1939--Gone With the Wind, Victor Fleming

1939--Gone With The Wind, Victor Fleming
Nominated: Dark Victory, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Love Affair, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Notching, Of Mice and Men, Stagecoach, The Wizard of Oz, Wuthering Heights
Should have won: Gone With The Wind
Be sure to see: The Hound of the Baskervilles, Son of Frankenstein
"As God as my witness I will never be hungry again!"--Scarlett O'Hara

     Like 1962's Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With the Wind falls into that select group of a few films that are not excellent...they go above and beyond that adjective. I've seen this movie only three times but was lucky enough to see it on the big screen each of those times. I can't imagine seeing it on a television screen. Many times it will take me a few seconds after the opening credits to get involved in the story a movie is trying to tell; as the title rolled across the screen and the music was playing, I was blown away (no pun intended) immediately. The entire movie is a grand achievement. Elaborate sets, an epic score, a massive supporting cast, and a running time of over four hours. It could have been longer, I wouldn't have cared. 

     How can I begin to summarize such a plot? Scarlett is a young southern belle on a plantation and wants to marry the man of her dreams. But he has his eyes on her cousin Melanie (played by Olivia de Havilland who is by far my favorite character in the film). A man about the world, Rhett Butler appears and vows to have her. Then war hits and when it does, it hits the south hard. Scarlett does get married but is shortly widowed.  Rhett helps her and Melanie (who is a new mother) return to their plantation. There is a hell of a lot more to the story than that with Atlanta burning, soldiers overtaking the plantation, the raising of Rhett and Scarlett's daughter, and maybe 50 other plot devices. I'm not sure if audiences are supposed to feel bad for Scarlett but I sure didn't. Seeing all the men flaunting over her in the first act then to see her fate at the end was fitting. The famous--and often misquoted--line in the second to last scene is a nice punch to Scarlett's gut; maybe just the one she needed.

 

     Some people have attacked the movie's depiction of the slaves and servants. They seem to be happy on the plantation and satisfied with being slaves. In the movie's defense, from what I picked up from it, they were treated like family. Sam, the main field hand, seemed to have a sort of respect from the O'Haras and Mammy (Hattie McDaniel in an Oscar winning role) was certainly treated as one of their own, even by Rhett. 

   Watching the movie felt like an even unfolding in front of me; it wasn't a simple viewing, it was an experience. There were so many great moments, I wonder what was lost in the editing room. The moment Scarlett finds the soldier in her home; the image of Atlanta burning; the mass of injured people Scarlett stumbles upon while seeking a doctor for Melanie's delivery; and the fate of her and Rhett's daughter all stand out to me.

    Clark Gable has batted a thousand from the movies I've seen. I've seen only three of his movies and all three won best picture. I suppose his face pops into most people's heads when thinking of Gone With The Wind but Vivien Leigh really carries it for me, even though her character is a little unlikeable at times. And as I mentioned, Olivia de Havelland's Melanie steals most scenes she is in for me. 

     Trying to refrain from spoilers, the only odd thing about the movie for me (and a little gross) is how one character insisted on keeping his dead daughter's corpse in the house while he grieved. I won't reveal who but the point is he kept her lying in bed for days after she died and that creeped me out a little bit. Perhaps it could have been depicted a different way. 

     There were two directors on the set. George Cukor was famous for being a “woman's director” and that made Clark Gable feel neglected when he would flaunt over Vivien Leigh. Then the “man's man” director Victor Fleming skipped over from filming The Wizard of Oz and bashed heads with Leigh. The other behind the scenes tidbit of note is the original choice for Rhett Butler was Cary Cooper but he turned it down because he said it was going to be the biggest flop of all time and was glad it was going to be Clark Gable falling on his face instead of he. In hindsight, Cooper's foreseeing of the movie's success was way off as, when taking inflation into consideration, it is the highest grossing movie of all time. 

     I'll also note that this movie is often considered one of the greatest romance movies of all time. The American Film Institute put it second to Casablanca in that category but I don't really see it. Thinking back, love stories typically have happy endings where the couple go on in their lives together. The end of this movie sure didn't feel romantic to me. The last scene we see Scarlett and Rhett together it sure doesn't, anyway. But I think the last few scenes fit perfectly. Rhett's line (maybe the best movie line of all time) and then Scarlett's attitude depicted in her final line (the final line in the film) were very powerful...but not so romantic. 

   This review is just the tip of the iceberg. There is no need for me to keep writing. If you've seen it, you know how great it is. If you haven’t, you need to get on that. The term “must see movie” is a massive understatement to Gone With the Wind.

Note: I was going to make the still from the movie the picture of all the bodies with the Rebel flag in the foreground. It is a striking image. But ultimately I had to make it the most famous movie line of all time instead...right?