Following the Atlanta premiere, Gone With the Wind blew to New York City and hit the Big Apple with hurricane force. Simultaneous “premieres” were held on Tuesday, December 19, 1939, at the Astor Theatre and at the Loew’s Capitol Theatre. The opening night at the...
On Friday, December 15, 1939, Gone With the Wind debuted in Atlanta at the Loew’s Grand Theatre. A crowd of almost 18,000 people turned out to see the arrival of the stars. Clark Gable’s appearance caused some women to scream with joy and others to faint dead away....
On Wednesday, December 13, 1939, the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta welcomed David O. Selznick’s entourage to Margaret Mitchell’s hometown. Selznick was accompanied by his wife Irene, his brother Myron, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Olivia de...
Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association of America and the enforcer of the Motion Picture Production Code, issued a stern warning to his board of directors at its meeting in late October 1939. Waiving the profanity rule and...
When David O. Selznick received the letter from the Hays office, outlining the strongest reasons for its refusal to permit the use of “damn” in Rhett’s exit line, the producer decided to appeal the decision to the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association...
