Gone With the Wind is a film that has revealed to the world a galaxy of talented actors. Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard - the main performers will forever remain in the hearts of the audience heroes of events that once took place in the southern United States. What does the picture taken by the American director Victor Fleming tell about, what interesting happened on the set of Gone With the Wind, what was the actors' creative path, and how did their fate turn out? This is what our story is about.
The plot of the picture
Gone With the Wind is a film directed by Victor Fleming, which premiered on December 15, 1939. The plot of the picture is based on the bestseller of the same name by the American writer Margaret Mitchell, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 .
The events described in the novel and filmed by Fleming unfold in the southern United States during the Civil War of the 19th century. The confrontation between the northern industrial states and the southern agricultural states of America is only a backdrop to reflecting people's destinies in such a difficult time. And, in spite of everything, life around continues, in it there is a place of love, friendship, humanity.
The main character of the film is the proud southerner Scarlett O'Hara. She is rich, good-looking, Irish blood flows in her veins, and she has incredible quality - the ability to charm men with ease. Scarlett is sure that all the men in the state are crazy about her. As soon as she hinted at mutual feelings, no one could resist. However, soon the girl will be disappointed in love, which becomes only the first lesson in life. The whole pink world of Scarlett is crumbling. But this young woman is so good because she has a core, and she does not give in to any life circumstances. Her famous phrase âI will think about it tomorrow ...â passed into the category of winged.
About the film
The picture "Gone with the Wind" has become a tape for all time. Besides the fact that she won 8 Oscars in various nominations, box office fees for sold tickets for sessions exceeded all acceptable standards in the history of American cinema. In 1989, the film was included in the United States National Film Register.
The main roles in the film were played not only by American, but also by British actors. Gone With the Wind is a tape with the shooting of which many interesting events are associated. For example, instead of trains on the site, wooden models were shot, the construction of which was led by carpenter David Selznik - there is not a single real locomotive in the film.
But to create an episode in which Scarlett and Rhett leave the burning Atlanta, a huge number of scenery were set on fire, not used and preserved after filming in other films.
An interesting fact is that Gone With the Wind is the first color painting based on a three-color model. Colorful cinema became widespread much later - only in the 60s of the 20th century. In 2004, the painting was restored using computer processing. The digitized result âshowedâ a whole range of small details, previously invisible on film sources.
Interesting facts about actors
Actress Vivien Leigh, who played the main character in Gone With the Wind, was approved for the role by accident. Paradoxically, the "American girl" was played by an Englishwoman, although more than 1400 actresses declared their desire to work in the film. Some of them were later involved in episodic roles, for example, Alicia Rhett created the image of Indie Wilkes, but Kathleen on the screen was played by Marcella Martin.
It is noteworthy, but two of the actors who were involved in the filming of the picture really lived during the events unfolding in the film - Harry Davenport, who played the role of Dr. Mead, and Margaret Mann, who played a nurse in the hospital.
Until today, only two actors who have played in Gone With the Wind have survived - this is Olivia de Havilland, who played the role of Melanie Wilkes in the film, and Mickey Coon (Bo Wilks).
When the film was released, it instantly gained immense popularity with the viewer. Many words and phrases of the main characters of the picture "went to the people." A special survey was even conducted on Myfilms.com, according to which the quote âFrankly, dear, I don't give a damnâ (Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn) took second place among all the cinemaâs favorite replicas.
Who played Ashley Wilkes
The role of the first lover of the main character Scarlett O'Hara - Ashley Wilkes - was performed by the British film actor, director and producer Leslie Howard.
The man was born in April 1893 in the UK, in a large family, where in addition to him, four more younger brothers and sisters were raised. From an early age, Leslie was fascinated by the theater, arranged home performances for his relatives. It must be said that the boyâs hobby was only encouraged by his mother. The father of the future actor was sure that acting was not a manâs occupation, and in the future insisted that his son choose a more serious and suitable profession.
After graduating from Dalwich College, Howard got a job as a bank clerk. With the outbreak of World War I, Leslie joined the 20th Hussar Regiment and participated in military operations on the Western Front for two years. The war did not pass without a trace - Howard suffered a military neurosis, after which he was demobilized. And again in his life a theater arose, now - as a therapy, as a way to restore and revive the soul.
Creative biography
Leslie Howard's career on the stage began with small roles. The debut performance in the acting was the production of the British playwright Arthur Pinero âFreaksâ in 1918. In addition to working in the theater, the man was involved in writing plays, one of which was staged on the Broadway stage in 1927.
Leslie came to the cinema in adulthood - the actor was thirty-seven, but his film career began to develop rapidly. In 1931 he was involved in the drama "The Two Will Never Meet." Then there was work in the film "Free Soul", the comedy "Devotion", and the melodrama "Five and Ten."
In the role of beloved Scarlett Ashley Wilkes in the film "Gone with the Wind" (1939) Howard liked the viewer. It is believed that the heyday of his work fell precisely on the 30s of the 20th century. The most successful works of the actor include the films "Berkeley Square", "Pygmalion", "Scarlet Primrose".
In 1938, the actor became the winner of the Venice Film Festival Prize. Unfortunately, in June 1943, Leslie Howard tragically died - he was a passenger on flight No. 777 Lisbon-London, which never arrived at his destination - the plane was shot down by a German fighter.
Vivian Mary Hartley Biography
The role of the inimitable Scarlett O'Hara in the film was performed by the English actress Vivien Leigh (Vivian Mary Hartley).
She was born in the Indian city of Darjeeling, because her father Ernest Hartley was an officer in the Indian cavalry. For the first time on stage, little Vivian performed at the age of three - she took part in the amateur theater group of her mother, Gertrude Hartley.
I must say that the love of art settled in the heart of Vivian only thanks to my mother. The woman instilled in her daughter a love of literature, discovering for her a magical world of works by Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll. From a very early age, the girl dreamed of becoming an actress and was firmly convinced that her dreams would certainly come true.
Vivian was the only child in the family, and her parents tried to give her everything they could. Education of the future actress began with the Monastery of the Sacred Heart in England, continued in Europe. The next step in training was the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
Who is she, Vivien Leigh?
In modern cinema, critics and film critics consider the artist to be one of the greatest actresses of the entire period of the existence of the film industry. Vivian Hartley was a very beautiful and incredibly gifted woman, but her appearance was hidden by a hurricane of passions that for many years destroyed the artistâs inner world. It often seemed to a woman that her beauty was the main source of problems, because of which others did not take her seriously. All her life, Vivienne struggled with bouts of manic depression, as a result of which she earned a reputation as an actress with a nasty character. She was constantly worried about poor health - in her early years, a woman was diagnosed with tuberculosis. And failure in his personal life did not add self-confidence.
Vivian Hartley's career as an artist began in the not-so-sweet period of her life. The actress was married to a lawyer Herbert Lee Holman, gave birth to a daughter and, being constantly at home, suffocated from routine and everyday life. Thanks to her friends, Vivian got on the screen and made her debut in the film âThings are going wellâ with a small role.
Career
It is believed that the take-off of her career began after the premiere of the play âMask of Virtueâ in 1935, when the actressâs game received favorable reviews, and they wrote about her in the newspapers. After that, Vivian Hartley decided to take a pseudonym. From now on, her name was Vivienne. The name of the actress was clear and clear - Lee.
Soon in the life of the artist appeared a man, a beloved man. They became a colleague in the shop - Lawrence Olivier. Loving hearts could not be together, as both were not free. Moreover, after some time - due to a lack of development in his career - Lawrence went overseas in search of a better share. Vivien remained in London, but not for long. Soon she was invited to audition for The Gone With the Wind, and she, having bypassed numerous competitors, got the main role in the film.
Filming the film was not easy for Vivien. Constant disputes and conflicts with the director undermined the health, which worried the actress more often. In 1940, Olivier and Lee changed their personal lives. They were able to divorce their spouses and unite in marriage. The wedding was held in Santa Barbara, California, but there were no guests at the ceremony.
Vivian Hartley is the winner of two Oscar awards (for Best Actress Scarlett O'Hara in the movie Gone With the Wind and for the image of Blanche Dubois in Desire Tram). Over the course of his career, which lasted about thirty years, Vivien had a chance to play many different roles.
In 1960, the actress divorced Olivier and left a career in cinema, occasionally appearing only in the theater. In the spring of 1967, Li began to have severe bouts of tuberculosis. In the summer she died and was cremated. The ashes of the actress were scattered over the pond near her house.
William Clark Gable
The main character - Rhett Butler - was played by the inimitable William Gable in Fleming's film. The actor was considered a sex symbol of the 30-40s. For a long time he was nicknamed the king of Hollywood.
Clark Gable was born in America, Ohio, in February 1901, in a family of an oil well driller. The boyâs mother died some time after giving birth, so the child did not know maternal love - he was raised by his stepmother. Gableâs ancestors had German roots. This fact is especially interesting in the biography of the actor, because during the Second World War a man participated in air raids on Germany.
Actor Clark Gable was an interesting personality. He never looked back at the opinions of others, often called himself the name of his father, spoke impartially about actress
Greta Garbo. The personal life of the actor was seething with a mountain river. The man married five times, with two of his spouses being much older than Gable. Two illegitimate children born at different times from different women for a long time did not know who their biological father was.
In 1935, Clark Gable became an Academy Award winner for his work in the movie "It Happened One Night." He was in his repertoire and, going on stage behind the figurine, said simply: âThank you.â
Clark Gable died on November 16, 1960 - he was taken away with a heart attack right from the set.
Olivia de Havilland
The main rival of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone with the Wind" - Melanie Wilkes - was played by the Anglo-American actress Olivia de Havilland. She was born in July 1916 in the family of a British lawyer and theater actress. In addition to Olivia, another daughter, Joan, grew up in the de Havilland family. Paradoxically, when the girls grew up, they decided to go the same way - acting. However, the rivalry and envy of each otherâs successes forever divided the sisters - they stopped all communication.
Olivia began her career on the stage in the play âA Midsummer Night's Dreamâ, which was on the stage of the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. However, the beauty soon took up a different genre - the woman began to actively act in films. It is believed that the most successful in the career of the actress were precisely the 30s and 40s of the 20th century. Olivia de Havilland worked in such films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Attack of the Light Cavalry, and, of course, in the film Gone With the Wind. It was this film that brought Olivia international recognition - the woman became the nominee for the Academy Award for the female supporting role. Later, the actress received the coveted statuette - for her role in the film âTo Each His Ownâ (1947) and work in the film âHeiressâ.
Olivia de Havilland starred until the end of the 70s. Behind her was work in such films as âMy cousin Rachelâ, âProud Rebelâ, âHush, hush, dear Charlotteâ, âThe Fifth Musketeerâ.
As mentioned earlier, some of our Gone with the Wind actors remain our contemporaries. There are two of them, and one of them is Olivia de Havilland. I would like to wish the actress for many more years of life.
Evelyn Louise Case
Evelyn Louise Keyes is an American theater and film actress who was born in Texas in a provincial town in November 1916. Evelynâs creative abilities appeared from an early age - being very young, she sang in the church choir. Growing up, Evelyn signed her first movie contract. The career of the film actress began with several small roles in films at the Paramount Pictures film studio. In the movie Gone With the Wind, Evelyn Louise Keyes played the role of Scarlett O'Hara's sister, Sulin. After that, there was work in such films as Union Pacific, where the actress played the role of Mrs. Calvin; âThe Face Under the Maskâ, in which Evelyn Case played Helen Williams, âIron Manâ with the role of Rose Warren.
In 1955, the actress starred in the film "Seven Years Itch." This picture is known for the fact that the inimitable Marilyn Monroe played the main role in it. In 1956, Evelyn Louise Keyes starred in the film âAround the World in 80 Daysâ, after which she left work in the cinema for almost 30 years. Only in 1987 she appeared on the TV screen in the film "Salem's Lot 2: Return to Salem", and in 1989 - in the film "Evil Stepmother".
In addition to acting abilities, the woman discovered a literary talent in herself. In 1977, Case saw an autobiographical book entitled âThe Younger Sister Scarlett O'Hara: My Bright Life in Hollywood and Beyond,â in which the actress shared with readers the secrets of her fate.
In her personal life, Evelyn had four marriages. With her third husband, the woman adopted a child - the boy Pablo. The actress died in July 2008 due to cancer.
Some actors (Gone With the Wind - a film where many artists were involved, both famous and not so much) played episodic roles in the film - for example, Mitchell Thomas or Barbara O'Neill. After this film, in their creative biography there were more iconic works, but viewers most often associate artists with the heroes of the legendary film Victor Fleming.
Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell - the actor who played the role of Scarlett O'Hara's father - was born in New Jersey in July 1892. His parents emigrated to the United States from Ireland. After school, Mitchell worked as a newspaper reporter, and later began to create theatrical numbers in the comic genre. He entered the theater in 1913 and over the next seven years made a dizzying career on Broadway.
In 1923, Mitchell made his film debut. He starred in the film "Six-cylinder Love", playing a small role there. And soon the actor came to real popularity. After participating in the film âThe Lost Horizon,â they began to tear it into pieces with job offers. The actor participated in such films as âOnly Angels Have Wingsâ, âThe Hunchback of Notre Dameâ, âLong Way Homeâ, âDark Watersâ.
In 1940, Mitchell became the winner of the Oscar for his male supporting role in the film Stagecoach. In addition to filming a movie, the man worked on television. His writings were awarded the Tony and Emmy Awards.
The actor passed away in December 1962 at the age of 70. For his contribution to the development of the film industry, Mitchell Thomas was awarded a star on the âWalk of Fameâ in Hollywood.
Mother scarlett
Barbara O'Neill is an American theater and film actress who was born in Missouri in July 1910. Fans of the painting âGone with the Windâ, the artist is known for her role as mother Scarlett O'Hara.
Barbara's personal life and career were intertwined, since it was her performance at the theater of the University of Cape Cod that became the debut of a woman in acting. The theater was directed by Joshua Logan, who later became Barbara's husband.
The actress got into the movie at the age of 27, and her first film was Stella Dallas. This was followed by work in films such as "Gone with the Wind"; "Toy Wife" in which the actress played the role of Louise Brigard; âSecret behind the doorâ, where Barbara played Mimm Rowby, âI Remember Momâ with the role of Jesse Brown. In the dramatic film âThe Nun's Storyâ, partner Barbara O'Neill was Audrey Hepburn on the set.
Significant in the actressâs career is the painting âAll this and heaven in additionâ, in which O'Neill played the Duchess of Prazlinskaya. It was for this role that in 1940 a woman was nominated for an Oscar.
The actress died at the age of 70. The cause of death of Barbara O'Neill was a heart attack.
We would like to end our conversation with a quote from the American critic Leonard Moltin, who accurately defined the essence of the famous film: âIf this is not one of the greatest films ever made, then it is undoubtedly one of the greatest examples of film narrative that has retained interest for almost four hoursâ . Not the last role in the success of the picture was played by the actors involved in it. Gone With the Wind forever entered the names of Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, as well as other, equally talented artists in the history of world cinema.