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Gone with the Wind is the story of a rebellious Southern belle from Georgia (much like the book's author Margaret Mitchell) named Scarlett O'Hara and her life experiences before, during, and after the Civil War.
Mitchell uses Scarlett's character to show the effects the war had on both the Old South and its plantation families.
The novel includes many references to Georgia (where Scarlett's plantation home Tara is located) and Atlanta where she spends time during the War, falling for Rhett Butler before the city is evacuated as Sherman and his troops attack and burn the city. In fact, much of the book takes place on Peachtree Street where Scarlett and Rhett lived. Gone with the Wind's vivid and accurate account of the fall of Atlanta in 1864—and the devastation that stretched across the city—is one reason the novel won a Pulitzer Prize.
The Film
Directed by Victor Fleming and produced by David O. Selznick, the 233 minute-long movie version of Margaret Mitchell's beloved book starred Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes, and Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton.
It later won 10 Academy Awards, a record that stood for years. It has sold more tickets than any other film in history, and today is considered by many including the American Film Institute as one of the greatest and most popular films of all time. It is also one of Atlanta's most significant contributions to pop culture (along with Coca-Cola).
Casting was a long and complicated process. Producer David O. Selznick wanted the perfect Scarlett O'Hara. He originally considered the soon-to-be-discovered actresses Joan Crawford, Lucille Ball, Loretta Young, Carole Lombard, Lana Turner, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis. At the time, Vivien Leigh was a young English actress not well known in America. However, Selznick had seen her in two movies, A Yank at Oxford and Fire Over England, and was secretly considering her for the part.
The film was originally supposed to be directed by George Cukor, but he was fired after less than three weeks of shooting. Cukor was replaced by Victor Fleming, who was finishing up directing the Wizard of Oz. Vivien Leigh did not get along with Fleming. He wanted her to be a “bitch,” while Cukor did not. There are many stories of their “cross conversations,” including one where she reportedly told him, “I can't be a bitch,” to which he replied, “Miss Leigh, take the script and shove it up your royal British ass!”
After filming finished in 1939, Selznick, his wife, film investor Jock Whitney and film editor Hal Kern drove to Riverside, California for a visit to the Fox Theater there (not the one in Atlanta as is widely believed) that was playing a double-feature of Beau Gest and Hawaiian Nights. Kern asked for the theater manager, telling him they selected the Fox for a first preview of Gone with the Wind.
The manager was told that he could make an announcement and show the rough, unfinished version of the film as soon as Hawaiian Nights was over, but that he could not say what the film was. People were allowed to leave, but the theater was then sealed with no re-admissions and no phone calls allowed.
When the movie began, the audience saw Selznick's name on screen and began whispering to each other, because they had been reading about the movie's production for over two years. Some time later, the manager told a reporter:
After the film ended, there was an incredible ovation. Audience members wrote comments on preview cards, suggesting that rather than edit the film down to a shorter time, news reels and movie shorts should be removed.
Atlanta Premiere
On December 15, 1939, Gone with the Wind held its official premiere at the Loew's Grand Theatre at the corner of Peachtree and Forsyth Streets in downtown Atlanta with three days of festivities hosted by Atlanta Mayor William B. Hartsfield.
These included limousine parades with stars from the movie, antebellum fronts placed on homes and stores, thousands of Confederate flags and a lavish costume ball. The governor of Georgia, E.D. Rivers, declared December 15th a state holiday. Later, President Jimmy Carter called it “the biggest event to happen in the South in my lifetime.”
Clark Gable originally threatened to boycott the events because he was afraid that he would be injured in some way by the estimated crowds of fans. However, he decided to attend at the last minute.
Because Georgia was still a segregated state, black actress Hattie McDaniel (who played Mammy in the film) would have had to sit in the “colored” section of the movie theater. She therefore sent a letter to Selznick, letting him know she would be unable to attend the premiere and even refused to allow her photo to be in the program.
The book and film both contain a lot of racial tension, with black characters portrayed and acted toward both nicely and not so nicely. During the premiere, local promoters recruited black Atlantans to dress up as slaves and sing in a “Negro choir” on the steps of a plantation built for the event. Many black community leaders protested. Martin Luther King, Sr., a prominent Atlanta preacher, was not among the protesters. He brought his then 10-year-old son, Martin Luther King, Jr. who sang that night in the choir.
The stars arrived by plane into Candler Field Airport (now Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport) on December 13th and were rushed by car to the Georgian Terrace Hotel across the street from the Fox Theatre. Ann Rutherford was the first to arrive, followed by Vivien Leigh (accompanied by her suitor, actor Laurence Olivier) plus Olivia de Havilland and David O. Selznick. The next day, Clark Gable and his wife Carole Lombard landed at the airport. The cast later paraded down Peachtree Street in limousines so the public could view their “arrival.”
On Friday morning, they enjoyed a tour of the Atlanta Cyclorama, where Clark Gable is said to have commented that “the only thing missing is a likeness of Rhett Butler.” One was added soon after. After the tour, Margaret Mitchell, Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Haviland, and David O. Selznick were driven to Piedmont Park for a press party before the premiere at the Loew's Grand Theatre.
Over 300,000 people came out to the premiere on December 15, 1939, a freezing cold night in Atlanta. After four and a half hours, a large crowd was still waiting outside to watch the stars leave. When it was over, the cast flew to New York for the premiere there the next week. Laurence Olivier successfully proposed to Vivien Leigh on the flight out (she said yes), and the film went on to win 10 Academy Awards. Hattie McDaniel, who had refused to attend the Atlanta premiere, won Best Supporting Actress—the first time an African-American actor had ever received the award.
After the movie was released, the set of Tara remained at Selznick Studios in California for many years. The facade, which was in terrible condition, was purchased by ex-Georgia Governor Herman Talmage's wife. She loaned the front door of Tara to the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, where it is now on permanent display along with other artifacts from the set.
An additional Road to Tara Museum is located in Clayton County, the Tara plantation's fictional setting. In 1978, the Loew's Grand Theatre—where the film premiered—was destroyed by a fire (the Georgia-Pacific building sits on the site today).
