What Really Happened Behind The Scenes Of “Gone With The Wind”
The Hollywood classic movie Gone with the Wind was based on a novel of the same name by Margaret Mitchell. The book was published in 1936 and the film was released in 1939. Both the film and the novel tell the story of a character named Scarlett O'Hara, the daughter of a plantation owner, as she falls in and out of love with various suitors.
There is much lore surrounding the production of this film, which was notoriously difficult to make. Keep reading to find out what exactly made the set of Gone with the Wind so inhospitable.
Director Number One Was Fired For His Sexuality
Gone with the Wind went through three different directors. Each of the first two directors ended up leaving the project for one reason or another. The first director who worked on the movie was George Cukor. Cukor and the producer of the film, David O. Selznick disagreed about the direction of the movie as a whole. Selznick became too overbearing for Cukor, involving himself in every aspect of production. He even asked Cukor to check in with him every single day.
Eventually, Selznick fired Cukor for working too slowly, although some people think that Cukor was actually fired because actor Clark Gable had a problem with Cukor's homosexuality.
Vivien Leigh's Bipolar Disorder
Actress Vivien Leigh who played the lead role of Scarlett O'Hara in the film Gone with the Wind had severe bipolar disorder. Her moods would swing suddenly between depression and mania. Sometimes, during filming, she would actually physically attack other actors and crew members working on set.
She also didn't get along with director Victor Fleming. Vivien's comfort wasn't taken into consideration during the making of the film. The lighting had to be constantly adjusted so her blue eyes would look green on camera, and she had to wear painful, restrictive corsets.
The Second Director Was Fired After A Nervous Breakdown
After George Cukor left, director Victor Fleming stepped in. Fleming had just directed The Wizard of Oz which had been very successful in theatres. Production was hopeful that he could replicate his success for Gone with the Wind. Unfortunately, while working on Gone with the Wind, Fleming had a nervous breakdown.
He had to take a leave of absence to deal with his mental health. Sam Wood took over as the third and final director.
Clark Gable Wasn't The Best Kisser
Vivien Leigh hated kissing Clark Gable because he had bad breath. The actor had some gum issues when he was younger. Dentists had to remove his teeth, and he wore a false set throughout the majority of his career. However, his dentures gave Gable persistent halitosis.
Many of his female co-stars got to experience this, including Leigh, who did not enjoy getting up close and personal to Gable. The thought of his dentures smelling bad sounds bad enough to make anyone a little put off.
David O. Selznik Was On Drugs During Production
Perhaps it might have been age that caught up with the producer. Selznick was taking Benzedrine, then mixed the drug with barbiturates and methedrine and onetime. Director George Cukor noted he would see the producer "crushing up Benzedrine and licking the pieces from the palm of his hand, a grain at a time."
He would make the cast wake up at 2 AM to shoot, and demand random changes to the costumes. Maybe he should have gone to rehab.
Leigh Offended The United Daughters Of The Confederacy
The Ocala, Florida chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy were offended. Essentially, it was because a British actress had been chosen to play an iconic southern character.
Nevertheless, when the daughters were told the role would to go Katharine Hepburn, they immediately stopped their protest altogether. It's safe to say that it's better with an Englishman than it was with a Yankee. At least nothing worse came out of it. We think Leigh did a good job.
Leslie Howard Hated His Character
Howard was a slim man in his early 40's. He had a lengthy career of playing weak men. He only agreed to play Ashley Wilkes after Selznick offered him a producer credit in an upcoming film.
Years later, he described his feelings in a letter to his daughter. "I hate the damn part. I'm not nearly beautiful or young enough for Ashley. It makes me sick being fixed up to look attractive." We thought he looked pretty handsome on screen.
George Cukor Didn't Leave The Set Completely
Vivien Leigh And Olivia De Havilland got private coaching from Cukor after he got fired. Both actresses were upset over Cukor's firing. But, it was De Havilland who remembered what went down after he left the set.
"We had set our characters through working with David Cukor and wanted to be able to maintain those characters and develop them. It was a terrible loss for both of us. Vivien did not get along as well with Victor as I did, but nonetheless, she was a pro so everything proceeded."
An Act Of Defiance
Leigh brought a copy of the book to set every day to make the director angry. She was displeased when the first director, George Cukor, was replaced. Once Fleming took over as the head man, he would ignore much of the previous director's creative output. In silent protest, she carried Mitchell's book to the set each day. Little did she know, she found the source far superior to his interpretation.
Eventually, Leigh would recall on the situation that the producer shouted at her to throw the demand thing away.
Not Enough Bodies On The Ground
Selznick insisted upon one thing during this scene. He wanted no less than 2,500 extras to lie in the dirt and nothing else. This was the scene where the extras portrayed the dead and wounded Confederate soldiers toward the end of the war.
However, back in the day, the Screen Actors Guild only had 1,500 extras to offer for the iconic scene. Eventually, the producer needed to save money and ordered 1,000 dummies to round it out.
How Selznick Got Past The Censors
The producer pleaded for months to get the word "damn" past the Hays Code. During the movie, Rhett's iconic line "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," was integral to the film. The lined summarized the character's defeat, and the years of suffering he'd endured both from Scarlett and himself.
The censor would agree to allow the line after much convincing. Selznick insisted that the film would be mocked if the line was changed.
Vivien Leigh Wasn't So Innocent, Though
Vivien Leigh was also in the throes of an affair during the filming of Gone with the Wind. In 1937, she met actor Laurence Olivier. Despite the fact that they were both involved married to other people, they began an affair and started living together.
A year after Gone with the Wind premiered, their respective spouses agreed to divorces. On August 31, 1940, Leigh and Olivier married in Santa Barbara, California. Katharine Hepburn and Garson Kanin served as their witnesses.
The Battle With The NAACP
The NAACP wanted to assign an advisor to the film, but that never happened. The members of the committee wanted to send a representative on set. The rep would make sure black actors were treated fairly. Selznick replied that he would be happy to supply his advisor. The NAACP was concerned Selznick's man was an "insider."
The producer never hired an advisor for the movie, but the NAACP claimed a small win thanks to the white supremacy group being taken out of the film.
That's A Lot Of Scarletts
More than 1,400 actresses were considered for the role of Scarlett. Selznick was at it again. This time, the producer was determined to make the best possible movie out of Gone With The Wind. Selznick called for a nationwide casting call, and actresses such as Lana Turner and Jean Arthur auditioned for the role.
Selznick finally met his Scarlett when Vivien Leigh visited the set. The actress was interested in the role and was hired after captivating Selznick and then-director George Cukor.
The Wage Gap Was Evident
It's too bad they didn’t have the #TimesUp movement back in the '30s because you’ll be outraged when you know how much Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh were paid to star in Gone with the Wind.
Leigh was reportedly paid just $25,000 for 125 days of work, which is chump change compared to Gable’s $125,000 paycheck – and he only worked for 71 days! That’s a whole $100,000 extra dollars for a guy who initially didn’t even want to be in the film.
Everybody Smoked On Set
Smoking was considered no big deal back in the '30s and the actors of Gone with the Wind partook in many smoke breaks. Clark Gable reportedly smoked three packs a day throughout his career, but that's one less than Vivien Leigh’s daily four-pack routine!
It’s a wonder that she hated kissing him for his bad breath, which was probably due in part to smoking. He might have felt the same way about her breath as well since she smoked just as much!
Gable Was Reluctant To Join The Cast
Actor Clark Gable was cast after an agreement with Selznick and MGM. Gable was in the middle of a divorce and needed money, which is why he accepted the role of Rhett Butler. Gable even caused trouble for one scene, refusing to cry for it.
Olivia de Havilland managed to talk him into it. "He thought it was unmanly, you see. That was the training of men in those days. It was such a pity."
Black And White Actors Used Separate Bathrooms On Set
There were plenty of problems behind the scenes. Segregated bathrooms were set up for black actors, and they were afraid to lose their jobs to speak up. One extra, Lennie Bluett, wanted things to change and brought the matter to Clark Gable's attention.
Clark Gable called Victor Fleming and threatened to quit if the signs separating the bathrooms weren't taken down. Once the actor spoke up, the segregation on the set came to an end.
People Thought The Fire On Set Was Real
Back in 1939, CGI was still decades away from being in movies. The studio wanted to burn the set in order to create the fire that consumes the city of Atlanta. The set was built on a large studio lot, and they had several other set pieces from earlier films given false fronts to fill the background.
According to some stories, neighbors of the studio in Culver City were scared by the blaze. It was a pretty large fire.
Olivia De Havilland Lived To Be An Incredible 104 Years Old
Olivia de Havilland passed away on July 26, 2020. She was 104 years old and was one of the last surviving stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. She appeared in 49 feature films over her long and successful career. Ms. de Havilland and her sister, Joan Fontaine, are to this day the only sisters to have won any Academy Awards and the only siblings to win major acting Academy Awards.
Olivia de Havilland remained active in the film community after her retirement in 1989. She was married twice and had two children.
Writers Weren't Treated Very Well
The writers on Gone with the Wind were locked in a room and denied food during production. It was Sidney Howard who was given the task to turn Mitchell's epic novel into a screenplay. His version would have made the film too long, and he was ultimately fired for it. Selznick was determined to fix the script immediately, then gave the team five days to come up with something.
The producer would lock the three of them in a room with only peanuts and bananas to eat.
The Events That Went On In The Writers' Room Were Turned Into A Play
After being locked in a room for hours, the writers came up with another story. The stage comedy of Moonlight and Magnolias tells the true story of Selznick, director Fleming, and Ben Hecht.
Selznick reportedly refused his captives any food except bananas and peanuts, believing other food would slow the creative process. By the end of the imprisonment, the producer had collapsed from exhaustion, and Fleming had burst out a blood vessel in his eye.
We Have The Math Department To Thank For This Shot
If you've seen Gone with the Wind, you probably remember this shot of Scarlett and her father standing in front of a stunning red and orange sunset. This movie was made in the late '30s before green screens and digital special effects. So how did the art directors achieve this effect?
This backdrop is actually two matte paintings stitched together. The Math Department at UCLA figured hout how to make this shot look proportional and visually appealing.
Black Actors Who Worked On The Film Weren't Allowed Into The Premiere
Life for people of color in America in the 1930s was difficult, to say the least. When Gone with the Wind premiered in 1939 in Atlanta, Georgia, Jim Crow's laws were still in effect. Lowe's Grand Theater, where the premiere took place had a rule that black actors could appear on stage, but they couldn't attend the premiere party.
Producer David O. Selznick decided that he just wouldn't allow black actors to attend the event at all.
Margaret Mitchell Wrote Gone With The Wind Because She Was Bored
Margaret Mitchell was just 25 years old when she dreamed up Gone with the Wind. Apparently, she started writing the book because she had too much free time on her hands. Eventually, she had 63 chapters written. Before writing her debut novel, Mitchell worked for the Atlanta Journal Sunday Magazine.
She took a leave of absence from her job to nurse "a series of injuries," and she used her time off to craft her book.
She Kept The Novel A Secret Until It Was Finished
It took Mitchell ten years to write Gone with the Wind, and the whole time, she never told anybody that she was working on a novel. She actually went to great lengths to hide the fact that she was writing a book from her friends and family.
One time, she hurriedly threw a rug over pages which were scattered on her living room floor when company unexpectedly showed up to her place. She was an extremely private person.
Margaret Mitchell's Tragic Death
August 11, 1949, ten years after Gone with the Wind premiered, was a tragic day for Mitchell and her husband. They were on their way to see a movie. Unfortunately, as the pair prepared to cross the street, a car appeared and suddenly hit the author.
Her husband took a step back, but Mitchell never regained consciousness and died five days later. The most unfortunate thing is that Gone With The Wind was the only book she would ever publish.
Groucho Marx Almost Played Rhett Butler
Margaret Mitchell actually thought that actor Groucho Marx would be the best choice for the role of Rhett Butler. Production gave the part to Clark Gable, but Mitchell envisioned Rhett as a much darker and more nefarious character than the character we see in the film.
We can't really imagine Groucho Marx as Rhett Butler, but who knows, if he had gotten the part maybe we would be saying the same thing about Clark Gable.
A Star-Studded Event
Atlanta went crazy for the film's premiere. Margaret Mitchell's epic novel was a best-seller. Over a million people came to Atlanta to be in the atmosphere of the premiere. Even the Governor of Georgia declared the day of the premiere as a state holiday.
People took to the streets, celebrating what the faded glory of their homeland was. Attendees of the premiere included the Rockefellers, J.P. Morgan, and all the Governors of what used to be the Confederacy.
She Never Planned On Publishing
Mitchell went back and forth regarding whether or not she wanted to publish her manuscript. She actually seemed rather annoyed when she found out that her friend had heard that she was writing a book. Mitchell took her manuscript to a Macmillan editor the day after she spoke to her friend, but then she regretted her decision and sent the editor a telegram saying, "Have changed my mind. Send manuscript back."
Of course, the editor knew by then that he was sitting on a gold mine.
A Good Book Makes An Even Better Movie
Gone with the Wind the novel was so successful that movie producer David O. Selznick purchased the movie rights for $50,000 in 1936. At the time, this was the most any producer ever paid for rights to a book. Mitchell didn't want to be involved with the production, but apparently she loved the movie. Mitchell would enjoy ensuing fame for a little longer after the historic purchase.
Ultimately, she would enjoy her success until tragedy struck in the summer of 1949.
Hattie McDaniel Broke The Color Barrier
Hattie McDaniel's portrayal of Mammy earned her the Oscar, making her the first African American woman to receive that honor. Although McDaniel broke the color barrier, she wasn't allowed to sit in the audience due to segregation. The venue forbade black people entirely.
However, Selznick was able to pull some strings. The producer would be the one who orchestrated the actress into the ceremony once and for all. While she was at the ceremony, McDaniel had to sit in the very back of the room.
You Can Watch Behind The Scenes Footage
Howard Hall was a business magnate and film enthusiast out of Iowa. At some point during the filming, specifically the barbeque scene, Hall was allowed access onto the set. From there on, the Iowa native filmed the famous cast and crowds of extras lolling around Busch Gardens, where the scene was shot.
The film lay inside Hall's Brucemore Mansion until the 2000s. It was discovered other home movies were turned over to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
How Many Writers Does It Take To Make A Movie?
It took 16 different writers to make the screenplay a viable length. Remember Sidney Howard? Well, he was the first screenwriter to try and translate Mitchell's novel. Howard wanted to come up with a script that wouldn't sacrifice the original spirit of the book.
But, his version was too long, which started a two-year process. A ton of writers took their turn hacking away at the potential script. Of course, with Selznick locking up the writers, that led to a groundbreaking new script.
Judy Garland Was Almost In The Movie
Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With The Wind had two younger sisters. One was Suellen O'Hara and the other Carreen O'Hara. Evelyn Keyes and Ann Rutherford played them respectively, but there could have been a different cast member for the sister.
That's right, Judy Garland was the first choice to play one of Scarlett's kid sisters. Unfortunately, the young budding star was already committed to doing her most famous role to date, The Wizard of Oz.
Selznick Didn't Read The Book
We mentioned earlier how Movie producer David O. Selznick purchased the movie rights for $50,000 in 1936. However, did we say how confident he was about the book? Selznick bought the film rights without having read it.
After Kay Brown sent the book to Selznick, he had declined to make the movie because he had recently bombed with a film about the Civil War. Then the chair of his company said they would put up some money for it and he had no other choice but to do it.
Vivien Leigh's Accent Almost Got Her Kicked Out Of The Movie
Vivien Leigh was an established stage actress in Europe before she signed on to play Scarlett O'Hara. You already know that many actresses were screened for the role and Leigh was lucky she was cast.
In fact, she almost lost the part and it is all because of her English accent. According to many reports, she nearly bombed her reading after she started reading with a clipped, regal accent as opposed to someone from the deep South.
The Script Wasn't Completed On Time
Something like this doesn't happen all the time when filming a movie. When you're trying to turn a novel into a normal movie, the process can be tricky without disappointing fans. There were many drafts to this film.
There were so many that according to TIME, "when the filming was practically complete the last day's call sheet read: Script to come." The filming ended before the script had been completed. The actors had to wait for the script to finish as they recorded along the way.
McDaniel Has Her Own Postage Stamp
Despite the actresses' success, many people criticized her for "perpetuating negative stereotypes" in her roles. By the end of her career, McDaniel acted in nearly 100 movies while playing the role of a maid 74 times.
In 1952, the Oscar winner passed away from breast cancer. Although she wished to be buried in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, she was denied due to a segregation policy. But, in 2006, she became the first black Oscar winner honored with a US postage stamp.
Clark Gable Was A Real Ladies' Man
While filming Gone with the Wind, Clark Gable was involved with his lover, fellow actress Carole Lombard. However, both were still married to other people. His incredible salary from Gone with the Wind allowed him to reach a divorce settlement with his second wife, Rhea Langham.
On a production break from the film, Gable and Lombard eloped in Kingman, Arizona. Their wedding reception was reportedly held in the back of Gable's agent's car and included sandwiches and coffee.
It's A Bird, It's A Plane...
If you remember, George Reeves had a small role as Stuart Tarleton. He played one of the twins in love with Scarlett. That may not seem like much, but rest assured he went on to accomplish big things.
That role was nothing compared to him becoming Clark Kent. He played the iconic superhero from 1951 to 1958. For eight years, he starred in the series The Adventures of Superman. You have to start somewhere in this business.
