In 1939, the movie "Gone With the Wind" was introduced. The American epic film has become one of the most successful and famous in the history of cinema.
History of creation
Bestseller Margaret Mitchell "Gone with the Wind" hit the bookstores in 1936. Soon, Hollywood producer David Selznik bought the rights to the film for 50 thousand dollars and immediately began work on the selection of actors to work on this film. Each of them had to correspond to the era of the Civil War in southern America and be able to vividly convey the image of his character.
Clark Gable was immediately approved for the role of Rhett Butler. And this is not surprising. After working in the movie "It Happened One Night", for which he received an Oscar in 1934, success was guaranteed to almost any film with his participation.
Also quickly, actress Olivia de Havilland got the role of Melanie Hamilton. But the search for the ideal Scarlett O'Hara, the central character of the future film, lasted more than two years. More than a hundred actresses were auditioned or watched for the main role. In the end, Selznik narrowed his choice to two actresses: Talluli Bankhead and Polett Goddard. But Hollywood studios began to include "moral provisions" in their contracts, which again puzzled the producer. After all, his beloved actress and wife Charlie Chaplin Paulette Goddard could not prove that she is in an official with the famous movie actor. The couple claimed that they got married on board the ship during a cruise to the Far East in 1936. But they could not document this. And Tallulah Bankhead, who had earned the fame of a brawler in Hollywood, could be a bad advertisement for the film, which Sleznik could not allow. After painful deliberation, Selznik finally made his choice. Scarlett O'Hara will become a relatively unknown British actress Vivien Leigh.
The filming itself took 140 days. As many as five directors and 13 writers worked on the implementation of their plans. The famous scene of "burning Atlanta" demanded the fiery destruction of an area of about 12 hectares.
At the premiere of the film in Atlanta, celebrations took three days. Gone With the Wind was the first color film to receive an Oscar for Best Picture, and Hattie MacDaniel was the first African American nominated to receive the same prestigious film award.
Plot of the film
First episode
The film takes place in the American south of the Civil War and tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara - the willful daughter of the owner of the plantation Tara. Young girl in love with Ashley Wilkes. He sympathizes with Scarlett, but intends to marry his cousin Melanie Hamilton. At one of the parties between the young people, a frank conversation takes place in which Ashley rejects Scarlett. Rhett Butler becomes an involuntary witness to these explanations. In revenge on Ashley, the offended girl marries Melanie's brother, Charles. But war soon begins. Scarlett's husband, who is at the front, becomes infected and dies of measles. And the widowed girl goes to Melanie’s house in Atlanta. There, at a charity bazaar, she meets Rhett and agrees to a joint dance, violating the rules of mourning.
Over the next few months, he continues to visit Scarlett. Meanwhile, Atlanta is under siege. And in the position of Melanie, it is time to give birth. Scarlett and her maid Prissy are forced to take birth on their own and flee from the city enveloped in fire.
With the help of Rhett, they get out of the burning city and successfully get to Tara. But here she is waiting for a house plundered by the soldiers, news of the death of her mother, a sick father and desperate sisters.
