"Gone with the Wind": actors. "Gone with the Wind" - a classic of world cinema

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Gone with the Wind is a film that brought to the world a galaxy of talented actors. Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard - the performers of the main roles will forever remain in the hearts of the audience as the heroes of the events that once took place in the south of the United States. What does the picture, shot by American director Victor Fleming, tell about, what interesting things happened on the set of Gone with the Wind, what was the creative path of the actors, how did their fate develop? This is what our story is about.

Plot of the picture

Gone with the Wind is a film directed by Victor Fleming and premiered on December 15, 1939. The plot of the picture is based on the bestseller of the same name by American writer Margaret Mitchell, for which she received the Pulitzer Prize in 1937.

The events described in the novel and filmed by Fleming unfold in the south of the United States during the Civil War of the 19th century. The opposition of the northern industrial states to the southern agricultural states of America is only a backdrop for reflecting human destinies in such a difficult time. And, in spite of everything, life aroundcontinues, there is a place for love, friendship, humanity.

The main character of the film is the proud southerner Scarlett O'Hara. She is rich, pretty, Irish blood flows in her veins, and she has an incredible quality - the ability to easily charm men. Scarlett is sure that all the men of the state are crazy about her. She only needs to hint at mutual feelings - and no one can resist. However, soon the girl is disappointed in love, which becomes only the first life lesson. Scarlett's entire pink world is collapsing. But this young woman is good because she has a core, and she does not give in to any life circumstances. Her famous phrase "I'll think about it tomorrow…" has gone viral.

About the film

The picture "Gone with the Wind" has become a tape for all time. In addition to the fact that she won 8 Oscars in various categories, the box office for tickets sold for the sessions exceeded all allowable norms in the history of American cinema. In 1989, the film was included in the National Film Registry of the United States.

The main roles in the film were played not only by American, but also by British actors. "Gone with the Wind" is a tape with many interesting events connected with its shooting. For example, instead of trains, wooden models were filmed on the set, the construction of which was supervised by carpenter David Selznick - there are no real steam locomotives in the film.

But to create an episode in which Scarlett and Rhett leave the burning Atlanta, a hugethe number of sets not used and preserved after filming in other films.

An interesting fact is that Gone with the Wind is the first color painting based on a three-color model. Colorful cinema became widespread much later - only in the 60s of the 20th century. In 2004, the painting was restored using computer processing. The digitized result "revealed" a whole range of small details that were previously invisible on film sources.

Interesting facts about actors

Actress Vivien Leigh, who played the main character in the movie "Gone with the Wind", was approved for the role completely by accident. Paradoxically, the “American girl” was played by an Englishwoman, although more than 1,400 actresses declared their desire to work in the film. Some of them were later involved in cameo roles, for example, the image of Indy Wilks was created by Alicia Rhett, but Kathleen was played on the screen by Marcella Martin.

Remarkably, two of the actors who were involved in the filming of the picture actually lived during the time of the events unfolding in the film - Harry Davenport, who played the role of Dr. Meade, and Margaret Mann, who played the nurse in the hospital.

To this day, only two actors who played in Gone with the Wind have survived - this is Olivia de Havilland, who played the role of Melanie Wilks in the film, and Mickey Coon (Bo Wilks).

When the film was released, it instantly gained immense popularity among the viewers. Many words and phrases of the main characters of the picture "gone to the people." The site Myfilms.com even conducted a special poll, according to the results of which the quote "Honestly,"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" was ranked 2 in all moviegoers' favorite lines.

Who played Ashley Wilks

The role of the first lover of the main character Scarlett O'Hara - Ashley Wilks - was played by British film actor, director and producer Leslie Howard.

The man was born in April 1893 in the UK, in a large family, where, in addition to him, four more younger brothers and sisters were brought up. From an early age, Leslie was passionate about the theater, arranging home performances for his family. I must say that the boy's hobby was encouraged only by his mother. The father of the future actor was sure that acting was not a male occupation, and in the future he insisted that his son choose a more serious and suitable profession for himself.

After graduating from Dulwich College, Howard got a job as a bank clerk. With the outbreak of the First World War, Leslie got into the 20th Hussars and participated in hostilities on the Western Front for two years. The war did not pass without a trace - Howard had a military neurosis, after which he was demobilized. And again theater appeared in his life, now - as a therapy, as a way to restore and revive the soul.

Creative biography

Leslie Howard's career on the stage began with small roles. The debut performance in acting work was the production of the British playwright Arthur Pinero "Freaks" in 1918. In addition to working in the theater, the man wrote plays, one of which was staged on Broadway in 1927.

In the movie Lesliegot in adulthood - the actor was thirty-seven, but his film career began to develop rapidly. In 1931, he was involved in the drama Two Never Meet. Then there was work in the film "Free Soul", the comedy "Devotion", the melodrama "Five and Ten".

As the beloved Scarlett Ashley Wilkes in the film "Gone with the Wind" (1939), Howard fell in love with the audience. It is believed that the heyday of his work fell just in the 30s of the 20th century. The most successful works of the actor can be called the films "Berkeley Square", "Pygmalion", "Scarlet Pimpernel".

In 1938, the actor won the Venice Film Festival. Unfortunately, in June 1943, Leslie Howard tragically passed away - he was a passenger on the Lisbon-London flight number 777, which never arrived at its destination - the plane was shot down by a German fighter.

Biography of Vivian Mary Hartley

The role of the inimitable Scarlett O'Hara in the film was played by English actress Vivien Leigh (Vivian Mary Hartley).

She was born in the Indian city of Darjeeling, because her father Ernest Hartley was an officer in the Indian cavalry. For the first time on stage, little Vivian performed at the age of three - she took part in the amateur theater group of her mother, Gertrude Hartley.

I must say that the love of art settled in Vivian's heart only thanks to her mother. The woman instilled in her daughter a love of literature, opening up for her the magical world of the works of Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll. girl from the earliestAs a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress and was firmly convinced that her dreams would definitely come true.

Vivian was an only child, and her parents tried to give her everything they could. The education of the future actress began with the monastery of the Sacred Heart in England, continued in Europe. The next step in training was the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Who is she, Vivien Leigh?

In modern cinema, critics and film critics consider the artist one of the greatest actresses of the entire period of the film industry. Vivian Hartley was a very beautiful and incredibly gifted woman, but her outward appearance hid a hurricane of passions that destroyed the inner world of the artist for many years. It often seemed to a woman that her beauty is the main source of problems, because of which others do not take her seriously. All her life, Vivienne struggled with bouts of manic depression, as a result of which she earned herself a reputation as an actress with a bad temper. She was constantly worried about poor he alth - even at a young age, a woman was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Yes, and failures in his personal life did not add self-confidence.

Vivian Hartley's career as an artist began in a not the sweetest period of her life. The actress was married to lawyer Herbert Lee Holman, gave birth to a daughter and, being constantly at home, suffocated from routine and everyday life. Thanks to her friends, Vivian got on the screen and made her debut in the film "Things are getting better" with a small role.

Career

It is believed that the rise of her career began after the premiere of the play "MaskVirtue" in 1935, when the actress's play received favorable reviews and was written about in the newspapers. After that, Vivian Hartley decided to take a pseudonym. From now on, her name was Vivien. The actress's last name was clear and crisp - Li.

Soon a man, a beloved man, appeared in the artist's life. They became a colleague in the shop - Laurence Olivier. Loving hearts could not be together, since both were not free. In addition, after some time - due to the lack of career development - Lawrence went overseas in search of a better life. Vivien stayed in London, but not for long. Soon she was invited to audition for the film "Gone with the Wind", and she, bypassing numerous competitors, got the main role in the film.

Shooting the film was not easy for Vivienne. Constant disputes and conflicts with the director undermined her he alth, which worried the actress more and more often. In 1940, there were changes in the personal lives of both Olivier and Lee. They were able to divorce their spouses and reunite in marriage. The wedding took place in Santa Barbara, California, but there were no guests at the ceremony.

Vivian Hartley is the winner of two Oscars (for Best Actress Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and for her portrayal of Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire). Throughout her career, which lasted for about thirty years, Vivien had a chance to play many different roles.

In 1960, the actress divorced Olivier and left a career in cinema, occasionally appearing only in the theater. In the spring of 1967, Li began to have severe bouts of tuberculosis. She died in the summer and was cremated. The ashes of the actressscattered over the pond near her house.

William Clark Gable

The main character - Rhett Butler - in Fleming's film was played by the inimitable William Gable. The actor was considered a sex symbol of the 30s and 40s. He has long been known as the King of Hollywood.

Clark Gable was born in America, in Ohio, in February 1901, in the family of an oil well driller. The boy's mother died some time after giving birth, so the child did not know maternal love - he was raised by his stepmother. The ancestors of Gable's parents had German roots. This fact is especially interesting in the biography of the actor, because during the Second World War the man participated in air raids on Germany.

Actor Clark Gable was an interesting personality. He never looked back at the opinions of others, often referred to by the name of his father, spoke impartially about the actress Greta Garbo. The personal life of the actor seethed like a mountain river. The man married five times, and his two wives were much older than Gable. Two illegitimate children, born at different times from different women, did not know who their biological father was for a long time.

In 1935, Clark Gable won an Oscar for his work in It Happened One Night. He was in his repertoire and, going on stage for a statuette, he simply said: “Thank you.”

Clark Gable died November 16, 1960 - he was taken from the set with a heart attack.

Olivia de Havilland

The main rival of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone with the Wind" - Melanie Wilks - played the EnglishAmerican actress Olivia de Havilland. She was born in July 1916 to a British lawyer and theater actress. In addition to Olivia, another daughter, Joan, grew up in the de Havilland family. Paradoxically, when the girls grew up, they decided to follow the same path - acting. However, rivalry and envy of each other's success forever separated the sisters - they stopped all communication.

Olivia began her career as an actress on the stage in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which was on stage at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. However, soon the beauty took up another genre - the woman began to actively act in films. It is believed that the 30s and 40s of the 20th century were the most successful in the career of an actress. Olivia de Havilland has worked in such films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, Charge of the Light Brigade and, of course, Gone with the Wind. It was this film that brought Olivia worldwide recognition - the woman became a nominee for an Oscar for supporting actress. Later, the actress received the coveted statuette - for her role in the film "To Each His Own" (1947) and work in the film "The Heiress".

Olivia de Havilland starred until the late 70s. Behind her was work in such films as "My Cousin Rachel", "Proud Rebel", "Hush, Hush, Dear Charlotte", "The Fifth Musketeer".

As mentioned earlier, our contemporaries to this day are some of the actors of "Gone with the Wind". There are two of them, and one of them is Olivia de Havilland. I would like to wish the actress many more years of life.

Evelyn LouiseCase

Evelyn Louise Case is an American theater and film actress who was born in Texas, in a provincial town, in November 1916. Evelyn's creative abilities manifested themselves from an early age - being very young, she sang in the church choir. Growing up, Evelyn signed her first film contract. The career of the film actress began with several small roles in films at the Paramount Pictures film studio. In the movie Gone with the Wind, Evelyn Louise Case played the role of Scarlett O'Hara's sister, Syulyn. After that, there was work in such films as Union Pacific, where the actress played the role of Mrs. Calvin; "The Face Behind the Mask", in which Evelyn Case played Helen Williams, "Iron Man" with the role of Rose Warren.

In 1955, the actress starred in the movie The Seven Year Itch. This picture is known for the fact that the inimitable Marilyn Monroe played the main role in it. In 1956, Evelyn Louise Case starred in the film Around the World in 80 Days, after which she left film work for almost 30 years. It wasn't until 1987 that she appeared on television in Salem's Lot 2: Return to Salem, and in 1989 in The Wicked Stepmother.

In addition to acting abilities, the woman discovered her literary talent. In 1977, Case's autobiographical book en titled "Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister: My Bright Life in Hollywood and Beyond" saw the light of day, in which the actress shared the secrets of her fate with readers.

In her personal life, Evelyn had four marriages. With a third husband, a woman adopted a child - a boyPablo. The actress died in July 2008 due to cancer.

Some actors ("Gone With the Wind" - a film where many artists, both famous and not so famous) were involved) played bit parts in the film - for example, Mitchell Thomas or Barbara O'Neill. After this film, their creative biography included more iconic works, but the audience most often associates the artists with the heroes of the legendary film by Victor Fleming.

Mitchell

Thomas Mitchell - the actor who played the father of Scarlett O'Hara - was born in New Jersey in July 1892. His parents emigrated to the US from Ireland. After school, Mitchell worked as a newspaper reporter, and later began to create theatrical numbers in the comic genre. He got into the theater in 1913 and over the next seven years made a dizzying career on Broadway.

In 1923, Mitchell made his film debut. He starred in the film "Six-Cylinder Love", playing a small role there. And soon the real popularity came to the actor. After participating in the film "Lost Horizon", they began to tear him to pieces with job offers. The actor participated in such films as "Only Angels Have Wings", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Long Way Home", "Dark Waters".

In 1940, Mitchell won an Academy Award for Supporting Actor in Stagecoach. In addition to filming a movie, the man worked on television. His work has received Tony and Emmy awards.

The actor passed away in December 1962 at the age of 70. For contribution todevelopment of the film industry Mitchell Thomas honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Scarlett's mother

Barbara O'Neill is an American stage and film actress who was born in Missouri in July 1910. Fans of the painting "Gone with the Wind" the actress is known for her role as the mother of Scarlett O'Hara.

Barbara's personal life and career are intertwined, as it was the performance at the theater of the University of Cape Cod that became the debut of a woman in acting. The theater was run by Joshua Logan, who later became Barbara's husband.

The actress entered the cinema at the age of 27, and her first film was Stella Dallas. This was followed by work in such films as "Gone with the Wind"; "Toy Wife", in which the actress played the role of Louise Brigard; "Secret Behind the Door", where Barbara played Mimm Rowby, "I Remember Mom" with the role of Jesse Brown. Audrey Hepburn was Barbara O'Neill's co-star in the drama film A Nun's Tale.

Significant in the career of an actress is the painting "All this and the sky in addition", in which O'Neal played the Duchess of Prazlin. It was for this role that the woman was nominated for an Oscar in 1940.

Actress dies at age 70. Barbara O'Neill's cause of death was a heart attack.

I would like to end our conversation with a quote from the American critic Leonard Moltin, who accurately defined the essence of the famous film: “If this is not one of the greatest films ever made, then undoubtedly one of the greatest examples of cinematic storytellinginterest for nearly four hours." Not the last role in the success of the picture was played by the actors involved in it. "Gone with the Wind" forever inscribed the names of Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, as well as other equally talented artists in the history of world cinema.