"Gone With The Wind" - An American Classic Turns 75

On the 15th of December a premiere was held in Atlanta at the Lowe's Grand Theater for a film, a million people came for the viewing. The year was 1939 and little did any of these people know that this particular movie would become a Hollywood classic, the name of that movie - "Gone With The Wind".

What makes something a classic, according to Webster a classic is defined as "Something that has come to be considered one of the best of its kind, and example of excellence and has been popular for a long time".  I think it's safe to say that this move fits very nicely into that definition, especially when you consider that it's celebrating it's 75th year and is still going strong.

A little background: The film is an epic historical romance adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer winning 1936 novel, produced by David O Selznick, directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the  19th-century American South during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, it tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara (daughter of a Georgia plantation owner) her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, the love/hate relationship she has with Ashley's future wife Melanie Hamilton and her marriage to Rhett Butler.

The casting of the two lead roles became a complex, two-year endeavor. For the role of Rhett Butler, Selznick wanted  Clark Gable from the start, but Gable was under contract to MGM, who never loaned him to other studios. it took a lot of negotiating back and forth before a deal was made.

For the role of Scarlett, Selznick began a nationwide casting call that interviewed 1,400 unknowns.  Many famous—or soon-to-be-famous—actresses were also considered, but only thirty-one women were actually screen-tested for the role. Eventually it was narrowed down to two -  Paulette Goddard and Vivien Leigh - tested again on December 20th 1938 (in technicolor) Vivien Leigh won the role.

Oil Painting of Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara

  

Oil Painting of Clark Gable as Rhett Butler

Of course after all this time it's hard to imagine anyone else playing these two roles. Another interesting fact is the film set a record for wins and nominations at the 12th Academy Awards held in 1940. Of the thirteen nominations it won eight, which included - Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Interior Decoration and Best Editing.

Olivia De Havilland & Leslie Howard as Melanie Hamilton and Ashley Wilkes

Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara

There have been numerous surveys and polls taken over the years and "Gone With The Wind" has always been voted most popular film by Americans nationwide, so it's really not that surprising that it's celebrating it's 75th year without any signs of fading away. 

Well Scarlett - "I guess we really do give a damn".