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The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

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Everything you ever wanted to know about *GWTW* -- from Margaret Mitchell recalling her mother driving her out to see the ruined plantations around Atlanta, and telling her that she'd better learn to survive, to its historic status as being one of the most beloved movies of all time - even when it's not politically correct to love the movie. It is a documentary combining spoken word, letters, memos, newsclips, diaries and recreations - in a comprehensive style that predates Ken Burns by quite a bit. It is a dizzying montage of information and images that tells the story of the film - a monumental achievement that is one of the few films to not disappoint the lovers of the book. Selznick purchased the rights to the story for $50,000 - a fortune at the time, for a story so sprawling that it was impossible to visualize on the screen. As a superb craftsman, even Selznick was intimidated - not just by the scope of the story, but by the public's obsession with it. So it is with tender care that he began preproduction and scriptwriting on this sacred monster. The footage that we see in the finished version of *GWTW* shows only a small part of the passion, heartache and bloodletting that went on behind the scenes. Most impressive is the existing array of screen tests that were done for the movie - evidence that the much-ballyhooed Search for Scarlett O'Hara was far more than hype from a hotheaded publicist. Showing dozens of would-be Scarletts, Melanies, Ashleys and Belles, the most stunning footage is the multiple and lengthy tests that Paulette Goddard did for the role of Scarlett. She exhibits a cunning and slyness that is perfect for Scarlett, and the newsreports go crazy announcing her unconfirmed appointment. It is the sheer numbers of tests that Goddard did the continually amazing, and she had every reason on earth to believe she had the part. It's easy to see that she would have been delightful as Scarlett, but could she have made Scarlett into the legend that Vivian Leigh did? Fraught with tension, shooting began without Scarlett having been cast. The story behind the filming of the burning of Atlanta is riveting in its detail, showing how old sets from *King Kong* and *Birth of a Nation*, among others, were burned and then multiplied on film to create the effect. It was during the filming of this sequence that Selznick's brother, Myron, legendarily arrived on the set with a gorgeous young woman in tow and said to the producer, "I'd like you to meet your Scarlett." And the film's fate was sealed with the casting of the tragic and incandescent Vivian Leigh. Though Selznick was reviled by Hedda Hopper, among others, for casting an English girl, instead of a red-blooded American, even Margaret Mitchell herself said, "Better and English girl than a Yankee." Goddard had been frontrunner up to the last second when Leigh waltzed in and stole the part from under her nose. It must have been an unbearably bitter disappointment, and Goddard never again realized the potential she showed in these tests. But, it is also only a small facet of what happened behind the scenes. After a time, miles of film were scrapped when original director George Cukor was fired and replaced by Victor Fleming. There's quite a tale behind *that* that neither the documentary, nor we, will go into. The personal dramas are many, with Selznick's drug use, health problems and subsequent breakdown being addressed. The volume of information collected is awesome. From Butterfly McQueen speaking about her role as Prissy ("I wouldn't let them slap me, but I thought Prissy needed to be slapped...I thought she was horrid."), to the footage of Hattie MacDaniel's Academy Award speech that is so sincere and touching that it must be considered a gift that we can still see it. It was a scandal that the movie cost $3,000,000 to make: a jaw-droppingly small figure for a movie that paid for itself many, many times over - and *that's* just in financial terms.

The most fascinating aspect of this beautifully created documentary is how close we came to having Paulette Goddard--of all people--and not the mythical Vivien Leigh as our treasured Scarlett O'Hara. The screen tests were fascinating, as we watched everyone from Goddard to Lana Turner trying out for the greatest female role in movie history. Goddard was an all-American beauty, with a flat, nasal voice, which wasn't all that apparent in the movie comedies she played in. In real life, she had no other ambition than to be a party-girl and collecting fortunes from her many lovers and husbands. Only the fact that she was the mistress of Charlie Chaplin--and with David Selznick fearful of the puritanical reaction--did he reject her and wait around and then the miracle occurred. Vivien Leigh decided on the spur of the moment to fly to HOllywood to join her lover, Laurence Olvier. The whole making of GWTW sounds like a typical Selznick movie. Mistresses, battling film divas, the GWTW set being shut down on several occasions (the money ran out one time, Victor Fleming had a breakdown, George Cukor was fired as director, etc.) This is a "magic" movie. It could never be made again. And looked at that abominable mess of a TV mini-series, "Scarlett" which came and went and I don't know of anyone who can even remember who played Scarlett or any of the rest of those legendary figures. Equally fascinating is how the special effects transformed a Hollywood backlot to plantations and ballrooms and battlefields. Bravo to Vivien, David and GWTW.

This documentary is both cleverly done and very entertaining. We all know how GWTW turned out but the story of how it was made is fascinating. David O. Selznick was nuts--- mad scientist nuts mixed with Motzart nuts and he just about drove everyone involved mad as well but he made a great movie. Can you imagine Erol Flynn as Rhett or Paulette Godard as Scarlet? Although Flynn was only in the running for the role for the blink of an eye Paulette almost got the role but luckily she lacked ambition and something in Selznick just made him keep on looking for a Scarlet until Vivian Leigh came to America.

This is an exciting story and can be enjoyed either before watching GWTW again or on its own.

Like a good movie, a good documentary will keep you enthralled even when you know the outcome in advance. "...Legend" absolutely does this. We all know who WAS Scarlett O'Hara in the end but I found myself rooting and hoping for Vivenne Leigh when I saw all the other actresses' screen tests for Scarlett. I also feared O'Selznick would never get the production completed. Clearly, he did and we're so fortunate he did. Like any other magic trick revealed, it's a little disheartening to see proof positive that the burning of Atlanta was just a stage set, but also interesting for the behind the scenes look at movie making.

A must have. So what do we do now?? Will it be available on DVD any time soon??? Please respond if you have any info. Tx!

This documentary was liking watching a newsreel of the time and the place where the stars were working and promoting this wonderful piece of work. It's historical and quite memorable of the achievement in the film itself which behind the scenes also had its dramatic twist and turns.

Produced by Turner Entertainment in 1988, GONE WITH THE WIND: THE MAKING OF A LEGEND remains the definitive documentary on the production of the greatest epic movie in Hollywood's history. Narrated by Christopher Plummer and featuring valuable interviews with surviving cast and crew members, this generously-packed two-hour doco provides a rare insight into the genesis of the project and it's backstage intrigues.

Film buffs will especially enjoy seeing the screen-tests for several Scarlett O'Hara contenders - including Jean Arthur, Susan Hayward and Paulette Goddard (the latter coming the closest to nabbing the role until Vivien Leigh arrived--Goddard subsequently played her own version of Scarlett in the gorgeous Technicolor romp "Reap the Wild Wind" several years later). Here too, you'll experience first-hand the often chaotic atmosphere on the set, which caused George Cukor to be fired from his post and replaced by gruff "men's director" Victor Fleming, much to the distress of Ms Leigh.

This disc will mark the first time that the documentary has been available for purchase on DVD outside of the complete "Gone with the Wind" DVD extras package.

This documentary is one of the best making-of documentaries ever produced. The voice re-enactments helped give the documentary details that I heard in only one other documentary but these details were far more interesting. The re-enactment of the first preview of the film was the most stunning. There was even great detail about how the parts of Rhett and Scarlett got cast. The screen tests of Linda Watkins, Frances Dee, Susan Hayward, Joan Bennett, Jean Arthur, Mary Ray, Lana Turner, Vivian Leigh, Paulette Goddard, Margaret Tallichet, and Anita Louise also made the details about the casting more interesting than ever.

This is an interesting documentary which gives a lot of information about all the things that were involved in the making of this wonderful account of life in the old south. If you are a southerner and/or a Gone With The Wind fan you will enjoy it very much. If you are a movie buff you will enjoy it too. Making it was a huge gamble which certainly paid off (literally). There is no doubt that the right cast was chosen after seeing the auditions by the many people that were considered.

Fascinating peek at the behind-the-scenes activity that went into making this film, though some of the "facts" are just movie studio marketing and PR. Still, this is a totally watchable documentary, and I dare say it is more entertaining than the film itself.

If you watched this documentary on cable TV in years past, you may be delighted to know that this uncut version features about 12 minutes of material usually edited out to meet broadcast length.

This was very interesting and just full of information about the people and the work that went into making this film. The entire country was involved and it shows a different era in American entertainment. If you liked the book or the movie, then this is a must for you.