Slicing and Dicing Gone With the Wind

In late July 1939, producer David O. Selznick and film editor Hal Kern were feverishly editing Gone With the Wind, cutting scenes, adding different takes of scenes and pruning the existing footage. So from day to day the running time of Gone With the Wind went up and...

Selznick Addresses Gone With the Wind Premiere Rumors

Rumors swirled around the city of Atlanta that Hollywood planned to debut Gone With the Wind in Los Angeles. Or maybe New York. But definitely not Atlanta. These claims were so upsetting to local merchants, who had dreams of a business bonanza resulting from an...

MGM Executives Rave About Gone With the Wind

Working through the steamy days of July 1939, producer David O. Selznick and film editor Hal Kern had compiled a five-hour rough-cut version of Gone With the Wind that was shown to cast and crew. Selznick presented to each of his stars a leather-bound copy of the...

Cuts, Cuts and More Cuts to Gone With the Wind

In July 1939, producer David O. Selznick and film editor Hal Kern undertook a staggering task: Review all of the footage filmed for Gone With the Wind and assemble a rough cut of the movie. The various units had shot approximately 449,512 feet of Technicolor film,...

Filming Bonnie and Special Effects

On Wednesday, July 5, 1939, Gone With the Wind’s postproduction action was focused on Scarlett and Rhett’s daughter, Bonnie Blue Butler. On the MGM studio lot at the Cohen Park location, production designer William Cameron Menzies directed four-year-old Cammie King in...