This year marks the 81st anniversary of Casablanca, my #2 all-time-favorite film. This 1942 Humphrey Bogart-Ingrid Bergman classic appears on many lists of the greatest films of all time, as does my #1 all-time-favorite film, 1939s Gone With the Wind. Over the years,...
To replace George Cukor, Selznick approached Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) contract director Victor Fleming. Fleming was not interested in taking over the directorial reins of the troubled Gone With the Wind. At the time, he was manic with Munchkins on the set of The...
On February 14, 1939, when technical adviser Susan Myrick arrived on Gone With the Wind’s set, she took one look at the gloomy faces of crew members, watched them whispering in small groups and realized that something was going on. She asked assistant director Eric G....
Clark Gable was born on February 1, 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, to William H. Gable, a wildcatter in the oil-drilling business, and Adeline (Addie) Hershelman Gable, a farmer’s daughter. Sadly, Addie died nine months and thirteen days after her son’s birth. In April 1903,...
On Thursday, January 26, 1939, director George Cukor yelled “Action,” and Gone With the Wind‘s principal photography began. The opening scene he shot that day turned out to be one of Gone With the Wind‘s jinxed scenes. Vivien Leigh in her green sprig silk muslin dress...
Friday the 13th in January 1939 was lucky for Vivien Leigh: It was the day that David O. Selznick announced her selection as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. Leigh signed her contract in Selznick’s office at 5:50 p.m. After the signing, Selznick formally...
Pauline Bartel’s ninth book, Gone With the Wind: 1939 Day by Day, was published in July 2022 by Lyons Press. The book chronicles the production, premieres, and reception of the iconic film from January 1, 1939 to December 31, 1939. Engaging, daily, behind-the-scenes...
Savvy business leaders recognize the power of a published book to establish a position as an authoritative and influential thinker. Businessman Harvey Mackay built his thought leadership brand with his first motivational book Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten...
In my new Zoom course for SUNY Adirondack – “Ideas: Mining for Freelance Writing Gold” – I will share strategies that I have used profitably as a professional writer in both the magazine and book fields. Here is a sneak peek at one of those strategies: What You Know:...
In my new Zoom course for SUNY Adirondack — “Ideas: Mining for Freelance Writing Gold” – I will share strategies I have used profitably as a professional writer in both the magazine and book fields. One of those strategies led to my latest book Gone With the Wind:...
