On Saturday, May 6, 1939, Sam Wood directed Vivien Leigh in “Scarlett’s Return to Tara.” Realizing that her mother is dead, Scarlett screams her shock and grief and collapses at Ellen O’Hara’s bier. A parallel to this heartbreaking scene...
In April 1939, producer David O. Selznick recognized that the grueling pace of filming Gone With the Wind was taking a toll on his cast and crew, especially director Victor Fleming. On April 14, Selznick confided in a memo to executive staff that Fleming “is so...
Clark Gable had finally had it with the Gone With the Wind wardrobe made for him by the Selznick International costume department. The shirt collars choked him, and the suits and cravats were ill fitting. He complained to producer Selznick, who, in turn, spoke to...
On March 13, 1939, David O. Selznick wrote a memo to Production Manager Raymond A. Klune concerning the dramatic use of color in Gone With the Wind’s costumes. The producer impressed upon Klune that the costumes should symbolize “the changing...
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,...
