Until it was overtaken by The Sound of Music, Star Wars, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and several other modern-day films, it was the most financially successful movie of all time. It remains one of Hollywood's most beloved films, often topping popularity polls as the greatest movie ever made. Based on Margaret Mitchell's best-selling novel, this slickly told love story set during the Civil War starred CLARK GABLE, VIVIEN LEIGH, LESLIE HOWARD, and OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND. The superproduction was guided from start to finish by producer DAVID O. SELZNICK.
In many respects Gone With the Wind was an unlikely hit. It had long been a maxim in Hollywood that films about the Civil War don't do well at the box office; after all, half of the country is not going to like the outcome. Beyond marketability, the movie was troubled from the start by production problems. For instance, Clark Gable didn't want to play Rhett Butler despite the fact that he was the overwhelming choice for the role among movie fans. Only after strong studio pressure did he agree to accept the part.
The other male star of the film, Leslie Howard, was dead set against playing Ashley Wilkes; he was cajoled into taking the role by being given the chance to produce (and star) in Intermezzo (1939). Nor did Gone With the Wind have a leading lady—even after production began. Vivien Leigh was hired to play Scarlett O'Hara after the burning of Atlanta (one of the film's most famous scenes) and after a much-ballyhooed talent search had been conducted. Among the actresses seriously considered for the lead female role were Paulette Goddard, KATHARINE HEPBURN, BETTE DAVIS, LORETTA YOUNG, and Miriam Hopkins. Among the enormous numbers of less-serious contenders were JEAN HARLOW, Jean Arthur, Talullah Bankhead, and, believe it or not, Lucille Ball.
There were even more strikes against this production: Selznick went through three directors (GEORGE CUKOR, Sam Wood, and Victor Fleming), three cinematographers (LEE GARMES, Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan—the latter two stayed with the production), and interminable script revisions (by the likes of Ben Hecht, John Van Druten, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jo Swerling, and Sidney Howard, who received the sole screen credit). The film ran 219 minutes, the longest movie ever released theatrically in America up to that time (and for several decades after).
Selznick acquired the rights to Gone With the Wind in a most unusual way. In Mel Gussow's biography of DARRYL F. ZANUCK, Don't Say Yes Until I Finish Talking, the TWENTIETH CENTURY–FOX boss is quoted as saying there was a bidding war among the studios for the popular novel. . . . "To end the bidding, at the suggestion of L. B. MAYER, we met in Thalberg's bungalow, the heads of the studios, about five. . . . Someone suggested, let's put our names on slips of paper and put them in a hat and draw one slip out and whosoever's name is on the slip will purchase it—whatever the price. . . . the first paper touched had Selznick's signature on it. That's how he got Gone With the Wind."
Selznick didn't get off easy, however. He had the property but he had to agree to distribute through MGM to get the services of Clark Gable. MGM bought Selznick's rights to the film during the 1940s, and every seven years reaped a bonanza on reissues of the movie.
Gone With the Wind won the Best Picture Oscar for 1939 along with eight other Academy Awards. At the time, it was the record holder for the most Oscars ever awarded to any one film. It broke other ground as well by having in its cast the first black performer, HATTIE MCDANIEL, to win an Oscar. Less well known is the fact that Vivien Leigh was the first British performer to win a Best Actress ACADEMY AWARD for her portrayal of Scarlett. The film also put just the slightest dent in the Hays Code by virtue of the inclusion of Rhett's famous line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."
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