"1934"

In 1939, right before World War 2 transformed the movie industry and the world, Hollywood produced the most copious output of outstanding films in a single year, titles that endure to this day.

When MGM head Louis B. Mayer authorized the then-princely sum of $75,000 to purchase the film rights to L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” children’s books in 1938, he knew he was in for a challenge. A couple of attempts had already been made to adapt the stories in the silent era, and had fallen flat. Still, Mayer had been impressed with the unexpected success of Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” the prior year, and wanted to match it.

As so often happens in Hollywood, the most famous and beloved dance team in the history of movies was the result of a happy accident. The year was 1933, the studio was the financially strapped RKO, the film a Dolores Del Rio vehicle called “Flying Down to Rio.”

“I intend to live the first half of my life. I don’t care about the rest.”Movie star, athlete, yachtsman, writer, adventurer and overall wild man Errol Flynn gave the world many memorable quotes, but the one above may be the most revealing.

You may not remember their names, but you will certainly remember their faces, their voices, and the characters they played.

Over the decades, our biggest stars and their agents have been forced to navigate yet another fascinating and frustrating aspect of the movie business: which parts to choose.

Any list of the twentieth century’s finest actors is incomplete without Alec Guinness. Yet it’s a name some might overlook because there was never anything remotely showy — or even particularly magnetic — about him.

Myrna Loy is one of those stars whose appeal is timeless. Across the decades, her beautiful eyes project a keen intelligence and self-assurance. It was no illusion.

One of the more fascinating aspects of cinema history lies in identifying those films (and filmmakers) whose true quality and contribution only get recognized well after the fact.