"Carried away by the wind": actors. "Gone with the Wind" - a classic of world cinema

"Gone with the Wind" - a film that showed the world a whole galaxy of talented actors. Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard - the lead actors will forever remain in the hearts of the audience heroes of the events that once took place in the south of the United States. What does the picture, shot by the American director Victor Fleming, tell us about the interesting things happening on the set of "Gone with the Wind", what was the creative way of the actors, and how their fates formed? This is what our story is about.

The plot of the picture

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

The events described in the novel and screened by Fleming are unfolding in the south of the United States during the Civil War of the 19th century. The confrontation of the northern industrial states to the southern agricultural states of America is only a background for reflecting human destinies in such a difficult time. And, in spite of everything, life goes on, there is a place of love, friendship, humanity.

The main heroine of the film is the proud Southern woman Scarlett O'Hara. She is rich, pretty, in her veins Irish blood flows, and she has an incredible quality - the ability to easily charm the men. Scarlett is confident that all the men in the state are crazy about her. She only has to hint at mutual feelings - and no one can resist. However, soon the girl comprehends disappointment in love, which becomes only the first life lesson. The whole pink world of Scarlett collapses. But this young woman is so good that she has a rod in her, and she does not pass before any life circumstances. Her famous phrase "I'll think about it tomorrow ..." went into the category of the winged.

About the film

The picture "Gone with the Wind" has become a tape for all time. In addition to winning 8 Oscar awards in various categories, the box office fees for sold tickets for the sessions exceeded all permissible standards in the history of American cinema. In 1989, the film was included in the National Register of Films of the United States.

The main roles in the film were performed not only by American, but also by British actors. "Gone with the Wind" - a tape with the filming of which involves many interesting events. For example, instead of trains on the site, wooden models were replicated, the construction of which was managed by the carpenter David Selznik - in the film there is not a single real locomotive.

But to create an episode in which Scarlett and Rhett leave the burning Atlanta, a huge amount of scenery, not used and preserved after filming in other films, was set ablaze.

Interesting is the fact that "Gone with the Wind" - the first color picture based on the tricolor model. Colorful cinema was widely spread much later - only in the 60s of the 20th century. In 2004, the painting was restored using computer processing. The digitized result "showed" a whole range of small details that were not visible before on film source code.

Interesting facts about the actors

Actress Vivien Leigh, who played the main character in the film "Gone with the Wind", was approved for the role absolutely by accident. Paradoxically, an "English girl" was played by an Englishwoman, although more than 1400 actresses expressed her desire to work in the picture. Some of them were later involved in episodic roles, for example, the image of Indy Wilks was created by Alicia Rhett, but Kathleen was played by Marcella Martin.

It is noteworthy, but two actors from those who were engaged in filming the picture actually lived during the unfolding events in the film - Harry Davenport, who played the role of Dr. Meade, and Margaret Mann, who played a nurse in the hospital.

To date, only two actors who have played in Gone with the Wind have survived: Olivia de Havilland, who starred in the film as Melanie Wilks, and Mickey Kun (Bo Wilks).

When the film was released, it instantly gained immense popularity from the viewer. Many words and phrases of the main characters in the picture "went to the people." Myfilms.com even hosted a special survey, according to which the quote "Honestly, dear, I do not care" (Frankly, my dear, I do not give a damn) took second place among all the favorite replicas of moviegoers.

Who played Ashley Wilkes

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

The man was born in April 1893 in the UK, in a large family, where he was also brought up by four younger brothers and sisters. From a young age Leslie was fascinated by the theater, arranged home plays for his relatives. I must say that the boy's hobby was encouraged only by the mother. The father of the future actor was sure that acting was not a male occupation, and in the future he insisted that the son choose a more serious and suitable profession for himself.

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

Biography

Career Leslie Howard on the theatrical stage began with small roles. The debut performance in the actor's work was the production of British playwright Arthur Pinero "Urodtsy" in 1918. In addition to working in the theater, the man was engaged in writing plays, one of which was staged on the Broadway scene in 1927.

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

In the role of Scarlett's beloved Ashley Wilks in the picture "Gone with the Wind" (1939) Fell in love with the viewer Howard. It is believed that the flowering 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 became the winner of the Venice Film Festival. Unfortunately, in June 1943, Leslie Howard tragically passed away - he was a passenger of flight No. 777 "Lisbon-London", which never arrived at the destination - the plane was shot down by a German fighter.

Biography Viviane Mary Hartley

The role of the inimitable Scarlett O'Hara in the picture was sung by the English actress Vivien Leigh (Viviane Mary Hartley).

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

I must say that the love of art settled in the heart of Vivian only thanks to my mother. The woman instilled in her daughters a love of literature, opening for her the magic world of the works of Hans Christian Andersen, Rudyard Kipling, Lewis Carroll. A girl from her earliest childhood dreamed of an actress's career and was firmly convinced that her dreams will surely come true.

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

Who is she, Vivien Leigh?

In contemporary cinema critics and film critics consider the actress one of the greatest actresses of the whole period of the film industry. Vivian Hartley was a very beautiful and incredibly gifted woman, but her appearance hid the hurricane of passions, which for many years destroyed the artist's inner world. The woman often thought that her beauty is the main source of problems, because of which she is not taken seriously by others. All her life, Vivien struggled with bouts of manic depression, resulting in a reputation as an actress with a bad temper. She was constantly worried about poor health - even in her young years, a woman was diagnosed with tuberculosis. And failures in personal life did not add self-confidence.

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

Career

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

Soon in the life of the artist appeared a man, a beloved man. He became a colleague in the shop - Lawrence Olivier. Loving hearts could not be together, since both were not free. In addition, after some time - due to the lack of development in his career - Lawrence moved overseas in search of a better share. Vivienne stayed in London, but not for long. Soon she was invited to test in the picture "Gone with the Wind", and she, having bypassed numerous competitors, got a major role in the film.

Filming videotape was given Vivian is not easy. Constant disputes and conflicts with the director undermined health, which worried the actress more often. In 1940, in the personal life of both Olivier and Lee, changes occurred. They were able to divorce their spouses and join in marriage. The wedding was held in Santa Barbara, California, but there were no guests at the ceremony.

Viviane Hartley - winner of two Oscar awards (for the best female role of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone with the Wind" and for the image of Blanche DuBois in the "Tram" Desire "). Throughout his career, which lasted for about thirty years, Vivien has played many different roles.

In 1960, the actress divorced Olivier and left her career in the cinema, occasionally appearing only in the theater. In the spring of 1967, Lee began severe attacks of tuberculosis. In the summer she passed away and was cremated. The ashes of the actress were scattered over the pond near her house.

William Clark Gable

The protagonist - Rhett Butler - in the film Fleming played the inimitable William Gable. The actor was considered a sex symbol of the 30-40's. He was for a long time wearing the nickname of the King of Hollywood.

Clark Gable was born in America, in Ohio, in February 1901, in a driller's family at an oil well. The boy's mother died some time after the birth, so the child did not know the mother's 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 person. He never looked back on the opinions of others, often called his father's name, spoke impartially of actress Grete Garbo. The personal life of the actor was boiling with a mountain river. The man married five times, and his two spouses were much older than Gabel. Two illegitimate children, born at different times from different women, for a long time did not know who their biological father was.

In 1935 Clark Gable became the winner of the Oscar for his work in the film "It Happened One Night". He was in his repertoire and, stepping onto the stage behind the statuette, said simply: "Thank you."

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

Olivia de Havilland

The main rival of Scarlett O'Hara in the film "Gone with the Wind" - Melanie Wilks - was played by Anglo-American actress Olivia de Havilland. She was born in July 1916 in the family of a British lawyer and theater actress. Besides Olivia, another daughter, Joan, grew up in the de Havilland family. Paradoxically, when the girls grew up, they decided to go one way - acting. However, the rivalry and envy of each other's successes were forever shared by the sisters - they stopped all communication.

Her career as an actress Olivia began on the stage in the performance "A Midsummer Night's Dream", which was on the stage of 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 most successful in the career of the actresses were precisely the 30th and 40th years of the 20th century. Olivia de Havilland worked in such films as "The Adventures of Robin Hood", "Attack of Light Horse" and, of course, in the film "Gone with the Wind". It was this film that brought Olivia world recognition - the woman became the nominee for the Oscar for the female role of the second plan. Later, the actress received the coveted statuette - for her role in the film "To Everyone" (1947) and work in the film "The Heir".

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

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

Evelyn Louise Case

Evelyn Louise Keys is an American actress of theater and cinema, who was born in Texas, in a provincial town, in November 1916. Evelyn's creative abilities were manifested from an early age - being quite young, she sang in a church choir. After growing up, Evelyn signed her first contract for filming a movie. Career film actress began with a few small roles in the films at the film studio Paramount Pictures. In the movie "Gone with the Wind" Evelyn Louise Keyes played the role of Sister Scarlett O'Hara - Suulen. After that, there was work in such films as Union Pacific, where the actress played the role of Mrs. Calvin; "Face under the mask," in which Evelyn Case was played by Helen Williams, "Iron Man" with the role of Rose Warren.

In 1955, the actress starred in the movie Seven Years Itch. This picture is known for the fact that the main role in it was performed by the inimitable Marilyn Monroe. In 1956, Evelyn Louise Keys starred in the film "Around the World in 80 Days", after which she left work in the cinema for almost 30 years. Only in 1987 she appeared on the television screen in the film "The Salem 2: Return to Salem", and in 1989 - in the tape "Wicked Stepmother".

In addition to acting skills, the woman discovered a literary talent. In 1977, the light saw the autobiographical book Case, entitled "My Little Sister Scarlett O'Hara: My Bright Life in Hollywood and Outside", in which the actress shared her secrets with her readers.

In his personal life, Evelyn had four marriages. With the third husband, the woman adopted a child - the boy Pablo. The actress died in July 2008 as a result of cancer.

Some actors ("Gone with the Wind" - a film that involved many artists, both known and not so well) played episodic roles in the film - for example, Mitchell Thomas or Barbara O'Neill. After this film, in their creative biography, there were more significant works, but viewers most often associate artists with the heroes of the legendary film of Victor Fleming.

Mitchell

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

In 1923, Mitchell made his debut in the cinema. He starred in the movie "Six-cylinder love", performing a small role. And soon the real popularity came to the actor. After participating in the film "The Lost Horizon", he was torn to pieces with job offers. The actor participated in such films as "Only the angels have wings", "Hunchback of Notre Dame", "Long way home", "Dark waters".

In 1940, Mitchell won the Oscar for the male role of the second plan in the film "Stagecoach". In addition to filming in the movies, the man worked on television. His works were awarded with "Tony" and "Emmy" awards.

The actor passed away in December 1962 at the age of 70 years. For his contribution to the development of the film industry, Mitchell Thomas was awarded a star on the "Walk of Fame" in Hollywood.

Mother Scarlett

Barbara O'Neal is an American actress of theater and cinema, who was born in Missouri in July 1910. Fans of the painting "Gone with the Wind" actress is known for the role of the mother of Scarlett O'Hara.

Personal life and career Barbara intertwined, because it was the performance in the theater of the University of Cape Cod was the debut of a woman in acting. The theater was directed by Joshua Logan, who later became Barbara's husband.

In the movie, the actress was at the age of 27, and her first picture was "Stella Dallas." Then followed the work in such films as "Gone with the Wind"; "Wife-toy", in which the actress played the role of Louise Brigard; "The secret behind the door", where Barbara played Mimm Rowby, "I remember my mother" with the role of Jesse Brown. In the dramatic film "The Story of a Nun" partner Barbara O'Neal on the set was Audrey Hepburn.

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

The actress died at the age of 70. The cause of the death of Barbara O'Neal was a heart attack.

We would like to conclude our conversation by quoting the American critic Leonard Moltin, who accurately determined the essence of the famous film: "If this is not one of the greatest films ever filmed, it is undoubtedly one of the greatest examples of film-telling holding interest for almost four hours" . Not the least role in the success of the picture was played by the actors involved in it. "Gone with the Wind" forever entered the names of Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, as well as other, no less talented artists in the history of world cinema.