Gone with the Wind
It still holds the record for most tickets sold in US history.
Scarlett is a woman who can deal with a nation at war, Atlanta burning, the Union Army carrying off everything from her beloved Tara, the carpetbaggers who arrive after the war. Scarlett is beautiful. She has vitality. But Ashley, the man she has wanted for so long, is going to marry his placid cousin, Melanie. Mammy warns Scarlett to behave herself at the party at Twelve Oaks. There is a new man there that day, the day the Civil War begins. Rhett Butler. Scarlett does not know he is in the room when she pleads with Ashley to choose her instead of Melanie.
Where to watch Gone with the Wind (US)
Atlanta really burned
Old Hollywood backlots were torched in a single take to burn Atlanta for real. The shoot was chaos: directors were fired, pages rewritten daily, and the budget blew past $3 million, huge for the time. Over 400 women auditioned for Scarlett, and Vivien Leigh didn't arrive until production was already under way.
Unmatched, and still debated
It won eight Oscars, and Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor to win one, though she had to sit at a segregated table at the ceremony. Its portrayal of the South is still debated, but for scale and impact it was unmatched. Every studio tried to top it.
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Cast and crew
Director: Victor Fleming
Cast: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell
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