Had Margaret Mitchell known the film version of her book Gone With the Wind would win 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture of 1939, she might have ask for a bigger advance or been more intent to write the sequel herself. MGM hit gold with her story of the Civil War in the Old South and screen legends Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable and Leslie Howard bring it to life.

Olivia de Havilland

& Leslie Howard

The film starts at a fancy plantation gathering where Scarlett (Leigh, Anna Karenina) is playing one southern gent against another and offering, "Fiddly dee dee," comments about the war. When one of the lads mentions that Ashley Wilkes is planning to marry his sweet-natured cousin, Melanie Hamilton (de Havilland, Captain Blood), Scarlett is heartbroken, since she loves Ashley (Howard, 49th Parallel). 

When she runs into her father and confesses she's upset, he lectures her, and cuddles her under a huge tree. The camera pulls back to offer a full view of Tara, Scarlett's family's plantation as the sky turns amber and orange. Max Steiner's sweeping musical score that's been heard 1,000s of time throughout decades, begins to play and the mood for pride, loss, revenge, tragedy and passionate love is set.

Hattie McDaniel

Scarlett goes from a young girl with a crush and who fights with her sisters over who will wear what, to a young woman with a sincere heartache in a short span of a few weeks. Mammy (Hattie McDaniel, They Died with Their Boots On ), the large black hand-servant is partly responsible for the charm of the film. When she's not spouting enough rules of etiquette to fill an encyclopedia, she's worrying about the girls' welfare.

When Scarlett runs into Ashley and Melanie at the barbecue, she pours on the charm and flirts with all the young men, trying to make Ashley jealous. Once Scarlett sets her eyes on Rhett Butler (Gable, Mutiny on the Bounty) she realizes he's of a different breed than the men she knows. In fact he has a dangerous and somewhat bad boy reputation that surrounds him. "He looks at me as if he knows what I look like without my shimmy," says Scarlett.

As the elders hash over politics, and the differences between the North and South grow bigger, Scarlett has only one thing on her mind - Ashley Wilkes. When she corners him and he admits he's marrying Melanie because he and she are alike, and that he can't help loving Scarlett, it's too much for Scarlett to understand. "How can I help loving you? You who have all the passion of life that I lack. But love isn't enough to make a successful marriage for two people as different as we are," says Ashley.

As Ashley walks out of the room and Scarlett picks up a vase and throws it, Rhett rises from a sofa to reveal with a grin, that he heard every word. Scarlett lets him know he is no gentlemen, he tells her she is no lady, thus setting the theme for the entire movie.

As Lincoln calls the men to war, Scarlett accepts Charles Hamilton's (Rand Brooks, Babes in Arms), Melanie's brother, proposal of marriage. Only to make Ashley jealous. Shortly after the men are off to war, Scarlett learns she's a widow, only to fight Mammy about wearing mourning clothes. Scarlett decides to go visit Melanie in Atlanta. "You'll be sitting there waiting for him (Ashley) just like a spider," says Mammy.

At a dance in Atlanta, Scarlett runs into Rhett. When Melanie slips her wedding ring off her finger and drops it into a basket for the confederate soldiers, she says, "It may help my husband more in there." It's one of the first tearful moments of the film. Scarlett is only too happy to get rid of her ring, too.

Clark Gable

Scarlett and Rhett start sparring, and when he announces he's only interested in his own cause, she realizes how much alike they are. In weeks to follow he returns from Paris with a green velvet hat for Scarlett, and the intrigue between them deepens. He almost succumbs to a kiss with her but stops short, saying, "That's what's wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how."

In a short time the battle of Gettysburg is underway. Everyone in Atlanta awaits the death list. Rhett extols the cost of the war to Scarlett; she looks forward to Ashley's visit home. Once there he asks Scarlett to look after Melanie and pray for the end of the war. He alerts her that the South is weak and things don't look good for them.

Butterfield McQueen

When Sherman's shells hit Atlanta, panic ensues. Scarlett helps at the hospital, which holds many injured soldiers. She becomes distraught when places begin to burn and people flee for their lives. The slaves marching in unison and singing, "Oh Pharaoh," is a vision of what's to come. She runs into slaves from her home and learns all is not well there. Rhett comes by and rescues her in his buggy and asks her if she's had enough of do-gooding. He offers to take her to Mexico, and an invitation to get Ashley Wilkes out of her heart. She refuses only to find Prissy (Butterfield McQueen) in a panic, "I can't birth no baby!" she says.

Prissy stays behind to help Melanie as everyone leaves and within 45 days she's warned to leave as the Union soldiers are on their way. The scene where Scarlett walks across the ground looking at all hundreds of wounded soldiers as the confederate flag flies over their mourning, says more than words. It's a memorable scene that will long outlast the film's end credits.

Rhett arrives to try and get the women to safety but Scarlett breaks down, wanting to go to Tara. Rhett tells her she's crazy but finally agrees to help her. He drags them through the fire-ravaged town and the scavengers. He delivers Scarlett to Tara and then in a surprise twist, decides to join up with the soldiers and fight for the south. Against a red burning sky Rhett tells Scarlett he loves her, "because we're alike, bad lots both of us, selfish and shroud but able to look things in the eyes and call them by their right names."

He takes off and leaves a whimpering Scarlett who heads for home. She finds her home in shambles, her father beside himself, and that her mother has died. In that instant Scarlett truly grows up. She must now take charge. To another of Max Steiner's arousing musical scores, Scarlett flings herself to the ground  sobbing, then stands for her famous speech, "As God is my witness, I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again."

Left to deal with famine and defeat, Scarlett picks cotton and anything to survive. That includes a Union soldier who comes to the house and threatens her. But as one bad foe is defeated, another marches on the south, the carpetbaggers. Then Ashley returns home and Scarlett realizes the pain of not having his love once again. Worse, she learns she doesn't have the taxes to save Tara. Ashley gives her a realistic talk, that they're living in a world worst than death. Scarlett begs him to run away with her, and he sets her straight once again. He tries to tell her about honor, something she knows nothing about. Then he kisses her but tells her he'll never leave Melanie. He points out that Scarlett loves Tara better than anything and she agrees, swallowing what little pride she has and determined to keep her home.

Things get tough as the overseer tries to seize the plantation and Scarlett's dad dies. She dresses up in a curtain and goes to visit Rhett in jail. He discovers she will lie about anything to get the money for the taxes on Tara. He informs her she's not worth $300 and will only bring misery to any man.

Desperate, Scarlett discovers Frank Kennedy (Carroll Nye, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm), her sister's beau, has a thriving business. She plays up to him and marries him only for the money. Ashley tells Scarlett he's going to New York and work in a bank. But when she puts on the crying routine, Melanie makes Ashley change his mind. More problems arise when Ashley and Frank get involved in political circles and take the law into their own hands. Rhett bails Ashley out of trouble, but Frank is shot by the union soldiers.

Once again Scarlett is in mourning clothes. Rhett proposes again, and this time she agrees. They marry, honeymoon, and Scarlett gets pregnant. When a pretty girl is born, she becomes more of a tug-of-war between Scarlett and Rhett. Scarlett is still in love with Ashley and that drives Rhett off. The couple maintains a respectable presence in order for Bonnie to grow up without a dark shadow.

In one more moment when Scarlett lusts after Ashley because it seems everyone is against her,  Scarlett finally realizes how low she is. Rhett takes her into her room in a drunken stupor and obviously has his way with her. The next morning Scarlett is deliriously happy, but Rhett talks about divorce and Scarlett's neglect of their daughter. He takes Bonnie to London. When he realizes Bonnie misses her mother, he brings her back.

Scarlett is happy to see Rhett until she understands he's no longer interested in her. She's hoping her announcement that she's going to have a baby will hurt him. When he issues a tart reply, she swings at him, misses him and falls down the stairs. She looses the baby but the guilt is too much between them. He asks Scarlett for forgiveness but she refuses. When Bonnie dies in a jumping accident, it's the last straw between Scarlett and Rhett. When Melanie dies she commands Scarlett to be kind to Rhett, and she tries to make amends with Rhett. He says he's leaving her.

Scarlett begs him to stay, his response, "Frankly, my dear. I don't give a damn."

David O. Selznick bought the film rights from Margaret Mitchell's in 1936 for $50,000. It paid off, as Gone With the Wind's screenplay by Sidney Howard, captured this Civil War saga perfectly. The film still ranks as one of the highest grossing films making more than $400, 000, 000.

Many actresses wanted the role of Scarlett including Katharine Hepburn, Susan Hayward, Loretta Young, Paulette Goddard, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner and Mae West. The  film's 13 nominations resulted in eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director - Victor Fleming, Best Actress - Vivien Leigh, Best Supporting Actress - Hattie McDaniel, a posthumous Best Screenplay  - Sidney Howard, Best Color Cinematography - Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan, Best Art Decoration - Lyle R. Wheeler and Best Film Editing - Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom.

Gone with the Wind is one of the most popular classic films and is a pleasure to savor again and again.

Director: Victor Fleming

Writers: Sidney Howard,

Cast: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard, Rand Brooks, George Reeves, Hattie McDaniel,

Run Time: 238 minutes

Format: Fullscreen - Technicolor

Rating: not rated - okay for 12 and older

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 4.5 our of 5 stars

Studio: MGM Pictures  

Photo credit: MGM Pictures