"Gone With The Wind" 1939

“Gone With The Wind”

This is hands down my favorite movie. I can’t remember the first time I saw this movie. But I have watched it at least once a year for as long as I can remember. I have also read the novel more times than I can count.

Vivien Leigh personifies Scarlett O’Hara. She is the belle of the county and never really, despite everything she goes through, gets over losing it. She isn’t afraid to fight and scrape to get what she needs or wants. Scarlett is the original Steel Magnolia.

Scarlett and Melanie have the same blind spot. It is love. Scarlett can’t see who really loves her. Scarlett thinks Ashley is the love of her life and can’t see that she was made for Rhett. She can’t see that Melanie is her best friend. She even takes care of Tara without realizing that she gains strength from it. Melanie can’t fathom that anyone she loved didn’t feel the exact same way back.

Hattie McDaniel was Mammy. She was quoted once as saying, “I’d rather play a maid than be one.” She did more with a look and a sigh than most actresses can today.

Leslie Howard brings to life Ashley Wilkes. A man whose sense of honor and downright politeness keeps him from just telling Scarlett she is nice enough but he loves his wife.

Clark Gable is just cool. There is no other word. I love when he goes to Scarlett after Frank dies. The flowers from the funeral are still in the house and he casually tucks one in his lapel. Scarlett can’t hide anything from him and he calls her on her lies.

“I can’t spend my life trying to catch you between husbands.”

There are endless moments, small details that come together to make this an incredible film. I love the old movies for what they implied but never said aloud.

But most of all, I love that it isn’t a happy ending. Scarlett started on the steps of Tara, surrounded by her beaus, the world at her feet. Her only desire to go to a barbeque. She ends the movie all alone on the steps of her Peachtree mansion, her illusions shattered and the love of her life has vanished into the mist.

But her last words are those of determination. She will rise again. Scarlett O’Hara can’t be beaten down by war or poverty. She will scrape for Rhett the way she dug in the ground for food.

I have read the sequels, but they don’t do this amazing character justice. This movie won awards and 72 years later is still a classic. A delightful tale of a time…Gone With The Wind.