Paddock Scene Do Over Doesn’t Do It

On Thursday, May 25, 1939, Victor Fleming, Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard regrouped for a reshoot of the paddock scene. Howard muddled his way through the dialogue, and Leigh stumbled through hers. She cursed herself this time. Howard yielded to discretion and uttered...

Leigh and Howard Clash in Paddock Scene

On Wednesday, May 24, 1939, Victor Fleming directed Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard in the pivotal paddock scene. Needing $300 to pay the taxes on Tara, Scarlett seeks advice from Ashley, whom she finds splitting rails in the paddock area. He has no help to give and...

Slap Happy Scarlett O’Hara

Last night as I watched the broadcast of Gone With the Wind in  honor of the 20th anniversary of Turner Classic Movies (www.TurnerClassicMovies.com), I was struck by the number of times Scarlett resorts to slapping others across the face. After proclaiming her love to...

Shooting a Smorgasbord of Gone With the Wind Scenes

On March 11, 1939, action on Gone With the Wind’s set centered around scenes and sequences at the Twelve Oaks Barbecue: “Melanie and Ashley’s Love Scene” In this tender scene, Ashley tells Melanie that she seems to belong at Twelve Oaks and...