Approximately 77 years ago, Gone with the Wind won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It may have been nearly eight decades since this movie was released, but it is still one of the most cherished ones in the world. Did you know that it was boredom, and a few mild injuries that caused the 25-year-old Margaret Mitchell to write the most beloved romance story in literary history? What’s more surprising is the fact that she spent ten years of her life working on plot, and characters and nobody knew because she went to great lengths to conceal what she was doing. And even if she had spent so much time on this book, she wasn’t even sure she wanted to publish it in the end. Could you imagine what the world would have been like without Gone with the Wind? To pay homage to this epic story of love, war, family, and land, we have decided to give to show you 10 things that you probably did not know about it:
#1 Among the many working titles for Gone With the Wind, the names “Ba! Ba! Black Sheep”, “Tomorrow is Another Day” (inspired from the infamous line, “Bugles Sang True”, and “Not in Our Stars”. The final name came from a poem called Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae sub Regno Cynarae by Ernest Dowson:
“I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind,
Flung roses, roses riotously with the throng,
Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind”
#2 Clarke Gable wasn’t very happy about his participation in Gone With the Wind, because he considered the movie to be a “woman’s picture”. As a matter of fact, Leslie Howard also thought that he was too old to play Ashley, Rand Brooks wasn’t too fond of the idea of playing Scarlett’s wimpy husband Charles Hamilton, and Butterfly McQueen hated every moment of the negative stereotype Prissy.
#3 You may know her as Scarlett O’Hara, but in the beginning, the heroine of Gone with the Wind was called Pansy. Oh fiddle dee de, what a weird name. The publisher requested a name change, and Mitchell replied that for all she cared, she could be called Garbage O’Hara, because she just wanted to finish the damn thing.
#4 Now here’s a sad fact: none of the African American cast were permitted to attend to the movie premiere
#5 Vivien Leigh’s natural eye color was not green, it was blue. The team corrected this little problem in post-production. As a matter of fact, Vivien Leigh’s discovery for the role was a miracle. After dozens of actresses tried for the part, the director said he will cancel production if he doesn’t find the perfect O’Hara girl. As he walked to the window, he saw Vivien, who came to visit a friend, and immediately decided on her.
#6 To make Scarlett more attractive for Clark Gable, Victor Fleming tapped her breasts together for the famous red dress scene. This way, she gave the impression of more cleavage.
#7 It seems that the most interesting facts are the ones about Clark Gable. Apparently he worked a total of 71 days and received approximately 120.000$, while Vivien Leigh worked 125 days and received only 25.000$
#8 There were two major scandals on set. The first one involved Vivien Leigh, who arrived on set with her lover, Laurence Olivier. Both of them had left their spouses and children and got involved in an illicit affair. The other scandal, involved, surprisingly, Clark Gable, who eloped with Carole Lombard during a two day break, and got married.
#9 Clark Gable almost quit over the fact that the script called for Rhett to cry on film.
#10 The original movie poster featured the leads as follow: Clark Gable, Leslie Howard, Olivia de Havilan, and “presenting” Vivien Leigh. After she won the Oscar, the order changed.
