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Gossip Friday: Snippets from the set of Gone with the Wind
From August 1939: There’s a mad scramble between every scene on the “Gone with the Wind” set. For Vivien Leigh is an Anagram fiend and Olivia de Havilland is equally rabid on the subject of Chinese Checkers–and they like Clark Gable for a partner. Gable happens to like both girls and both games, but he’s hit upon a practical solution for the predicament. It’s three-handed bridge and now everyone is happy. *** Though Vivien Leigh has many elaborate costumes for “Gone with the Wind”, her costliest is the ugliest dress she wears in the picture. Fourteen copies of this dress had to be made, for it is the one which…
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Gossip Friday: Clark Answers
From April 1940: I asked Clark Gable if he felt it dangerous to work so long in a single film such as “Gone with the Wind”. Fans forget easily. Will the role of Rhett Butler, no matter how colorful, be strong enough to hold Clark to the top, to overcome the long months of getting him on celluloid? Gable writes thus: “Rather than being dangerous to work too long in one picture, I can say from experience that it is of definite value to an actor and makes for a superior film. There is no substitute for adequate and superior preparation. ‘Gone with the Wind’ proves this. From an acting…
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Gone with the Wind hits Los Angeles
The Los Angeles premiere of Gone with the Wind was 71 years ago this very evening. Jean Garceau, Clark and Carole’s faithful secretary, attended the event with them. Here is how she described it: The theater was decorated inside and out in keeping with the background and theme of the film. Huge searchlights probed the sky, bands played, streets were roped off and uniformed attendants held back the crowds as the police permitted only those cars with passes to draw up in front of the theater. A long flower-decked canopy extended to the sidewalk and a master of ceremonies stood there to welcome the stars, announce their names over a…
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Gossip Friday: On the set of Gone with the Wind
From May 1939: We said we didn’t believe it. “Tell us,” we said, “that Greta Garbo is hunting autographs; that Shirley Temple has been sent to reform school; that Jimmy Cagney is baking a cake. Tell us anything. But don’t tell us ‘Gone with the Wind’ is actually shooting!” “Come over and see for yourself,” said the Selznick-International man. How could we resist making “The Wind”, as Hollywood knows it, our first stop on the monthly set circuit? After these months of waiting and waiting–false hopes, phony Scarletts, reluctant Rhetts and so forth–a mere peep at the champion never-never movie in actual production is like a preview of the millennium.…
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TCM Moguls and Movie Stars Exhibit
A few days ago I went to the TCM Moguls and Movie Stars exhibit in Atlanta. From TCM.com: Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is bringing a bit of Hollywood history to five cities across the United States this fall as part of a special tour tied to the network’s landmark seven-part documentary series, MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD, which premieres Monday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. (ET). The multimedia exhibit was created to let film lovers across the country experience the MOGULS & MOVIE STARS series through interactive displays on the history of filmmaking in America. The exhibit will feature unique memorabilia, including an Oscar®…
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Gossip Friday: Silent Scarlett
Since TCM has selected Vivien Leigh as their Star of the Month this month (set your DVRs!), here’s some gossip on her from September 1940: …of all Hollywood’s femmes fatales, we call your attention first to Vivien Leigh. If you lived in Hollywood this wouldn’t be necessary. You’d be aware of her–with reason! It looks as if there’d be no liomit to Vivien’s conquests when–a little less enthralled by her Romeo, Laurence Olivier–she becomes aware that other men walk the earth, too. For those men who’ve managed to impress themselves on the Leigh consciousness, usually through working with her, are quick to admit her natural attraction. “There’s always something more…
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70 years ago today…
Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta, the biggest event the town had ever seen. Clark and Carole were front and center for the festivities. Although Carole shyly told reporters that she was only there to support Clark, Clark told everyone back in Hollywood proudly, “Ma was the star of the show! Nobody could take their eyes off her!” Here’s their itinerary: Thursday, December 14: 3:30pm–Arrive Sky-Sleeper from Hollywood with Howard Strickland and Nelson Milikan 3:45pm–Depart for parade through downtown Atlanta Clark and Carole ride with William Hartsfield, mayor of Atlanta 4:30pm–Arrive at the Georgian Terrace Hotel Clark gives a speech, receives a box of Atlanta china as a gift…