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A New Ending for Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind had its world premiere in Atlanta 73 years ago today and ever since, people have pondered if Scarlett would ever get Rhett back. Margaret Mitchell refused to ever answer the question, so everyone was left to their own imaginations. Screen Guide magazine held a contest for their readers to come up with the best new ending for GWTW and published the winner in its September 1940 issue: ___ The fadeout of “Gone with the Wind” whets the curiousity of millions of moviegoers. They watch Scarlett return to Tara alone, deserted by Rhett, and they argue hotly among themselves about what happened afterward. “He’d never go back…
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Prepare for Turkey Day with Lots of Rhett and Scarlett
American Movie Classics, or AMC, used to be a top contender with TCM as the place on the tube to view classic films. As the years have worn on, commericals have entered their fold, their classic film expert commentators disappeared, and the movies became more recent and more undesirable. Now, the channel is more known for its award winning television programs, such as “Breaking Bad” and (my personal favorite) “Mad Men”. Not tomorrow! Because frankly my dear, AMC is going back to its classic roots and showing Gone with the Wind for 24 hours tomorrow! With commericals (ugh), it’s five hours long! They are showing it at 8:00am, 3:00pm, 8:00pm…
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Gossip Friday: Gone with the Wind Chatter
From May 1937: You wouldn’t think that Willie Powell’s walking out on a production called “The Emperor’s Candlesticks” would have an influence on Clark Gable’s playing the role of Rhett Butler in “Gone with the Wind” now, would you? But that’s Hollywood for you. It did have–for Willie has a mind of his own, and one of the very best in the acting profession it is too, and he realized that another not-so-hot to follow “Mrs. Cheyney” would endanger all that terrific advance his career has made since his lucky accident of being cast in the original “Thin Man.” Hence he went on his own sit-down strike in the desert…
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{New Article} 1940: I Was Afraid of Rhett Butler
It’s no secret that Clark didn’t want the role of Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Nowadays, if people do know his name, it is for that role alone–unless they are TCM fans. This article is one of many that appeared around the time GWTW was released, in which Clark tells why he didn’t want the role–too much pressure–and tries to dispel the rumor that Margaret Mitchell wrote the character of Rhett specifically with him in mind. This one’s short, so here it is in its entirety: I Was Afraid of Rhett Butler By Clark Gable Liberty magazine, February 1940 Rhett Butler really put me on a spot, a…
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Gossip Friday: It’s a Wrap for Gone with the Wind
From October 1939: Most welcome news of a “completion party” for a picture came from Selznick studios. On one of the “Gone with the Wind” stages, refreshments were served and all who had worked on the picture were invited to come. Carole Lombard came, anyhow. Said her sense of curiosity drove her to it, since she’d never believe it was actually happening without seeing it with her own eyes. Cameraman Fred Parrish, who had made a record 6,000 stills for this one picture, arrived to take a few more of the party. But Gable insisted he put down the camera and relax. “As it is,” Gable pointed out, “you’ll probably be…
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In Memory of Ann Rutherford: “I guess things like hands and ladies don’t matter so much anymore…”
It was with a heavy heart that I learned of Ann Rutherford’s passing yesterday. She lived to be 94, which is itself an accomplishment, but my heart just breaks as we continue to lose these classic stars. Their era is fading away, and with them goes their memories. I met Ann for the first time in November 2009 at the 70th anniversary of Gone with the Wind event in Marietta, GA . She was full of life, very spunky and those big brown eyes were quite the giveaway to her youthful self. I only spoke with her briefly. At the time I was pregnant and she congratulated me and said, “I hope you’ll show…
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{Event} Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum–Belles, Beaus and Barbecue
Last weekend I headed down to Marietta Square for a Gone with the Wind event held by the Marietta Gone with the Wind Museum. I didn’t attend all the events, such as Friday night’s Sock Hop. You can see the full schedule here. Saturday we headed down to the square near the museum for Belles, Beaus and Barbecue! Summer in Atlanta is not pleasant, as any fellow resident will attest. It was 94 degrees on Saturday and it sure did feel like it! We managed to stay in the shade and we had our fancy hand fans to keep us cool. There were several brave souls who showed up in their…
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{New Article} 1940: A Woman’s Lowdown on Clark Gable!
This article is from the Gone with the Wind-publicity period and is supposedly unique because it tells a woman’s perspective on Clark. I don’t know how unique this article is but it is rather gushy. This fellow is unimpressed by all he has acquired; with his importance as a star. Luck, he insists, was with him: “Anyone who has ears and can speak and understand words of one syllable can do it,” he shrugs. “It might have been any other guy; it just happened to me.” Even his bosses are set back on their heels at unexpected moments by his passion for facing facts. In Atlanta, at the super-swank premiere…
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A Photographer’s View on Gone with the Wind and Carole Lombard
In 1940, Fred Parrish, a well-known Hollywood photographer, mused on some of his favorite moments. Gone with the Wind For a scene of the evacuation of Atlanta in GWTW, a horse-drawn ammuniton wagon was to come down the street and explode just as the horse passed [a lamp post]. I picked the safe side of the street, but when the bomb in the wagon went off, the horse went the wrong way so fast he made Seabiscuit look sick. If it had not been for the iron safety bowl used in the wagon, I would have been blown right off the lot! I’ll bet the hardest work [Clark Gable] ever…
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{Rumor Mill} Clark Gable, George Cukor and Gone with the Wind
It’s no secret that Clark Gable didn’t want to be in Gone with the Wind. Despite the public’s insistence that he was the only one who could play Rhett, he had no desire to step into the shoes of the rebellious blockade runner. “The reason I didn’t want to do Gone with the Wind–here is a novel that is the top seller of all time. Now, people form opinions about characters–they formed an opinion that I was going to play it. They already had a preconcieved idea of what they were going to see. That’s why I didn’t want to play, I said too many people know this character. My God, with…