The Best Picture of 1939 is…..”Gone With The Wind.” This epic historical film is no doubt the most popular motion picture of all time because it has everything: Drama, comedy, romance, disaster, sweeping historical context, big movie stars, and more. It won eight Oscars prompting Bob Hope, host of the Academy’s ceremonies, to quip that it was a benefit for David O. Selznick.
Clark Gable seemed to be born for the part of Rhett Butler, the unconventional southern rogue. It was always rumored that Margaret Mitchell wrote the book’s lead character with Gable in mind. Whatever the case, Selznick went on a worldwide search for the actress to play his female lead, the mercurial Scarlett O’Hara. He wisely settled on English stage actress Vivien Leigh, who went on to win the Academy Award for best actress.
GWTW’s eight Oscars, out of thirteen nominations, with Leigh, include producer Selznick, director Victor Fleming, supporting actress Hattie McDaniel as Mammy (first African-American Oscar recipient), Sidney Howard for the screenplay faithfully adapted from Mitchell’s novel, Ernest Haller for the cinematography, as well as art-set direction and film editing.
The rest of the outstanding cast includes Olivia de Haviland as Melanie Hamilton, Scarlett’s sister-in-law, Thomas Mitchell and Barbara O’Neill as Scarlett’s parents, Evelyn Keyes and Ann Rutherford as her sisters, George Reeves as one of her beaus, Butterfly McQueen as Prissy, Leslie Howard as Melanie’s husband, Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson as Pittypat’s driver, Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriweather, and Ward Bond as the Yankee Captain Tom.
And the viewing and reviewing of the watchable Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer classic “Gone with The Wind” will go on as long as there are movies and DVD players. Margaret Mitchell always refused to authorize a sequel, but one finally was produced and released as a miniseries in 1994 called “Scarlett.” The four episodes and six hour made-for-television CBS film starred Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Timothy Dalton as Scarlett and Rhett.
Gone With The Wind (1939)
cinema
My Review
The Best Picture of 1939 is…..”Gone With The Wind.” This epic historical film is no doubt the most popular motion picture of all time because it has everything: Drama, comedy, romance, disaster, sweeping historical context, big movie stars, and more. It won eight Oscars prompting Bob Hope, host of the Academy’s ceremonies, to quip that it was a benefit for David O. Selznick.
Clark Gable seemed to be born for the part of Rhett Butler, the unconventional southern rogue. It was always rumored that Margaret Mitchell wrote the book’s lead character with Gable in mind. Whatever the case, Selznick went on a worldwide search for the actress to play his female lead, the mercurial Scarlett O’Hara. He wisely settled on English stage actress Vivien Leigh, who went on to win the Academy Award for best actress.
GWTW’s eight Oscars, out of thirteen nominations, with Leigh, include producer Selznick, director Victor Fleming, supporting actress Hattie McDaniel as Mammy (first African-American Oscar recipient), Sidney Howard for the screenplay faithfully adapted from Mitchell’s novel, Ernest Haller for the cinematography, as well as art-set direction and film editing.
The rest of the outstanding cast includes Olivia de Haviland as Melanie Hamilton, Scarlett’s sister-in-law, Thomas Mitchell and Barbara O’Neill as Scarlett’s parents, Evelyn Keyes and Ann Rutherford as her sisters, George Reeves as one of her beaus, Butterfly McQueen as Prissy, Leslie Howard as Melanie’s husband, Laura Hope Crews as Aunt Pittypat, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson as Pittypat’s driver, Jane Darwell as Mrs. Merriweather, and Ward Bond as the Yankee Captain Tom.
And the viewing and reviewing of the watchable Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer classic “Gone with The Wind” will go on as long as there are movies and DVD players. Margaret Mitchell always refused to authorize a sequel, but one finally was produced and released as a miniseries in 1994 called “Scarlett.” The four episodes and six hour made-for-television CBS film starred Joanne Whalley-Kilmer and Timothy Dalton as Scarlett and Rhett.