A book to celebrate GWTW’s 75th Anniversary!
On Saturday, May 27, 1939, director Victor Fleming gathered his cast on the set of Scarlett’s Atlanta house for the second day of work on the “Row and Rape” sequence.
With cameras rolling, Clark Gable seized and kissed Vivien Leigh violently at the foot of the mansion’s staircase. “You turned me out while you chased Ashley Wilkes – while you dreamed of Ashley Wilkes,” a drunken Rhett says. “This is one night you’re not turning me out!” Then Gable swept Leigh off her feet and into his arms, carried her up the stairs and into the darkness.
Fleming asked for five more takes of this scene snippet just to make sure he had enough satisfactory footage. Lucky for Gable that Leigh weighed a mere 103 pounds. A lesser man might have needed smelling salts by the time he reached the top of the stairs on the last take.
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), which will be published in spring 2014, 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).