Editing 1939 in film (section)

== Events ==
Film historians often rate 1939 as "the greatest year in the history of Hollywood".<ref name=TCMIntro>{{cite web|last=Fristoe|first=Roger|title=Introduction to 1939, Hollywood's Greatest Year|url=http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/238944%7C0/1939-70th-Anniversary-of-Hollywood-s-Greatest-Year.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618182958/http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/238944%7C0/1939-70th-Anniversary-of-Hollywood-s-Greatest-Year.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 18, 2013|publisher=Turner Classic Movies|access-date=August 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="EW Article">{{cite news|last=Schwarzbaum|first=Lisa|title=1939: Film's finest year|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20309483,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223004307/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20309483,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 23, 2010|access-date=August 6, 2011|newspaper=Entertainment Weekly|date=October 2, 2009}}</ref> Hollywood studios were at the height of their [[Classical Hollywood cinema#The golden age|Golden Age]], producing a number of exceptional motion pictures, many of which became honored as all-time classic films.

* February 15 – [[John Ford]]'s Western film ''[[Stagecoach (1939 film)|Stagecoach]]'' starring [[John Wayne]] premieres in New York City and Los Angeles.
* March 31 – Release of the [[20th Century Fox]] film version of ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'', first of a [[Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)|Sherlock Holmes film series]] starring [[Basil Rathbone]] as [[Sherlock Holmes]] and [[Nigel Bruce]] as [[Dr. Watson]].
* June 10 – MGM's first successful animated character, [[Barney Bear]], makes his debut in ''[[The Bear That Couldn't Sleep]]''.
* August 10 – ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' premieres at the Orpheum Theatre in [[Green Bay, Wisconsin]]. Its Hollywood premiere takes place on August 15 at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]] in Los Angeles.
* October 17 – ''[[Mr. Smith Goes to Washington]]'' premieres in [[Washington, D.C.]]
* November 6 – ''Hedda Hopper's Hollywood'' debuts on radio in the United States with gossip columnist [[Hedda Hopper]] as host; the show runs until 1951, making Hopper a powerful figure among the [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] elite.
* December 15 – The epic historical romance film ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'', starring [[Vivien Leigh]], [[Clark Gable]], [[Olivia de Havilland]] and [[Leslie Howard (actor)|Leslie Howard]], premieres at [[Loew's Grand Theatre]] in [[Atlanta]], Georgia, with a three-day-long festival. Based on [[Margaret Mitchell]]'s [[Gone with the Wind (novel)|best-selling novel]] of 1936, it is the longest American film made up to this date (at nearly four hours) and rapidly becomes the [[Timeline of highest-grossing films|highest-grossing film up to this time]].
* [[Canada]] establishes a National Film Commission, predecessor of the [[National Film Board of Canada]], with [[John Grierson]] as first Commissioner.