Windy Wednesday: Scarlett Makes Her Entrance!

Audiences waited three years to see the Margaret Mitchell novel, Gone with the Wind, hit the big screen. A dramatic opening tracking shot increased the anticipation by initially hiding the book’s main character, Scarlett O’Hara, from view. As Brent Tarleton, Fred Crane blocked Vivien until he stepped aside revealing the youthful face of the girl who had “the smallest waist in three counties.”



Producer David O’Selznick labored over the opening scene. In order to give audiences just the right touch, the scene was filmed five times. The first was tackled on January 26, 1939. According to the book Scarlett Fever by William Pratt, the first day of filming (under the guidance of director George Cukor) did not yield anything that was usable.

The curly hairdos of the Tarletons photographed bright orange. Four days later the scenes were repeated, with the actors’ hair styles modified to eliminate their curls and heavily darkened as well (photo below).

In the book, the Tarleton brothers (Brent & Stuart) were twins. Fred Crane and George Reeves were obviously not lookalikes. For the film adaptation, the “twins” were simply referred to as The Tarletons. You’ll also note that Miss Leigh was wearing an entirely different outfit than what is seen in the finished film. In the book, Scarlett wears this green sprig muslin dress and does so again the next day at the Wilkes’ barbecue because she knows that the Tarletons are fond of it.



On March 1, under Victor Fleming’s direction (Cukor had been let go from the film), a third attempt at the opening scene was shot. According to Pratt:

The two young actors were quite inexperienced and one things was soon evident: it wouldn’t be the last time this unlucky first scene was to be attempted.



For the next scene where Scarlett greets her father, played by Thomas Mitchell, Leigh was still wearing the green muslin dress.



However, by June 14th, Selznick had decided that Scarlett should be wearing this white frilly concoction seen below instead, thus making all of the footage shot beforehand worthless.



In the film, Leigh utters the line “I wore this old dress just because I thought you liked it” at the Wilkes’ barbecue to the Tarletons, which is a reference to the fact that that she had originally worn it in the opening scene. Oops.



On Monday, June 26, 1939 and the following day, Leigh, Crane, and Reeves tried the opening scene a fourth time. Tired from the previous months of around-the-clock shooting, Leigh did not look anything like a vivacious sixteen year old. Even the dimwitted Tarleton brothers weren’t fooled!



Finally, on October 12th, Selznick was happy with the fifth and final attempt at this scene and that’s the one we see today. While you might think it ridiculous that it took five separate times to get one sequence just right, it was Selznick’s attention to detail that made “Gone with the Wind” such a blockbuster hit.



See more “Gone with the Wind” photos at my main website.

The Georgian Terrace Hotel, Pt. 2

Back at the Georgian Terrace Hotel in Atlanta…my room was on the 17th floor.



It was easy to see that this had once been used as an apartment building (during the 1991-1997), as the room itself was quite spacious. The decor included a tightly cropped vintage photo of a headless woman speaking into a number of radio microphones. I knew immediately that it was Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone with the Wind” on the night of the Atlanta premiere in 1939.



The living room, complete with writing desk:



Even a dressing room was included in this suite:



The bathroom had been modernized, so unfortunately my love for vintage tile was unfulfilled here.



The balcony off the living room provided a lovely view…well, that might be a little strong. Let’s just say it was a view. Peeping into other people’s apartments can be a bit creepy. Or “spooky” as Dame Edna would have said.



A view of the modern spiral tower facing down from the 17th floor:



You can see the historic Fox Theatre below, distinguishable from its Moroccan domes:



The view at night:



There was a rooftop pool, which unfortunately I did not have time to use since I only stayed one night and my flight home was at the crack of dawn.



A well-appointed fitness center:



And back to the main level, where my tile obsession was somewhat quenched!



Still more photos of the Georgian Terrace to come!

See more Georgian Terrace Hotel photos at my main website.

Happy Halloween from Oakland!

We interupt our normally scheduled Temple Tuesday AND Atlanta History Center posts to celebrate Halloween. It was Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind (1936) that got me to walk more than 2 miles from hotel for a visit.



Mitchell and her second husband, John Robert Marsh, are buried together here.



Oakland also is the final resting spot of legendary golfer Bobby Jones.



If you need a ball or two, this is the place to get them.



Country music artist Kenny Rogers is also buried here.



Fittingly, this monument is round, with the title of one his songs (recorded in 2011) inscribed above, “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Edited from the Birthplace of Country Music website:

The original version of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” was a hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon, with music by Charles H. Gabriel. The words and melody of the verses in the original hymn depart substantially from the way it is usually sung today. A. P. Carter rewrote the song when The Carter Family recorded it in 1935. The sentiment conveyed in both versions is that we have all lost loved ones, but that they have gone to a better place where we will see them again. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” is an homage to the pioneers of country music and a salute to current artists who honor these diverse roots. The circle is unbroken because the music is handed down from generation to generation.



Below is the The Confederate Obelisk.



From the nearby signage:

The Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association (ALMA) formed in 1866 with a purpose to “preserve and foster the memory of our Confederate Dead.” The federal government did not fund Confederate burials after the war. Volunteer groups, often organized by women, assumed responsibility for Confederate burials and commemoration. Their efforts shaped public memorialization of the Confederate dead and the Confederate cause for future generations. ALMA arranged for the interment of unknown soldiers at Oakland and commissioned two monuments, the Confederate Obelisk and the Lion of Atlanta. The 65' tall Confederate Obelisk is made of Stone Mountain granite. ALMA laid the cornerstone in 1870 on the day of Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s funeral. The obelisk ranked among the city’s tallest structures when completed. Roughly 15,000 people, almost half of Atlanta’s population, attended the dedication ceremony on Confederate Memorial Day, April 26, 1874. The obelisk became a gathering place for future Confederate Memorial Day ceremonies.



At the bottom of the signage contains this paragraph titled, “The Struggle for Equality”:

As white Southerners built monuments to honor their dead, African Americans continued to fight for their civil rights. From 1865 to 1870, three amendments to the Constitution (the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments) were ratified in an effort to establish freedom and political equality for African Americans. State Laws and federal court decisions weakened the power of these amendments. In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld racial segregation laws in Plessy v. Ferguson. The segregation of public spaces, including Oakland, continued until the early 1960s.

Plessy v. Ferguson was a case from 1896 that upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.” From the archives.gov website:

With the cooperation of the East Louisiana Railroad, on June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a mulatto (7/8 white), seated himself in a white compartment, was challenged by the conductor, and was arrested and charged with violating the state law. In the Criminal District Court for the Parish of Orleans, Tourgée argued that the law requiring “separate but equal accommodations” was unconstitutional. When Judge John H. Ferguson ruled against him, Plessy applied to the State Supreme Court for a writ of prohibition and certiorari. Although the court upheld the state law, it granted Plessy’s petition for a writ of error that would enable him to appeal the case to the Supreme Court.

The lone dissent in the vote came from Kentuckian Justice John Marshall Harlan, who wrote, “I am of the opinion that the statute of Louisiana is inconsistent with the personal liberties of citizens, white and black, in that State, and hostile to both the spirit and the letter of the Constitution of the United States. If laws of like character should be enacted in the several States of the Union, the effect would be in the highest degree mischievous.”



There were a number of mausoleums at Oakland, including the one for William Allen Rawson, who died at age 68.



Inside you can see this beautiful stained glass detail.



My obsession with cemeteries also has to do with the expressive statuary that you can find in these historic burial grounds.





The moss and decay add to the feeling of “living history,” as nature continues to erode away what once was living. Nothing lasts forever, including these monuments to the dead.



Happy Halloween to all who celebrate! I hope you enjoyed this tour of Atlanta’s historic cemetery. See more Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta photos at my main website.

Margaret Mitchell on Monday, Pt. 1

In 2007, I visited Atlanta for a conference and was excited to visit the site of where Margaret Mitchell lived when she wrote the Civil War novel “Gone with the Wind,” one of my favorite books (1936) and films (1939). As it turns out, this fall I will find myself back in Atlanta, but it appears that the historic apartment building/museum will be closed during my visit. The museum’s website simply states: 

Atlanta History Center Midtown is currently closed.

Thank you for the information (please read with dripping sarcasm).

A website for wedding venues gives a bit more info:

Margaret Mitchell House (Closed for renovations until Jan 1, 2024)

It looks like I won’t be returning there this fall. Besides renovations, there has also been grumbling about the museum and the book/film because of their portrayal of slavery. I can only suggest that a look at them through the lens of the time that they were created and letting that be a jumping point of intelligent conversation would be better served than either a censorship or suppression of the many incredible pieces that the museum has in its collection.



From the museum’s website:

The name Margaret Mitchell House is somewhat deceptive—in fact, when Margaret “Peggy” Mitchell lived in the building with her second husband, John Marsh, they lived in a small apartment on the first floor. Mitchell nicknamed apartment no. 1 “The Dump.” Shortly after moving into the apartment in 1925, Mitchell quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal, primarily because of a re-aggravation of a foot injury she suffered as a child. While recuperating, she would plow through library books that Marsh would bring her. As the story goes, one day he came home from the library empty-handed, claiming that she had read all the library’s works of fiction, and suggested that she start writing something instead. Mitchell’s first and only book was born: Gone With the Wind.

Here’s the lobby entrance to apartment #1:



A detailed look at the stairwell ornamentation.



Over the years, the building has been victim to multiple fires and the ravages of time; I am not completely sure how much is original and what all has been rebuilt. This segment of wall was one of my favorite things to see, a visual time capsule underneath the shiny new paint and drywall:



I highly doubt Mitchell’s apartment looked this good when she lived there:



It did appear to be appropriately furnished for the era, but I do not recall that any of these items are original to the building from Mitchell’s time.



See more Atlanta photos at my main website.

Scarlett Loves Muslin

"The Wizard of Oz" isn't the only classic movie celebrating a 75th Anniversary this year. "Gone with the Wind" is eligible for the diamonds associated with this milestone event, too. While Margaret Mitchell's heroine, Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) is best known for the amazing Walter Plunkett gowns that she wore in the film, this post focuses on the plainest one, known as the muslin dress. Here's a make-up test shot. If you had to wear the same outfit as much as Vivien Leigh did, you'd be crying too.



Worn during some of the most important scenes in the film, Vivien Leigh is shown here getting ready to ask Dr. Meade for help in delivering Melanie's (Olivia DeHavilland) baby.



Dr. Meade gives the naive Scarlett a wake-up call by pointing out all the wounded Confederate soldiers that he must attend to; the baby will have to be born without him. He also tells her that next time she needs a favor, she might want to spruce up a bit. He is obviously not partial to muslin.



In this behind-the-scenes cast photo, you might think that Leigh is in the lower left-hand corner of this shot, standing in line like all the other extras to get her lunch.



Not so. The poor schlep in this photo is her stand-in.



Vivien was probably eating filet mignon in her dressing room. Or perhaps a watercress sandwich so that she could maintain Scarlett's 17" waist.

Back at Aunt Pittypat's house, Scarlett (still wearing the muslin dress) asks Prissy for assistance in delivering the baby. We all know how that ended up; Prissy got one whiff of that stinky dress and told her she was on her own!



Rhett stops by the house and picks up all three ladies (plus Melanie's newborn) and agrees to take them to Tara. With the Yankees on the way to Atlanta, there is no time for Scarlett to change dresses. The muslin must be getting a bit stinky by now. At least she had time to change hats.



Rhett abandons the ladies to join the war effort and they finish the journey on their own. Truth be told, Rhett was probably repulsed by the muslin dress. Who knows when the last time was that it hit the suds. Instead of vowing "never to be hungry again," Scarlett should have vowed to get some new clothes. Even Melanie is gasping at the smell of the muslin dress by now.



Scarlett throws herself at Ashley's (Leslie Howard) feet, stealing a kiss. He rebuffs her, too. Doesn't Scarlett realize that wearing the same dress every day is killing her social life?



Even Scarlett's father, Gerald O'Hara (Thomas Mitchell), begs her to change clothes. The neighbors are beginning to talk.



Screaming in horror, Scarlett finally realizes what a mess she has become. This war stuff is nasty business!



Courtesy of her mother's portieres (a fancy word for drapes) and Mammy's skills as a seamstress, Scarlett gets a new outfit. Voilà, the birth of the famous green velvet dress; the muslin outfit was never seen again.



See more vintage Vivien Leigh and "Gone With The Wind" photos on my main website.