered on the brink of war, Hollywood regaled American audiences in 1939 with increasingly idealized visions of American life, including director John Ford's account of early pioneer life, Drums Along the Mohawk, his Abraham...