The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind (1988) (TV)

Director:

David Hinton

Writer:

David Thomson (written by)

Release Date:

October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

This is a documentary that revisits the making of Gone with the Wind with Archival footage, screen tests, insightful interviews and rare film footage.

Plot Keywords:

Making Of | Colon In Title | Nine Word Title | Atlanta Georgia

Cast

Christopher Plummer	...	Narrator (voice)
L. Jeffrey Selznick	...	David O. Selznick (voice)
David O. Selznick	...	Himself - Producer of 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Irene Mayer Selznick	...	Herself - Wife of David O. Selznick (archive footage)
William A. Wellman	...	Himself - Director of 'A Star Is Born' (archive footage) (as William Wellman)
Marcella Rabwin	...	Herself - Executive Assistant to David O. Selznick
Katherine Brown	...	Herself - Eastern Story Editor for David O. Selznick (as Kay Brown Barrett)
George Cukor	...	Himself - Starting Director of 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage) (1968)
Margaret Mitchell	...	Herself - Author of 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Jimmy Fidler	...	Himself - Radio Broadcaster (archive footage) (voice)
Silvia Shulman Lardner	...	Herself - Secretary to David O. Selznick (as Silvia Schulman Lardner)
Tallulah Bankhead	...	Herself - Actress Testing for Scarlett (archive footage)
Susan Hayward	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Margaret Tallichet	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Scarlett (archive footage)
Frances Dee	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Scarlett (archive footage)
Mary Ray	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Scarlett (archive footage)
Lana Turner	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Scarlett (archive footage)
Paulette Goddard	...	Herself - Actress Testing for Scarlett (archive footage)
Anita Louise	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Scarlett (archive footage)
Clark Gable	...	Himself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Norma Shearer	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Madeleine Carroll	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Ronald Colman	...	Actor in a film clip (archive footage)
Arthur Fellows	...	Himself - Assistant to George Cukor
Edith Marrener	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Dorothy Jordan	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Linda Watkins	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Frances Fuller	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Andrea Leeds	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Jean Kent	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Anne Shirley	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Marsha Hunt	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Melanie (archive footage)
Bette Davis	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Henry Fonda	...	Actor in a film clip (archive footage)
Carole Lombard	...	Herself - Attending Premiere with Clark Gable (archive footage)
Jeffrey Lynn	...	Himself - Actor Testing as Ashley (archive footage)
Katharine Hepburn	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Melvyn Douglas	...	Himself - Actor Testing as Ashley (archive footage)
Charles Chaplin	...	Himself - In Clip with Paulette Goddard (archive footage)
Vivien Leigh	...	Herself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Laurence Olivier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Flora Robson	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Raymond A. Klune	...	Himself - Production Manager in 'Gone with the Wind' (as Ray Klune)
Harry L. Wolf	...	Himself - Assistant Cameraman in 'Gone with the Wind' (as Harry Wolf)
Joan Bennett	...	Herself - Actress Testing for Scarlett (archive footage)
Jean Arthur	...	Herself - Actress Testing for Scarlett (archive footage)
Hattie Noel	...	Herself - Actress Testing as Mammy (archive footage)
Hattie McDaniel	...	Herself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Leslie Howard	...	Himself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Olivia de Havilland	...	Herself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Laura Hope Crews	...	Herself - Actress in Color Test (archive footage)
Ona Munson	...	Actress in a film clip (archive footage)
Ann Rutherford	...	Herself - Actress in 'Gone with the Wind'
Evelyn Keyes	...	Herself - Actress in 'Gone with the Wind'
Butterfly McQueen	...	Herself - Actress in 'Gone with the Wind'
Sunny Lash	...	Herself - Secretary and Friend to Vivien Leigh
Ben Hecht	...	Himself - Writer (archive footage)
William Cameron Menzies	...	Himself - Recipient of a Special Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Arthur E. Arling	...	Himself - Camera Operator (as Arthur Arling)
Johnny Albright	...	Himself - Extra in 'Gone with the Wind'
Douglass Montgomery	...	Himself - Actor Testing as Ashley (archive footage)
James E. Newcom	...	Himself - Associate Film Editor in 'Gone with the Wind' (as James Newcom)
Hal C. Kern	...	Himself - Recipient of the Best Editing Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage) (as Hal Kern)
William Erickson	...	Himself - Preview Audience Member (as William Ericson)
Will Hays	...	Himself - President of The Motion Picture Producers and Distributors Association (MPPDA) (archive footage)
Joseph Breen	...	Himself - Director of the Production Code Administraton (PCA) (archive footage) (as Joe Breen)
William Hartsfield	...	Himself - Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia (archive footage)
Walter Wanger	...	Himself - President of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (archive footage)
Ernest Haller	...	Himself - Recipient of the Best Color Cinematography Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Ray Rennahan	...	Himself - Recipient of the Best Color Cinematography Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Lyle R. Wheeler	...	Himself - Recipient of the Best Interior Decorations Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage) (as Lyle Wheeler)
Bob Hope	...	Himself - Emcee of the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Sinclair Lewis	...	Presenter of the Best Screen Adaptation Oscar at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Mervyn LeRoy	...	Presenter of the Best Director Oscar to Victor Fleming at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Victor Fleming	...	Himself (archive footage)
Fay Bainter	...	Presenter of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to Hattie McDaniel at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Spencer Tracy	...	Presenter of the Best Actress Oscar to Vivien Leigh at the 12th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony (archive footage)
Alice Backes	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
Jane Barbe	...	Recreated Voice: Margaret Mitchell (voice)
Robert Easton	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
Alexandra Kenworthy	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
Richard Klinger	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
Bill LaBorde	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
Robert Towers	...	Voice Recreation (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Landau	...	Herself
Louis B. Mayer	...	Himself - Head of MGM (archive footage)
Oscar Polk	...	Himself - Cast Member in 'Gone with the Wind' (archive footage)
Phillip Roth	...	Himself
John Hay Whitney	...	Himself - Board Chairman of Selznick International (archive footage) (as Jock Whitney)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Benito Mussolini	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
David Hinton

Writing credits
David Thomson		(written by)

Produced by
Daniel Selznick	....	executive producer (as Daniel Mayer Selznick)
L. Jeffrey Selznick	....	executive producer
L. Jeffrey Selznick	....	producer
Jonathan Wickham	....	assistant producer

Cinematography by
Glenn Roland		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bobby Jones

Set Decoration by
Gregg Lacy

Production Management
Phyllis Coffey	....	production manager
Roger Mayer	....	executive in charge of production (as Roger L. Mayer)
Lee Miles	....	unit manager
Robert J. Wussler	....	executive in charge of production

Sound Department
Bruce Bisenz	....	production sound
Steve Davis	....	sound
Michael Filosa	....	sound
Kathy Gray	....	sound
Charles Humbard	....	sound editor (as Charles R. Humbard)
Carl Maduri	....	sound
Jim Wile	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Frederike Gravenstein	....	special visual effects (as Frederika Gravenstein)
Kerry Kenemer	....	special visual effects
Barbara Smith	....	special visual effects
Darryl Vance	....	special visual effects
Joe White	....	special visual effects

Editorial Department
David Bernstein	....	telecine colorist
Jimmy Blyth	....	associate editor
Steve Carlisle	....	post-production coordinator
Jennifer Chambers	....	post-production assistant
William J. Crow	....	associate on-line editor
Allyn Florini	....	post-production assistant
Thomas G. Francell	....	assistant editor
Tom Gallagher	....	post-production assistant
Mike Grable	....	associate on-line editor
Melissa Jacobus	....	post-production assistant
Emily Martin	....	post-production assistant
Debbie McMinn	....	post-production assistant
J. Churchill Morgan	....	on-line editor
Richard Parker	....	ultimatte operator

Music Department
Greg Crawford	....	music editor
Max Steiner	....	conductor: "Gone with the Wind" original music recordings
Max Steiner	....	music by: "Gone with the Wind" original music recordings

Other crew
Paul H. Anderson	....	archival materials courtesy of: The Margaret Mitchell Estate Executor
Miles Barth	....	photographic researcher
Jimmy Blyth	....	animatics stand operator
Frank Bresee	....	producer: voice recreations
Frank Bresee	....	sound archival researcher
Herb Bridges	....	archival materials courtesy of
Debbie Brown	....	secretary to producer
Mrs. Sally Fleming Burchell	....	archival materials courtesy of
Judy Cameron	....	archival materials courtesy of
Judy Cameron	....	photographic researcher
Pete Comandini	....	technical consultant (as Pete Comendini)
Mary Corliss	....	photographic researcher
Phil Crossley	....	film researcher: U.K.
Yvette Curran	....	archival materials courtesy of
Betsey Maria Cushing Roosevelt	....	archival materials courtesy of (as Mrs. John Hay Whitney)
Charles Eaton	....	special technical assistant
Simon Elmes	....	archival materials courtesy of: BBC Radio Archives
Jimmy Fidler	....	archival materials courtesy of
Harry K. Garvin	....	archival researcher (as Harry Garvin)
Herbert Gehr	....	archival materials courtesy of: Life Magazine
Gary Gibich	....	film researcher
Jim Gilson	....	duplication supervisor
Sherman Grinberg	....	archival materials courtesy of
Susan Oman Gross	....	business affairs
Ron Haver	....	archival materials courtesy of (as Ronald D. Haver)
Ron Haver	....	photographic researcher
Randy Horenstein	....	special technical assistant
Maggie Howard	....	archival materials courtesy of
Ricki Huff	....	secretary to producer
Philip Jenkinson	....	film researcher: U.K. (as Phillip Jenkinson)
Eric Jerstad	....	film researcher
Marion Johnson	....	archival materials courtesy of
Judith Kass	....	photographic researcher
Tomi L. Katz	....	production assistant (as Tomi Katz)
Shannon Kelley	....	archival research
Raymond A. Klune	....	archival materials courtesy of (as Ray Klune)
Wilbur Kurtz Jr.	....	archival materials courtesy of
Sunny Lash	....	archival materials courtesy of
Steve Lee	....	archival research
Mary Mallory	....	photographic researcher
Howard Mandelbaum	....	photographic researcher
Dick May	....	film liaison services
Barbra Paskin	....	archival materials courtesy of: BBC Radio Archives
Kiawii Russell	....	special assistant to producer
Kiawii Russell	....	still photo coordinator
Maya Yardney Ryan	....	sound archival researcher
Eric Schaefer	....	archival research
Jeff Sconce	....	archival research
John Sergeant	....	archival research: U.K.
John Sergeant	....	photographic researcher: U.K.
Jerry Solowitz	....	film liaison services
Peter Stackpole	....	archival materials courtesy of: Time Magazine
King Thackston	....	special playing cards
William J. Tomkin	....	archival materials courtesy of: The Fred Parrish Collection (as William Tompkin)
William J. Tomkin	....	liaison: Selznick personnel (as William Tompkin)
Andrew Velcoff	....	business affairs
Hugo Vickers	....	archival research: U.K.
Ken Wagner	....	financial administrator
Marc Wanamaker	....	photographic researcher (as Marc Wannamaker)
Wilma Wilcox	....	archival materials courtesy of: The Weegee Collection Curator
Jim Wile	....	special technical assistant
Susan Winniford-Tatro	....	secretary to producer
David Wolaver	....	special technical assistant
Karen Wyatt	....	film researcher
Michael Yakaitis	....	film researcher
John Yancey	....	animatics stand operator

Thanks
Charles Bell	....	the producers wish to express their appreciation to: Selznick Archives materials
Suzanne Farrington	....	the producers wish to express their appreciation for use of her family's personal films (as Suzanne Holman Farrington)
Prentiss Moore	....	the producers wish to express their appreciation to: Selznick Archives materials
Decherd Turner	....	the producers wish to express their appreciation to: Selznick Archives materials

Production Companies

• Turner Entertainment (presentation)
• Daniel Selznick Properties (in association with) (as Selznick Properties Ltd.)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment

Distributors

• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD) (4-disc Gone With the Wind 70th Anniversary edition)
• Turner Network Television (TNT) (1988) (USA) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1989) (1993) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• ABC Internatonal  archive material courtesy of
• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)  archive material courtesy of
• Alan Twyman Presents  archive material courtesy of
• Atlanta Fulton Publc Library, The  the producers wish to express their appreciation to: for loan of Margaret Mitchell's original typewriter
• Atlanta Historical Society, The  the producers wish to express their appreciation to: for materials from Wilbur Kurtz, Margaret Mitchell, Franklin Garrett and William Hartsfield Collections
• BBC Sound Archives  archive material courtesy of (as BBC Radio Archives)
• Bank of America  archive material courtesy of
• Billy Rose Theatre Collection, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts  archive material courtesy of (as New York Public Library at Lincoln Center - The Billy Rose Collection)
• Bison Archives  archive material courtesy of
• Brighan Young University Arts and Communication Archives  archive material courtesy of: The Max Steiner Collection
• Central Television  archive material courtesy of
• Columbia University Oral History Department  archive material courtesy of (as Columbia University Department of Oral Hstory)
• Crawford Post Production  the producers wish to express their appreciation to:
• Culver Studio  the producers wish to express their appreciation to: For permission and cooperation on site and stages where the story orginally took place
• Estate of Gene Taft, The  archive material courtesy of
• Family of Hal Kern, The  archive material courtesy of
• Family of Herbert Stothart, The  archive material courtesy of
• Family of Lee Zavitz, The  archive material courtesy of
• Film Finders  archive material courtesy of
• Georgia Department of Archives and History  archive material courtesy of
• Georgia State University  archive material courtesy of: Special Collections Department
• Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Georgia  archive material courtesy of (as The University of Georgia Main Library - Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Center)
• Harvard Theater Collection, The  archive material courtesy of (as The Harvard College Library Theater Collection)
• Humanities Research Center - The University of Texas at Austin  the producers wish to express their appreciation to
• James Forsher Productions  archive material courtesy of
• Life Magazine  archive material courtesy of
• Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Film Office  archive material courtesy of: Hollywood Museum Collection (as Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks)
• MCA/Universal  archive material courtesy of
• Margaret Mitchell Estate, The  archive material courtesy of
• Museum of Modern Art, The (MoMA)  archive material courtesy of
• Newberry Library, Chicago, The  archive material courtesy of: Ben Hecht Collection
• Patriot Publishing  archive material courtesy of: Miller's Photographic History
• Petrified Films  the producers wish to express their appreciation to: original Cosgrove matte shot proofs (as Petrified Films, New York, New York)
• Producer's Library Service  archive material courtesy of
• State Historical Society of Wisconsin  archive material courtesy of
• The Atlanta Journal Constitution  archive material courtesy of
• Time  archive material courtesy of: Life Magazine
• U.S. National Archives  archive material courtesy of (as The National Archives)
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  archive material courtesy of
• UCLA Television Department  archive material courtesy of
• University of California Television Library Archive of Performing Arts  archive material courtesy of
• University of California, Bancroft Library  archive material courtesy of: The Sidney Howard Collection (as The Bancroft Library at the University of California)
• Vogue  archive material courtesy of: Conde Nast Productions Inc.
• Warner Bros. Archives  archive material courtesy of (as Warner Bros.)
• Weegee Collection, The  archive material courtesy of

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Australia:G | Finland:K-11 (2004)

Company:

Turner Entertainment

Trivia:

Olivia de Havilland did not take part in this documentary due to her not wishing to be involved in any of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Gone with the Wind (1939).

Movie Connections:

Features Sidewalks of London (1938)

Soundtrack:

Selznick International Theme

Behind the scenes of the greatest film of them all

Whatever your opinion of the 1939 classic, 'Gone With The Wind' (and I happen to think it is the best film ever made), this documentary will have something to interest you. Whether it be the headache of securing expensive film rights to an 'impossible' bestseller and then wondering how to recoup your investment; or the power struggles between producer, director(s) and writers; or the studio shenanigans to ensure the best possible cast; or the celebration of a job well done, it is all here.

Surviving cast members Evelyn Keyes, Ann Rutherford, and Butterfly McQueen (but curiously not Olivia de Havilland) contribute alongside Selznick colleagues and archive footage/reconstructed interviews with participants now dead. We see the story of GWTW from the first low-key appearance of Margaret Mitchell's soapy book, the fever as a nation sent it up the bestseller lists, and the struggle to condense its 1000 plus pages into a manageable film.

We see the screen tests of failed Scarletts, Melanies, and Ashleys (although there was only ever one man really in the frame for Rhett - the wonderful Clark Gable). We hear the romanticised story of how Vivien Leigh won the part of Scarlett. Finally, we hear about the film's preview and the rapturous reception it received before its glitzy premiere in - where else? - Atlanta, Georgia.

A worthy companion to a fabulous Follywood film. GWTW, all sprawling four hours of it, has no equal in the golden days of Tinseltown, and this documentary gives you just a few reasons why.