Part 1 Movie cast, release and recognitions
Gone with the wind is one among the best-loved movies of Hollywood ever. It is a grand adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name by famed film maker David O. Selznick. Hailed till date as the greatest romance movies of all time, Gone with the wind was released in 1939. For the movie premiere on December 15, 1939 in Atlanta, a holiday was declared by the state governor even as the tickets were sold at prices 40 times higher than that of the original price. David O. Selznick purchased the movie rights of the book from the author Margaret Mitchell for a whopping sum of $ 50,000. Those days, it was the highest sum ever paid for the movie rights of a book. Realizing that the sum was very little compared to the box office success of the movie, David O. Selznick paid the author another $ 50,000 in 1942 when he dissolved his film making company (“Gone with the wind Trivia,” 2015). Gone with the wind was an instantaneous box office hit, grossing more than $ 20 million during the initial release alone. David O. Selznick ultimately earned $ 4 million out of the movie before he sold his rights. Victor Fleming is credited for directing the movie even as George Cukor and Sam Wood also directed the movie for some time. The popular Max Steiner scored the music for the film.
Rural Georgia through the civil war years gives a memorable backdrop for the movie which is a classic love triangle between a southern girl Scarlett O’Hara, Charleston gambler Rhett Butler and Ashley Wilkes, a neighborhood gentleman farmer. The cast include Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’ Hara, the strong-willed girl of a southern planter and who is in love with Ashley Wilkes about to be married to his cousin Melanie Hamilton, portrayed by Leslie Howard and Olivia De Havilland. Other important casts include Clarke Gable as Rhett Butler, a blockade runner from Charleston, Thomas Mitchell as Gerald O’Hara and Barbara O’ Neil as Ellen O’Hara, Scarlett’s parents. Hattie Mc Daniel played the role of mammy, a slave house maid whereas Butterfly Mc Queen played the role of Prissy, a slave servant girl of the O’Hara household. In all, the film had more than 50 different speaking roles and around 2,400 extras.
Gone with the wind received eight competitive and two honorary awards from among thirteen nominations at the twelfth Academy Awards held during 1940. The following are the list of awards won by this great American classic:
Best picture award to David O. Selznick
Best director award to Victor Fleming
Best adapted screenplay award posthumously given to Sidney Howard
Best actress award to Vivien Leigh
Best Supporting actress award to Hattie McDaniel. She is also the first African American woman ever to win an Academy Award.
Best cinematography award to Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan
Best art direction award to Lyle Wheeler
Best film editing award to Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom
Honorary award to William Cameron Menzies for his outstanding achievement in using color in the film
Honorary award for technical achievement
Part 2 Movie plot summary and overview
In 1861, 16 year old Scarlett O’Hara, a headstrong daughter of a wealthy southern planter is in love with a neighborhood farmer Ashley Wilkes. The movie starts with Scarlett hearing from Brent and Stuart Tarleton, two neighborhood boys who have a soft corner for her, revealing that Ashley Wilkes is about to be engaged to his cousin Melanie Hamilton of Atlanta the next day at a barbecue to be held at Twelve Oaks, the Wilkes’ farm the next day. Even though Scarlett, who believes that Ashley is in love with her, does not trust the Tarleton boys, she later believes that it is true from her father. The next day at Twelve Oaks she acts flirtatious with young men with a view to make Ashley feel jealous but understands that Ashley is not in love with her. She has a heated encounter with Ashley in the library, which is overheard by Rhett Butler, a blockade runner and smuggler from Charleston who has been resting on a couch unnoticed throughout. She is both irritated and annoyed at his indifference toward her feelings and frank appreciation about her beauty. Later, news arrives about the civil war between the north and south and Scarlett is stunned by Ashley kissing goodbye to Melanie to go to the war. She accepts an impulsive proposal of Charles Hamilton, Melanie’s brother.
In a short while Scarlett receives the news of Charles’ death due to pneumonia while fighting the war. Scarlett‘s mother Ellen sends her to Atlanta with Melanie and her aunt Pittypat to cheer up. In Atlanta she meets Rhett Butler in a charity fundraising dance program who bids to dance with her. After that they frequently meet and Rhett gives her gifts from Europe. Ashley comes home for a furlough during Christmas and requests Scarlett to take care of pregnant Melanie. To honor her promise to Ashley, Scarlett stays back in Atlanta even though she wanted to go to Charleston with Aunt Pittypat when the northern troops arrive in Atlanta. Scarlett has to attend to Melanie who goes into her labor since she could not get the help of Doctor Meade who is busy caring the wounded soldiers. She sends her servant Prissy to find Rhett who arranges a horse and wagon for Scarlett to take Melanie and her new born infant to Tara. She is shocked to see Tara in shambles with their house looted, mother dead and father gone out of mind. A hungry Scarlett goes to the field and digs for a radish to feed herself and vows never to go hungry if she outlives the current crisis.
Back in Tara Scarlett tries to recover Tara by compelling her sisters and the slaves to work in the field. She also kills a Yankee scavenger who tries to loot their house and manages a few days of expense from the money she finds in the wallet of the dead man. When the war ends she comes to know that Tara owes $ 300 as tax to the government and the property is at the risk of being auctioned. She goes to Rhett for help, who is jailed by the Yankees and is unable to help her. That evening she meets her sister Suellen’s beau Frank Kennedy who is a successful merchant and charms him into marrying her, telling that Suellen is in love with someone else. She does this to save Tara from being auctioned out. She helps Kennedy in his lumber business. One evening she is attacked by some scavengers while going home after work near a township, and is saved by Big Sam, a former Tara slave. Later in an ambush with the Yankees Kennedy is killed. Scarlett finds solace in drinking after Kennedy’s death and marries Rhett when he offers to give everything to her. A year later is born their sweetheart Bonnie. Rhett understands that Scarlett is still in love with Ashley and after a fight leaves for England with Bonnie.
Bonnie’s homesickness brings both of them to Atlanta. One evening while trying to prompt her pony jump a fence, Bonnie falls and dies. Rhett and Scarlett are equally shattered at the death of the girl. Melanie becomes pregnant again despite her poor health. At her deathbed Melanie asks Scarlett to take care of Ashley. It is during this tough time Scarlett realizes that Ashley is made for Melanie and she has been in love with Rhett all through. She goes back to make amends with Rhett, who leaves saying to a tearful Scarlett that he does not give a damn. Now Scarlett thinks about Tara which always has given her emotional strength. She resolves to postpone thinking about going back to Tara to plan a way to get Rhett back to her.
References
Gone With the Wind. (2015). Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb /title / 414427/Gone-With-the-Wind/full-synopsis.html
Gone With the Wind (1939). (2010). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/ movies / movie/20278/Gone-With-the-Wind/details
Gone with the wind Trivia. (2015). Retrieved July 23, 2015, from http://www.imdb.com/title/ tt0031381/trivia
