Number 1 Songs in 1939 — UK and US Charts
"We're Going to Hang Out the Washing on the Siegfried Line"
Flanagan and Allen
This jaunty wartime novelty song captured the defiant optimism of the early 'Phoney War' period, when many Britons still believed the conflict would be short. The music-hall duo Flanagan and Allen became morale-boosting favourites.
"Over the Rainbow"
Judy Garland
Judy Garland's wistful ballad from The Wizard of Oz won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and became her signature tune. The song almost didn't survive the editing process — MGM executives wanted to cut it from the film.
Biggest Films of 1939 — Box Office Hits
Gone with the Wind
Box Office: $32 million (initial release, adjusted: over $400 million)
Victor Fleming's epic Civil War romance starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh became the highest-grossing film in history, a record it held for decades when adjusted for inflation. It won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Hattie McDaniel became the first African American to win an Oscar.
Fashion and Style of 1939
Fashion, clothing and visual culture from the era
Architecture and Buildings of 1939
Buildings completed and structures opened in 1939