Gone With the Wind Triumphant at the Oscars

Hollywood was abuzz and aglitter with Oscar fever on February 29, 1940, at the Cocoanut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The 8:30 p.m. event was the twelfth annual awards presentation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. As was the custom,...

8.4 Ways to Celebrate Gone With the Wind’s 84th Anniversary

Gone With the Wind fans can’t wait to celebrate the film’s 84th anniversary on Friday, December 15, 2023, during 1939’s twin year. Here are 8.4 ways to mark this cinematic and calendrical milestone: Watch Gone With the Wind. If you have the 75th anniversary DVD, pop...

Selznick Consumed by Work and Worry

The summer of 1939 consumed David O. Selznick with work and worry. The producer, his film editor Hal Kern and associate film editor James Newcom spent July and August screening the existing film footage, selecting takes of scenes and assembling a rough cut of the film...

The Porch Scene

On Thursday, January 26, 1939, George Cukor called “Action,” and Gone With the Wind’s principal photography began. Vivien Leigh in her green sprig silk muslin dress warned the Tarleton boys that one more mention of war would send her right into the house. But when the...

Pivotal Paddock Scene

On Wednesday, May 24, 1939, Victor Fleming directed Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard in the pivotal paddock scene also known as the “Orchard Love Scene.” To recap: Needing $300 to pay the taxes on Tara, Scarlett seeks advice from Ashley, whom she finds splitting rails...