Best Family Movies of 1939

The classic Shirley Temple film in which a little girl goes in search of her father who is reported missing by the military during the Second Boer War.

Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

Gulliver washes ashore on Lilliput and attempts to prevent war between that tiny kingdom and its equally-miniscule rival, Blefiscu, as well as smooth the way for the romance between the Princess and Prince of the opposing lands. In this he is alternately aided and hampered by the Lilliputian town crier and general fussbudget, Gabby. A life-threatening situation develops when the bumbling trio of Blefiscu spies, Sneak, Snoop, and Snitch, manage to steal Gulliver's pistol.

A mother hen is taking her brood for a walk. They encounter obstacles along the way, such as traffic. There's one clumsy chick who repeatedly has more trouble than the rest.

Police officer Porky is called to investigate strange noises at a house that might be haunted. Before he arrives, we tour the house and hear some evil-sounding cackles, which, it turns out, are coming from a radio one that a ghost was listening to. The ghost then sings the title song while getting ready for a night of haunting, just as Porky arrives. The ghost invites him in with a woman's voice, then disappears. Porky comes in and gets spooked by some flapping curtains. When he comes back in, the ghost puts a couple frogs into a pair of shoes and sets them loose; they collect a hatrack and a curtain, forming a sort of black ghost that ultimately scares Porky upstairs right into the arms of the ghost.

While trying to collect autographs at a Hollywood studio, Donald meets a number of movie stars, and runs afoul of a security guard.

The future is bleak for a troubled boy from a broken home in the slums. He runs away when his step father breaks his violin, ending up sleeping in the basement of a music school for poor children.

A tour of the zoo, in typical Tex Avery style: a series of one-liners and sight gags, punctuated by Egghead teasing a lion at intervals, despite the admonishments of the narrator.

Porky Pig is on his way to the store to pick up some groceries for his mother when he walks by a sign saying that the local movie theater is having a "kids admitted free" day. The excited Porky rushes in and views a series of spoofs of newsreels, movie trailers, feature films, and even the Lone Ranger!

Killer Diller and his gang are robbing every bank in town in numerical order (except the 13th National Bank, which they skip out of superstition). Despite their predictable actions, the police are unable to catch them...until they get a tip from an unlikely source.

Rather out of place at a swanky dog show, Pluto flirts with Fifi, a dainty Pekingese. The judge orders Mickey and Pluto to leave, but when a fire breaks out Pluto rescues Fifi and is proclaimed a hero.

On a dark and stormy night, the Two Curious Puppies wander into an old dark house, and fall victim to the tricks of a mischievous magician's rabbit.

A man finds himself the father, by proxy, of a ten-month-old baby and becomes involved in the turbulent lives of the child's family.

This classic family drama stars Shirley Temple as young orphan Susannah Sheldon, the sole survivor of a brutal Indian attack who's befriended by Canadian Mountie Angus Montague (Randolph Scott) and his girlfriend, Vicky (Margaret Lockwood). The couple takes Susannah under their wing and soon learn that having a precocious child around can come in handy; when the Indians return, the girl uses her charm to broker peace.Shirley is the orphaned survivor of an Indian attack in the Canadian West. A Mountie and his girlfriend take her in...

Mickey and Pluto go hunting for quail. Pluto scares away the first ones they see; Mickey scolds him, then relents. He shows Pluto how to be a pointer, and they set off after another quail, but Mickey accidentally jumps on a bear's nose, and thinks it's Pluto. Meanwhile, Pluto finds the quail and points. The babies climb on board and start picking at his hairs, but Pluto's been told not to move. Mickey finally comes across Pluto, who by now is covered by small animals, and realizes he's being followed by a bear. Mickey tries to reason with the bear, and backs off a cliff, onto Pluto.

Sniffles the mouse has to get an owl's egg for a scavenger hunt, but once he's gotten it, the egg hatches and draws the attention of the mouse-eating father owl.

Pete Roleum, an oil droplet, narrates a presentation about the history and uses of oil: He starts by introducing some of his relations, with illustrations of the things that they have done throughout history. He then turns to the modern era, and shows that oil has a great many important uses, some of which might come as something of a surprise.

At the hobo hotel, it's morning. One hobo awakens, and carefully avoids the shower, except for a drop on each eye. He stops at the medicine cabinet for some "soda fizz" which jets about, causing havoc. A train goes by, and the swinging rhythm inspires a makeshift clarinet solo. The cook grabs some fish from the fridge, which opens right onto the river. Another train whistle prompts an announcer; the hobos board down a slide. The clarinet player starts up again, and everyone dances. The engineer notices, stops the train, and pulls the "hobo eliminator" lever, which ejects them. Fortunately, they land right in front of a sign looking for amateur musicians at a radio station. They play and sing, to everyone's enjoyment. The station owner offers them luxury but a passing train whistle changes their minds.

The boys buy mama a new hat for Mother's Day, but on the way home fall in the mud and ruin it. They swap the bad hat with one that a nearby horse is wearing and head home.

Porky balks at learning the Pledge of Allegiance until Uncle Sam appears to him in a dream and gives him a lesson in American history.

Information Please: Series 1, No. 1 is a 1939 short film of the famous show from RKO Radio. The segment stars Clifton Fadiman, Rex Stout, and John Kieran.It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel, a rare instance of a game show being nominated for an Academy Award.

A fussy shopkeeper's life drastically changes when his wife takes in two homeless boys.

The Our Gang kids put on a circus in the barn to raise money to help Porky's family pay the rent and avoid getting evicted.

While under a hypnotic spell, Alfalfa thinks he's one of the Three Musketeers and challenges Butch to a duel.

Where is all the fun hiding? In a Bucketful of Cartoons that’s where. Come join Singa Home Entertainment as they bring some of the most beloved color classic’s to you and your family. Featuring: The Dog Show Off, A Self-Made Mongrel, Base Brawl, Fresh Vegetable Mystery, Little Lambskins, A Kick In Time, The Barnyard Brat, Hunky and Spunky In Always Kickin', Snubbed By A Snob, You Cant Shoe A Horsefly, Hunky And Spunky.

Cécile, Annette, Yvonne, Émilie and Marie, the Dionne Quintuplets, turn five years old and have a private birthday party in their garden. Other than the five little French-Canadian princesses-of-the-world, the attendees at the party for the sheltered sisters are their doctor-and-mentor Roy Dafoe; a priest and two nurses; radio's "Town Crier" Alexander Woollcott; and RKO-Newsreel cameraman Harry Smith.