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1939: A Memorable Year for Clark Gable
Everyone has specific years in their lives where they look back and realize that that particular year was one of the most memorable of their entire lives. 1939 is being heralded quite a bit this year, as it is widely considered the best year for movies in history, with classics such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dark Victory, Ninotchka, Wuthering Heights, Beau Geste, Juarez, Stagecoach, etc. Looking back, I don’t think that Clark Gable could deny that 1939 was indeed a special year for him, personally and professionally. Let’s have a look back at Clark’s life, 75 years ago…. January –After…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Clark Gable Rights a Wrong
This is one heartwarming story from the set of Gone with the Wind. Lenny Bluett, a young black man playing an extra in the film, was distraught over discovering that the port-a-potties on the set were labeled for White and Colored. He brought to the attention of Clark Gable, who had a few choice words for Vic Fleming and the property manager… I just love that video. Clark was far from perfect (who is?) but it ruffles my feathers when I have heard people call him racist (don’t even get me started on Marcella Rabwin’s book!!!). I have no idea where that came from, but he was in no…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Who’s That Girl?
Many people over the years have seen the above photo of Clark clutching hands and beaming at this random brunette woman in Atlanta and wondered, WHO is that incredibly lucky girl? The answer is…Mildred Hartsfield. William B. Hartsfield was the 49th Mayor of the city of Atlanta (and yes, that airport you transfer in everytime you fly Delta is named after him). He was mayor from 1937-1962, the longest tenure of any Atlanta mayor. He was in full support of hosting the premiere of Gone with the Wind , seeing it as an oppurtunity to show off his fine city to the world and therefore pulled out all the stops. He declared…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Portrait of Rhett Butler
Clark Gable hated taking publicity photos. He often said it made him feel like a ham. Gone with the Wind was no exception and after hours working on set he was subjected to several more hours of sitting under hot lights in heavy Civil-War era suits, grinning (or scowling) for the camera over and over. Let’s take a look at some of the solitary shots of Clark Gable (suffering) as Rhett Butler.
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Gone with the Wednesday: Vivien Leigh, Unafraid
A short little interview with Vivien Leigh from November 1939: When David O’ Selznick shortly releases Margaret Mitchell’s famous story, “Gone with the Wind,” a little English girl, born in India, will be under the guns of Hollywood. For the comparative newcomer, Vivien Leigh, landed the role every actress in the movie colony longed to play. Is Miss Leigh, the Scarlett O’Hara of the film, afraid? “Why afraid?” returns Miss Leigh coolly. “All that talk of hundreds of actresses trying for the part was publicity, a lot of it on the part of other studios. Actually less than a dozen made tests. Norma Shearer, who had considered the part, sent…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Olivia Knows…Clark is a Softie
Since Olivia de Havilland’s 98th birthday was yesterday (and yes, she is still alive and kicking in Paris!) here’s a snippet Olivia told a fan magazine in November 1939: Clark Gable is just an old softie. Olivia de Havilland made that discovery when she was working on “Gone with the Wind” with him. According to Olivia, (whose “Melanie,” they say, is something out of this world it’s so wonderful) there was an old worn-out horse, called “Marse Lee,” used in the flight-from-Atlanta sequence. The horse was so skinny it’s bones rattled, but everyone at the studio had definite instructions not to feed it as they had to keep him starved…
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Gone with the Wednesday: 75 Years of Frankly My Dear…
Seventy-five years ago this week, on June 27, 1939, Clark Gable uttered what was to be the sentence that followed him around the rest of his life and beyond–“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” June 27 was the the last day of principal filming on Gone with the Wind, and even though the film was not shot in sequence at all, it happened to be the day they filmed the very last scene. Here’s some trivia regarding that famous last scene and that enduring line: The original line in the book is “My dear, I don’t give a damn.” Producer David O. Selznick threw in the “Frankly” for…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Some Upcoming 75th Anniversary Events
Following the celebration in Marietta, there are a few more events in the coming months celebrating Gone with the Wind’s 75th Anniversary: The 75th Anniversary edition Blu Ray will be available Sept. 30. The transfer is the same as the 70th and so is most of the content, aside from a documentary “Old South/New South” which compares Civil War locations then and now. For a while i heard rumblings of both a new Gable documentary and a new Leslie Howard one on the set, but alas it does not appear to be. It does include a music box and a replica of Rhett Butler’s “RB” handkerchief (yes, I’m serious.) More…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Marietta Celebrates the 75th Anniversary
This past weekend, I was among the “Windies,” taking part in the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum‘s 75th Anniversary Celebration in Marietta, Georgia. Three days of activities were planned and Gone with the Wind fans came out in droves…I met people from all over the country, from Italy, England and Russia. (Shout out to Kendra, Robbie and Marissa, who made the event so enjoyable for us!) On Friday, we attended a satire play of Gone with the Wind called “The Wind Has Left,” with Patrick Curtis (toddler Beau in GWTW) as Rhett and Morgan Brittany (Vivien Leigh in “The Scarlett O’Hara Wars” and “Gable and Lombard”) as Scarlett. It…
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Gone with the Wednesday: Memorable Scenes Await You!
From Screenland magazine in December 1939, a preview of some of the scenes that were awaiting audiences!