On February 1, 1939, Clark Gable celebrated his 38th birthday by filming the Atlanta Bazaar sequence along with Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Harry Davenport (Dr. Meade) and others under the direction of George Cukor.
Unfortunately, most of the filming done that Wednesday and for the rest of that week was eventually discarded because of later revisions to the script. Victor Fleming re-shot the sequence and incorporated some of Cukor’s original footage. Those brief moments include:
- A bored Scarlett and an excited Melanie listening to Dr. Meade’s announcements about the progress of the war and the presence of “that most daring of all blockade runners.”
- Scarlett’s look of horror after Dr. Meade introduces “that will-o’-the-wisp of the bounding main – none other than our friend from Charleston –Captain Rhett Butler!”
- A cape-clad Rhett accepting the crowd’s applause and catching sight of Scarlett
- Rhett’s smile of delight as Scarlett accepts his invitation to lead the opening reel
- Scarlett’s defiant walk through the crowd to meet Rhett on the dance floor
- Long shots of Rhett and Scarlett dancing.
I won’t “waltz” around the subject any longer: Happy birthday, Clark Gable, on the 113th anniversary of your natal day!
Blog Bio: Pauline Bartel is the author of The Complete GONE WITH THE WIND Trivia Book and an expert on the film and its history. Visit the website (www.paulinebartel.com/resources/books/books-available) for further information.