Gone With the Wind, an American novel by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. The novel is one of the most popular of all time, and an American film adaptation released in 1939 became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood and received a record-breaking number of Academy Awards.

Mitchell's work relates the story of a rebellious Georgia woman named Scarlett O'Hara and her travails with friends, family and lovers in the midst of the antebellum South, the American Civil War, and the Reconstruction period.

Contents

1 The book 2 The film 2.1 Credits 3 External link

The book

Critics and historians regard the book as having a strong ideological commitment to the cause of the Confederacy and a romanticized view of the culture of the antebellum South. This is apparent from the book's opening pages, which describe how Scarlett's beaux , the Tarleton twins, have been expelled from university and are accompanied home by their elder brothers out of a sense of honor: a metaphor for the South's viewpoint on the statehood of Kansas.

Nevertheless, the book includes a vivid description of the fall of Atlanta in 1864 and the devastation of war (some of it absent from the 1939 film), and shows a considerable amount of historical research. Mitchell's sweeping narrative of war and loss helped the book win the Pulitzer Prize on May 3, 1937.

The official sequel, Scarlett , was written by Alexandra Ripley in 1991.

In 2000, the copyright holders attempted to suppress publication of The Wind Done Gone, a book that told the story from the point of view of the slaves. A federal appeals court ruled against the plaintiffs in 2001. The successful defense was based on the court's acceptance of the book as parody.

The film

In 1938, film producer David O. Selznick decided that he wanted to create a movie based on Gone With the Wind. He bought the rights for $50,000, a record amount at the time. A well-publicized casting search for an actress to play Scarlett resulted in the hire of young British actress Vivien Leigh, although many other famous or soon-to-be-famous actresses had been auditioned, considered for the role, or tested, including Katharine Hepburn, Norma Shearer, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Susan Hayward, Carole Lombard, Paulette Goddard, Irene Dunne, Merle Oberon, Ida Lupino, Joan Fontaine, Loretta Young, Miriam Hopkins, Jean Arthur, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Bennett, Frances Dee and Lucille Ball.

Shooting began on December 10, 1938 and was completed on November 11, 1939. The film premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 15, 1939, with estimated production costs of $4 million, and has become the highest-grossing movie of all time (adjusted for inflation). It garnered thirteen Academy Award nominations and eight Awards.

Although some have criticized the film for sanitizing or even promoting the values of the Old South, filmgoers in 1939 had a different view. Scarlett O'Hara's father, Gerald, deferred to his wife, Ellen, who was portrayed as the real head of the O'Hara household. A black woman, Mammy, was not shy about upbraiding her white mistress, Scarlett. In early 1940, an African American would win an Academy Award when Hattie McDaniel walked to the podium to accept her Oscar as Best Supporting Actress.

The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and has undergone a complete digital restoration.

Credits

A full list can be found at The Internet Movie Database: Gone With the Wind (1939)

• Directed by
  • George Cukor (uncredited)
  • Victor Fleming
  • Sam Wood (uncredited)
• Writing credits
  • Margaret Mitchell (I) (novel)
  • Sidney Howard - adapted screenplay
  • Ben Hecht (uncredited) and
  • David O. Selznick (uncredited) and
  • Jo Swerling (uncredited) &
  • John Van Druten (uncredited)
• Cast (in credits order)
  • Clark Gable .... Rhett Butler
  • Vivien Leigh .... Scarlett O'Hara
  • Leslie Howard .... Ashley Wilkes
  • Olivia de Havilland .... Melanie Hamilton
  • Hattie McDaniel .... Mammy
  • Thomas Mitchell (I) .... Gerald O'Hara
  • Barbara O'Neil .... Ellen O'Hara (as Barbara O'Neill)
  • Evelyn Keyes .... Suellen O'Hara
  • Ann Rutherford .... Carreen O'Hara
  • George Reeves .... Stuart Tarleton
  • Fred Crane .... Brent Tarleton
  • Oscar Polk .... Pork
  • Butterfly McQueen .... Prissy
  • Victor Jory (I) .... Jonas Wilkerson, The Overseer
  • Everett Brown (I) .... Big Sam, the foreman
  • Howard C. Hickman .... John Wilkes (as Howard Hickman)
  • Alicia Rhett .... India Wilkes
  • Rand Brooks .... Charles Hamilton
  • Carroll Nye .... Frank Kennedy, a guest
  • Laura Hope Crews .... Aunt Pittypat Hamilton
  • Ona Munson .... Belle Watling
• Produced by
  • David O. Selznick
• Oscar Record
  • Best Picture - David O. Selznick, producer
  • Best Actress in a Leading Role - Vivien Leigh
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Hattie McDaniel
  • Best Art Direction - Lyle R. Wheeler
  • Best Cinematography, Color - Ernest Haller , and Ray Rennahan
  • Best Director - Victor Fleming
  • Best Film Editing - Hal C. Kern , and James E. Newcom
  • Best Writing, Screenplay - Sidney Howard
  • Honorary Award - William Cameron Menzies - "For outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind." (plaque).
  • Technical Achievement Award - Don Musgrave - "For pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment in the production Gone with the Wind."

Nominated

• • Best Actor in a Leading Role - Clark Gable
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Olivia de Havilland
  • Best Effects, Special Effects - Fred Albin (sound), Jack Cosgrove (photographic), and Arthur Johns (sound)
  • Best Music, Original Score - Max Steiner
  • Best Sound, Recording - Thomas T. Moulton (Samuel Goldwyn SSD)

External link

• Filmsite.org: Gone With the Wind (1939)

• Gone With the Wind Timeline (Our Georgia History)