- A book to celebrate GWTW’s 75th Anniversary!
On October 13, 1939 Victor Fleming directed the fifth and final version of the opening porch scene. Vivien Leigh, fresh from a vacation, was well-rested and once again the beautiful image of sixteen-year-old Scarlett as she complained to Brent and Stuart Tarleton that talk of war was spoiling all the fun at every party.
While Scarlett could tell one Tarleton from the other, apparently David O. Selznick’s production staff couldn’t.
Handsome George Reeves played Stuart Tarleton. But when he was signed for the role, the actor was known as George Bessolo. During Gone With the Wind’s production, Selznick contracted him out to Warner Bros., where he adopted the professional name George Reeves.
That was the name used on the screen credits for Gone With the Wind, but he was mistakenly identified as Brent Tarleton. Fred Crane was erroneously billed as Stuart Tarleton. Oh, fiddle-dee-dee!
Happy 75th Anniversary, Gone With the Wind!
Blog Bio: Pauline Bartel is the author of The Complete GONE WITH THE WIND Trivia Book (2nd edition) and an expert on the film and its history. Visit the website (www.paulinebartel.com/resources/books/books-available) for further information. Follow her on Twitter @PaulineBartel and “like” her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheCompleteGWTWTriviaBook).