"Gone with the Wind" is perhaps the most successful film of all time. It was the top grossing film until at least "The Sound of Music", some thirty years of inflation later. The story, and the characters, have become a part of American cultural heritage.
The story begins in Georgia, just prior to the Civil War. Beautiful and spoiled Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) schemes to win the love of the honorable Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), who is engaged to his saintly cousin Melanie (Olivia De Havilland). Scarlett fails in this effort, but wins the admiration of dashing scoundrel Rhett Butler (Clark Gable).
Ashley marries Melanie, then goes off to fight
the Civil War. Scarlett moves to Atlanta to be
with Melanie and wait for Ashley's return.
Eventually, Union troops siege and capture
Atlanta, forcing Scarlett, Melanie, and her
newborn baby to flee to Scarlett's home at Tara,
which has been impoverished by looting Federal
troops.
After much humiliation and unethical behavior,
Scarlett rebuilds Tara and becomes a wealthy
businesswoman. She marries Rhett and has a
daughter, but her marriage is stormy.
Is "Gone with the Wind" pro-slavery? In the
pre-war scenes, blacks seem content with their
lot, and show devotion to the white "masters"
that control their lives. Pork (Oscar Polk) is a
shuffling, slow-talking stereotype. Prissy
(Butterfly McQueen) is described by Rhett as a
"simple-minded darky". But to its credit, "Gone
with the Wind" has two very strong and positive
roles. The characters listen with respect to
Mammy (Hattie McDaniel), whose straightforward
comments make for sage advice. McDaniel won Best
Supporting Actress, an outstanding achievement
during an era of segregation. Big Sam (Everett
Brown) shows great courage rescuing Scarlett from
grave danger.
However, my favorite supporting character is
Scarlett's exuberant first husband Charles
Hamilton (Rand Brooks). Also, Aunt Pittypat
(Laura Hope Crews) gives an excellent
comic-relief performance.
"Gone with the Wind" also won major Oscars for
Best Screenplay (Sidney Howard), Best Actress
(Scarlett O'Hara), Best Color Cinematography,
Best Director, and Best Picture. Fleming was
credited as director, although four directors
were used. This was a clean sweep of all major
awards except Best Actor, which passed over Clark
Gable. (Vivien Leigh's husband, Laurence Olivier,
was also nominated, for "Wuthering Heights." The
winner that year was Robert Donat).
"Gone with the Wind" clocks in at 222 minutes,
more than twice the length of an typical film
from 1939. The story does sag once or twice, but
only in comparison with its best parts. The film
peaks midway, during the siege of Atlanta. The
film's best action scenes are here, and the
devastation war is clearly demonstrated by the
horrific hospital scenes and acres of wounded
soldiers.
The film picks up again during a postwar sequence
loaded with suspense. Scarlett has narrowly
escaped an attack on her by lowlifes in a
shantytown. A dangerous vigilante action is then
taken by the men in Scarlett's life, while their
wives wait anxiously for their return.
Scarlett O'Hara, the central character, is
shrewd, manipulating, and selfish. She is
despised by most of the other female characters.
Yet she is presented to the audience clearly as a
heroine. Women identify with her determination,
and she shows positive traits helping Melanie to
deliver her baby, and saving and rebuilding Tara
after the war.
Rhett Butler is a self-proclaimed scoundrel, but
he keeps performing heroic actions that
contradict what he says, just as his love for
Scarlett shows despite his frequent cruelty to
her. Although he enjoys adventures apart from
Scarlett, one of the film's recurrent themes is
his return to her, and his determination to have
her love him more than Ashley.
One wonders at first viewing why Melanie is so
nice to Scarlett, who constantly schemes to steal
Ashley from her. But Melanie does not view
Scarlett as a threat, and perhaps she loves her
more than Scarlett loves Ashley.
Of course, "Gone with the Wind" is a costume epic
and a soap opera. Because of its genre, and its
strong appeal to women (the story is told through
Vivien Leigh's character), there are naysayers
(mostly men) who dislike the movie. But there is
no doubt that it an outstanding film. If the
costumes, the cinematography, and the script
aren't enough to convince (which they certainly
should be), the leading characters are extremely
interesting and well defined. (93/100)
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