Gone With The Wind 1939

The Film:

We've arrived at the first absolutely mega winner - there probably isn't a great deal to say about this film that hasn't already been said. But I'll give it a go.

It was the first winner in colour (and there wouldn't be another one for over a decade!) and it remains the longest film to win Best Picture - clocking in at 221 minutes (or 238 including the Overture, Interval and Exit music). It was one of the most expensive films ever made at the time and, with adjustments for inflation, remains to this day the biggest box office hit of all time.

It was nominated for 13 awards and won 8 of them - a record at the time, and this in a year with an incredibly strong field!

It is still regarded by many as a masterpiece today. Although it is criticised by some for its portrayal of African Americans, it is still praised by others for the prominence it gave to African American actors (see below).

It's important today to remember that this is a film made nearly 80 years ago about events that took place nearly 80 years before then. We're in the 2010s watching a 1930s take on the 1860s. Which is a bit difficult to get your head around.....

The Ceremony:

Bob begins his longstanding relationship with Oscar

The ceremony took place on February 29th 1940 at the Coconut Grove. New categories this year included Special Effects and the splitting of Cinematography into Colour and Black and White.

It was the first time an award was given posthumously (to Sidney Howard for his Gone With The Wind Screenplay) and the first nomination and win for an African American - and the first time attendance at the ceremony wasn't all white (see below!).

It was also the first Ceremony to be hosted by Bob Hope who went on to host it a record nineteen times - the last one being in 1978. There will be a lot more of him in this blog no doubt.....



Other Notable Winners That Night:

Hattie and her Oscar
(the Supporting categories only got a plaque in those days!)

Best Actress went to Vivien Leigh - although apparently it was a close-run thing with Bette Davis. Best Actor was Robert Donat for Goodbye Mr Chips. People tend to think Clark Gable was pipped to it, but it was actually a shock to many on the night that James Stewart didn't win for Mr Smith Goes To Washington (and having seen all three performances, I'm inclined to agree!)

But the most notable winner of the night had to be Hattie McDaniel. Aside from the fact that she was quite brilliant as Mammy in Gone With The Wind and thoroughly deserved the award on merit, it was a significant move to recognise her in this way, considering the social and political climate in the US at the time. A year earlier McDaniel and the other African American actors in the film had not been allowed to attend the premiere in Georgia because of segregation laws. The Academy had to get special permission for her to attend the Awards Ceremony, because the Coconut Grove was also segregated. She was allowed to attend but was placed at a separate table near the back of the room with just her escort - although some of the film's production team moved to sit with them.

It seems like a different world - but it's arguable that we haven't come as far as we think since then, which the #Oscarsowhite controversy a couple of years ago highlighted.

Best Song:

It really was a vintage year wasn't it? It doesn't even matter what else was nominated in this category (not a lot, actually!) - this needs no introduction to anyone pretty much anywhere on the planet:

What We Could/Should Have Been Watching:

It's ok Jimmy - we'll see you again next year!

I don't think there is any doubt that the Best Film won this one. It ticks all the boxes needed and is still well regarded today.

However - the field was very strong. On any other year there would have been several other strong contenders (who would have beaten last year's and probably next year's winners quite easily). I've seen most of these and they are all well regarded today. The list is as follows:
Dark Victory (Bette acting her socks off)
Goodbye Mr Chips (Heartwarming Oscar fodder)
Love Affair (the better version of An Affair to Remember)
Mr Smith Goes To Washington (Frank and Jimmy at their best - a winner in another year!)
Ninochka (Garbo laughs!)
Of Mice And Men (great version of Steinbeck classic)
Stagecoach (classic Western)
Wuthering Heights (Olivier at his moodiest)
Wizard of Oz (nuff said!)

Our Verdict:

Well - it's about the fifth or sixth time I've seen this film. Second time for Andy. I've always liked it, probably more than it really deserves. It is flawed - possibly in its politics (some of the title cards are a bit too glorifying - and the jury is out on the possible racist slant of some scenes), arguably in pacing (the second half drags a bit - particularly when you're sitting there waiting for people to hurry up and die!) and definitely in acting (a fair bit of wooden melodrama and a few dodgy accents). However - just look at the the thing! And remember that it was made in 1939!!! The technicolor is amazing and the cinematography is just stunning. There are some incredible crowd scenes and great special effects (particularly the Atlanta burning sequence). The costumes and sets are glorious and there is some really unusual and intelligent framing of some of the intimate scenes. It may be nearly four hours - but it's four hours well spent!
The thing that struck me this time was how the whole thing was really about Scarlett's relationships - and by that I don't mean her husbands (except one), but in a wider sense. Everything revolves around her inability to focus on what is actually good for her - she is blinded by her own ideas of what her life should be. Some of this makes her strong and likeable. A lot of it makes her selfish and bitchy. And in the best scenes it makes her vulnerable.

Ashley. Wet. And ever so slightly annoying
when called out to in a Southern Accent.

Firstly there's Ashley. I have absolutely no idea why she is so smitten with Ashley for so long, but there you go! He colours every other decision she makes in her life without really doing anything except exist and be married to someone else. I don't know how far it's the character and how far it's the acting (Leslie Howard was too old and too English - he was Professor Higgins the year before!) but this is the weak link and the least believable relationship for me.

Rhett. I get it, but they were both as bad as each other!

Then there's Rhett. I know we are supposed to see this as one of the greatest love affairs in film (or something) but really the only thing he had going for him (apart from the money) was that he was clever enough to get the measure of Scarlett and stand up to her early on. There's some sort of deep down decency in him (the way he is with Melanie and with Belle at the brothel) but he's still selfish and a bit too caddish - I had a lot less time for him on this viewing. The way he talks to Scarlett has shades of what (some) modern women see today in Christian Grey. And that put me right off!

A girl should always listen to her Mammy!

Scarlett needs to pay more attention to the women in her life - they are the best relationships she's got. Right from the beginning of the story Mammy always tells her exactly what she thinks and doesn't shy away from telling her off when she is behaving like a spoilt brat. And she continues to do this right through the rest of the story. Generally Scarlett takes the scoldings - although she doesn't always act on them - and there is a lot of love and respect between the two. Hattie McDaniel's performance in this role absolutely nails it and makes Mammy one of the strongest characters in the story - as well as the wisest, with the most common sense. She also stands up for herself and commands respect. All very significant.

Poor Melanie.......

And then we come to Melanie. She's Andy's favourite character. I have to admit that it takes the first hour to warm to her. I find her a bit too good and sickly sweet at the beginning of the story. When she gives her wedding ring away at the fundraiser it's all a bit vomit-inducing. However, she wins me round as she and Scarlett get closer and it becomes more apparent (to this viewer anyway!) that she knows exactly why Scarlett is hanging around her so much, and she deals with the whole thing with kindness and dignity. She is the strong one - she is far too good for Ashley!

After all, tomorrow is another day......

Scarlett should have listened to the women in her life a little more - and things wouldn't have been so complicated. However, Scarlett's real true love is revealed in the last few lines of dialogue in the film. Everyone remembers "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!" - but it's what comes next that really matters. Some viewers apparently were miffed that the story didn't end properly or that there wasn't a sequel. But it was a great ending. The only thing Scarlett truly loved, that she would do anything for, risk her life and work her fingers to the bone (literally) was Tara. This was her problem all along, and what makes her such a great character - she's a 21st Century feminist businesswoman trapped in the Deep South in the 1860s!