Gone with the Wind (1939)

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Margaret Mitchell (novel)
Sidney Howard (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 January 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

Now in 70mm. wide screen and full stereophonic sound! [reissue]

Plot:

American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Civil War | Epic | American South | Plantation

Awards:

Won 8 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Clark Gable	...	Rhett Butler - Visitor from Charleston
Thomas Mitchell	...	Gerald O'Hara
Barbara O'Neil	...	Ellen O'Hara - His Wife (as Barbara O'Neill)
Vivien Leigh	...	Scarlett - Their Daughter
Evelyn Keyes	...	Suellen - Their Daughter
Ann Rutherford	...	Carreen - Their Daughter
George Reeves	...	Brent Tarleton - Scarlett's Beau
Fred Crane	...	Stuart Tarleton - Scarlett's Beau
Hattie McDaniel	...	Mammy - House Servant
Oscar Polk	...	Pork - House Servant
Butterfly McQueen	...	Prissy - House Servant
Victor Jory	...	Jonas Wilkerson - Field Overseer
Everett Brown	...	Big Sam - Field Foreman
Howard C. Hickman	...	John Wilkes (as Howard Hickman)
Alicia Rhett	...	India - His Daughter

Runtime:

USA:238 min (restored DVD version) | Sweden:223 min (1969 re-release) | Sweden:234 min (1985 re-release) | UK:224 min (1994 re-release) | UK:233 min (1989 re-release) | 226 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 (2004) | Brazil:Livre | West Germany:12 (f) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Canada:G (British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Québec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:16 | Peru:PT | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 (re-release) (1985) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #5729) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1971)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

A few of Margaret Mitchell's working titles for the novel included "Tomorrow is Another Day," "Not in Our Stars", "Bugles Sang True" and "Tote the Weary Load". The most famous working title was, "Ba! Ba! Black Sheep".

Goofs:

Continuity: When Scarlett arrives at Tara after her mother has died, the door to the room where the mother is laid out is open. When Scarlett turns to go in, the door is closed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brent Tarleton: What do we care if we *were* expelled from college, Scarlett? The war is gonna start any day now, so we'd have left college anyhow.
Stuart Tarleton: Oh, isn't it exciting, Scarlett? You know those fool Yanks may actually *want* a war?
Brent Tarleton: We'll show 'em!
Scarlett: Fiddle-dee-dee. War, war, war; this war talk's spoiling all the fun at every party this spring. I get so bored I could scream. Besides... there isn't going to be any war.
Brent Tarleton: Not going to be any war?
Stuart Tarleton: Why, honey, of course there's gonna be a war.
Scarlett: If either of you boys says "war" just once again, I'll go in the house and slam the door.
Brent Tarleton: But Scarlett...
Stuart Tarleton: Don't you *want* us to have a war?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Gong with the Pink (1971)

Soundtrack:

Irish Washerwoman

A great American classic

'Gone with the Wind' is one of the greatest American classics ever made. It tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, played the very beautiful Vivien Leigh. She is one of the most selfish heroines you will ever see in a movie and still care for her. She is in love with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) but he marries to Melanie Hamilton. She is played by Olivia de Havilland in a great performance. A new man in Scarlett's life is Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) but Scarlett does everything to get what she wants including marrying someone for money and her own benefit. Rhett loves Scarlett with all his heart, mainly because they are much the same. They both think the world is there for them. Melanie and Scarlett become friends.

The movie is set in the time of the Civil War. What happens exactly with Scarlett, Rhett, Ashley and Melanie is for you to see but the war is pretty important for the story and the way it is used is great. The story itself is great anyway. Although the movie is long it is never boring. A reason for that is the performances. I already mentioned Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable is very good, charming and sometimes funny, Hattie McDaniel as the black made is outstanding but I have to say that the best thing in this movie is Vivien Leigh. To make you care for a character like that is a pretty hard thing to do, but she makes it seem so easy. It is one of the strongest performances I have seen.

Besides the story and the acting we have the music, the sets, the costumes, the cinematography and of course the direction. It is all great. It was made in 1939 and over 60 years later it still is a very impressive movie.