What's streaming from 1938 and which films should we write about?
Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 3:00PM
NATHANIEL R in 1938, Best Picture, Bringing Up Baby, Oscars (30s), Pygmalion, The Great Waltz, The Rage of Paris, streaming

We'll be celebrating 1938 in between regular programming for the next few weeks as we approach the next Supporting Actress Smackdown (September 14th). But before you do your own '38 movie explorations, hit the Smackdown titles first so you can vote on the big event! They are: 

• The Great Waltz - just $1.99 to rent 
This nutso musical bio received 3 Oscar noms, winning for cinematography
• Jezebel - just $1.99 to rent 
This problematic Southern Belle drama is the one that lifted Bette Davis from exciting new talent to superstar (and won her her second Oscar). 5 Oscar noms, winning both Actress categories
• Merrily We Live - free (with ads) on Tubi 
Screwball comedy about a wealthy family taking in hobos. 5 Oscar noms
• Of Human Hearts - $2.99 to rent 
Drama about a preacher's family. Supporting Actress was the only nomination
• You Can't Take It With You - $3.99 to rent 
Frank Capra comedy. 7 Oscar nominations, winning Picture / Director

And you know what to do after you've screened them VOTE before the morning of Sunday, September 13th.

As you undoubtedly know if you're reading TFE, streaming services aren't particularly kind to films that are more than 20 years old. What's available is utterly random and it disappears suddenly and without warning -- for instance Hulu just decimated their once pretty ok "classics" section (which included our very favourite 1938 film, Bringing Up Baby) between when we began drafting this post a month or so ago and now. Now that section includes only 19 films, half of which are now from the 1980s or later. (They did this just when we had gotten used to telling people that they are way better than Netflix for anything pre 2000s and turned us into liars. AAARRRRRGH.)  Anyway, we've done the legwork for you and prepared a list of titles that are currently streaming for free (provided you have certain subscriptions of course) from this particular cinematic year. Let us know in the comments which you're most interested in discussing. This will come as a shocker but we're actually way ahead of the curve this month and have already finished screening all 5 Smackdown titles and most of the 10 Best Picture nominees, too... WUT?

TEN 1938 MOVIES THAT ARE FREE TO STREAM

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (Curtiz & Keighley) free on HBOMax
This beloved swashbuckler starring Errol Flynn & Olivia de Havilland was nominated for 4 Oscars, winning 3 (all of its categories except Best Picture)

ALEXANDER NEVSKY  (Eisenstein & Vasilev) free on Criterion Channel
Historical drama about a Russian prince leading an army.

ALGIERS (John Cromwell) free on Amazon Prime 
A drama about a jewel thief starring Charles Boyer and Hedy Lamarr. 4 Oscar nominations.

BRINGING UP BABY (Howard Hawks) free on HBO Max
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, and a leopard named Baby star in this screwball classic. 

COWBOY AND THE LADY (Potter, Heisler, & Wyler) free on Amazon Prime
A romantic comedy with Gary Cooper and Merle Oberon. 3 Oscar nominations.

THE DUKE IS TOPS (Ralph Cooper & William L Nolte) free on Amazon Prime
Lena Horne's film debut. 

THE LADY VANISHES (Alfred Hitchcock) free on Prime (fuzzy) and HBO Max (good copy)
Hitchcock's penultimate British film before "going Hollywood" is a train set mystery. Hitchcock won Best Director at the NYFCC awards.

PYGMALION (Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard) free on Criterion Channel AND HBO Max
Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller star as Professor Henry Higgins and Ellza Dolittle. It's the adaptation of the play that inspired My Fair Lady of course. 4 major Oscars nominations including Best Picture, winning for its Screenplay.

THE RAGE OF PARIS (Henry Koster) free on Amazon Prime
This Venice Film festival selection about a husband hunting French girl stars the wonderful Danielle Darrieux who some of you will remember as the grandmother in the all-star musical comedy and French Oscar submission 8 Women (2002). 

A WOMAN'S FACE (Gustaf Molander) free on Criterion Channel
One of Ingrid Bergman's last Swedish pictures before going Hollywood. It's a drama about a disfigured woman (de-glam has been with us forever!). Joan Crawford remade this picture in English three years later.

 

OSCAR-NOMINATED 1938 TITLES THAT ARE CHEAP TO RENT

Have we ever told you that Claude Rains is one of our all time favourite actors?

THE CITADEL (King Vidor) $1.99 on Amazon Prime or Apple TV
Rosalind Russell and Robert Donat star in this drama about high society doctor. 4 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

FOUR DAUGHTERS (Michael Curtiz) $1.99 on Amazon Prime or Apple TV
Drama about a family of marriage-age daughters. 5 Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

MARIE ANTOINETTE (W.S. Van Dyke) $1.99 on Amazon Prime or Apple TV
Norma Shearer took the Volpi Cup in Venice for Best Actress. 4 Oscar nominations followed.

If you've got lots of movie-watching time this month here are even more free 1938 titles.

MORE FREE '38 FILMS ON HULU

MORE FREE '38 FILMS ON CRITERION CHANNEL
Strangely they have zero Hollywood pictures from that year

MORE FREE '38 FILMS ON AMAZON PRIME
They mostly have B movies available but some are of interest

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
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