Gone with the Wind Trivia

Just some fun book and movie trivia links for your perusal.

"20 Things You Might Not Have Known About Gone With The Wind" is a short, but interesting article with photographs.   Mental Floss.


"A Home for Ashley Wilkes" from Deep South Magazine  has a brief article on how Margaret Mitchell noted she liked Covington House, and sent a picture of it on to David O. Selznick.  Then chronicles the current owners efforts to acquire and restore the house, which is now a Bed and Breakfast.  This article is followed by "Travel the Gone With The Wind Trail" a visitors guide of sites and there locations for Windies able to sojourn to Georgia.


"Gone With The Wind Film Locations" on The World Wide Guide To Film Locations.  Busch Gardens served as Twelve Oaks grounds for the barbecue scenes, and the Shanty Town attack was at Big Bear Lake in San Bernardino are just some of the locations listed.


"Trivia and Fun Facts About Gone With The Wind" on TCM.com has some old and new facts, and a long list of the best quotes from the movie.

                                             What Margaret Mitchell sent to David O. Selznick

How the house in Covington, Georgia looks currently.  

Of Sequels, the Mitchell Estate, Copyright, and Such. . . .

Give Us Tommorrow: Searching for a Sequel to "Gone With The Wind" is a wonderful blog article about various attempted sequels, screenplays, and estate approved books. Full of facts and trivia, it makes one wish they could read many of the screen plays and sequels not released, and got me thinking about the authorized sequels.

I was so excited for Scarlett to be released as a book.  Finally, Rhett and Scarlett back together.  I had read Alexander Ripley's other historical fiction books and enjoyed them.   Scarlett was a disappointment.  I didn't even bother with the mini-series when it was on TV.  Then Rhett Butler's People came out, and the thought of perhaps learning more about the enigma that is Rhett intrigued me.  Short on reading time and with a long commute, I checked it out from the library as an audio book, and nearly rear-ended the car in front of me, as Rhett mused about magnolias and whippoorwills on his way to the duel with the silly girl's brother.  I suffered through the entire book, rallying against McCaig's complete and utter ignorance of details in Gone With The Wind, that he either changed or left-out completely.  It was annoying to say the least.  I did not even bother with Ruth's Journey, the prequel from Mammy's perspective.  Pat Conroy was originally approached to write Rhett Butler's story.  Which seemed to be a great match and was written up in New York Times. Pat clashed too much with the estate, who he felt was censoring his work, so quit.  One suspects his Rhett would've been more interesting and like the actual character.  Pat grew up on Gone With The Wind, and wrote a great essay about it's influence on his mother's life that is the preface of the 75th Anniversary edition of the novel.  NPR interviewed him about the book and his essay.  A brief excerpt of the preface is included.

There have been numerous other attempts to write screenplays and novels for Gone With The Wind, but the conservators of the Mitchell Estate are notoriously conservative, and have successfully blocked most "unauthorized" sequels.  The exception being The Wind Done Gone by Alice Randall.  The Mitchell estate sued to stop the publication of the book.   An appeals court overturned a lower courts injunction saying The Wind Done Gone was a parody and therefore protected by free speech.


The Mitchell Estate is only one of many estates, and corporations who take an interest in copyright. Previously, a book, film, or other copyrighted work entered the Public Domain 50 years after the author's death, but in 1998 the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act was passed by congress (yes, that Sonny, Cher's ex) and signed by former President Clinton which extended copyright to 70 years after the authors death.  The Copyright Extension Act was challenged in Eldred vs. Ashcroft,  a case that went to the Supreme Court, and was decided 7 to 2 in favor of Congress having the constitutional ability to change copyright retroactively.   The Washington Post 2013 article "15 years ago Congress kept Mickey Mouse out of Public domain.  Will they do it again?"  discusses the impact this bill had on businesses, individuals, and concepts such as fair use. The Copyright Extension Act ends in 2019, which means there is a slim chance Gone With The Wind will finally enter the public domain.

Despite the questionable estate approved sequels, there are many good sequels, prequels, and alternate universe stories on fanfiction.net Too bad the estate won't let any of these be published.

 

Cheer up, maybe you'll have a miscarriage . . . .

Famous last words before the fall down the staircase that leads to Scarlett's miscarriage and further estrangement from Rhett.  The medical reality is most miscarriages in the first trimester, are due to genetic issues, or autoimmune disorders.  The article Can Fall During Pregnancy Cause a Miscarriage  helps dispel the myths of falls and trips causing miscarriages as perpetuated by authors and film-makers.  In this case, the miscarriage was a plot device, and since Margaret Mitchell was writing during the 1930's, when the real causes of miscarriages were not known, it makes sense that she and other early writers didn't know any better.   If the fall took place further along in the pregnancy, such as the 2nd or 3rd trimester, it could lead to a miscarriage or stillbirth.

Now Scarlett's drinking, if heavy enough could, contribute to a miscarriage, but her drinking after Rhett flees Atlanta with Bonnie is not mentioned in Gone With The Wind, though her drinking when pregnant with Ella was.  This leads the reader to presume she probably wasn't drinking, or not more than she did when expecting Ella after Rhett deserted.

Here's an extra tidbit.  I came across this great little blog post, The Role of Staircases in "Gone With The Wind", which is based on the film, but still makes some interesting points.  Enjoy.

Saving Scarlett's Barbaque Dress. . . .

An interesting article from LA Weekly on "The Painstaking Process of Restoring a Scarlett O'Hara Dress", on efforts to conserve and display the famous BBQ dress.  I must confess it is my favorite dress in the film, followed by the red velvet birthday dress, and the famous curtain dress.
What is your favorite dress from the Gone With The Wind movie?

Victor Flemings influence on Gone with the Wind

The New Yorker has a great article, The Real Rhett Butler, about Victor Flemings influence and affect on the film Gone with the Wind.  In 1939, Fleming directed both Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz.  The article discusses how Fleming drove Clark Gable to feel confident to play Rhett, and that David O. Selznicks various love-affairs gave him more insight into the female characters. Basically Selznick was Scarlett to Rhett's Fleming.  It's an interesting read, and provides more insight into the filming of the movie.

Picture of Fleming on the set with Vivien and Clark.

I Would Walk 500 Miles. . .

So how far did Ashley Wilkes travel to return to Tara, and the two women waiting there for him? According to modern maps it is 806 miles from Rock Island Prison in Illinois to Jonesboro, Georgia.  This is based on the current United States Highway system.  Since there were no real "roads" or direct routes, except to follow railroad lines, the miles Ashly walked could've been greater.   There is no mention if the prisoners were provided with any means of transportation after their release, either via wagons or trains, or if they received any rations or other supplies.  How Do We Run: A Gone With The Wind Scrapbook has a great article on Rock Island, including pointing out that Margaret Mitchell made the prison sound worse then it was.  

If Rhett Butler decided to travel to Tara after the war, he would have traveled 395 from Bennet Place in Durham, North Carolina to Jonesboro, Georgia based on the current United States Highway system.   He definitely would have fared better than Ashley, "After the surrender, Sherman issued ten days’ rations to the starving Confederate soldiers – more precisely he returned Southern food to Southern mouths – as well as horses and mules for them to “insure a crop.” He also ordered distribution of corn, meal, and flour to civilians throughout the South. . . . The final agreement was simply a military surrender with no civil guarantees. All acts of war were to cease. Arms were to be turned over to the union forces. Side arms, private horses, and baggage were to be retained by officers. All officers and men were required to promise individually in writing not to take up arms again."  Deo Vindice-God Will Vindicate.  In addition, some of the Confederate troops mustering out received pay,  "Portions of the Confederate Treasury were evidently handed out among the troops. According to Maj. G. W. F. Harper of the 58th North Carolina, “At Greensboro, the regiment was paid in Mexican silver dollars –one dollar and fourteen cents to each officer and enlisted man present.”  North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.    

I always wondered why Rhett did not return to Tara to check on Scarlett and Melanie.  Was it guilt about abandoning them?  Fear that Scarlett would remember his confession of love and use it against him?  Was it his vanity?  Did he not want to return looking like a defeated, ragged scarecrow? Perhaps a combination of all those things?  

Loves Music, Likes to Dance. . . .

"Oh, you waltz so well Captian Butler.  Most big men don't, you know."-
Scarlett O'Hara Hamiliton, p.133

The Atlanta Bazaar-

The event began with singing The Bonnie Blue Flag, an old Irish tune with lyrics written by Harry Macarthy.  The song tells of the succession of the Southern states in order.  A sort of national anthem for the Confederate States of America.

At the beginning of the Bazaar Scarlett is listening to Lorena, a song written by a minister and inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe poem Lenore

Rhett bid $350 in gold for "Mrs. Charles Hamilton" to lead the Virginia Reel.  The reel is more of a dance than a song.  In fact several lively tunes can be used for the dance.

When this Cruel War is Over is the song that Rhett requested Scarlett sing to him during one of their waltzes at the Atlanta Bazaar.  As noted in GWTW, the original suit was blue, but the South changed the color to gray.

The Victorian Dance Ensemble page has several interesting articles on Victorian balls and dances during the Civil War.   The etiquette for such events was very strict.  If a man, a stranger, came to a ball he had to seek out the "Floor Manager" to find him a suitable lady to dance with.  "The Floor Manager would quickly “size-up” the man based on his demeanor, clothing and language, and locate a suitable partner of the appropriate class. The man would then be introduced to the lady for the purpose of dancing only. Again, a lady was expected to accept such an invitation to dance unless she already had a partner or was fatigued."  It was also bad form to dance with the same partner for most of the evening.  Rhett and Scarlett broke most of the rules for public dances.  Bidding on a widow, dancing more than one dance together, and since most of Atlanta didn't know about the "library incident", appearing to dance with a complete stranger.

A Dinner Party During  a Siege-

Rhett's uninvited arrival at Aunty Pitty's dinner party featuring the old rooster caused some friction. Scarlett was sent into the parlor to play the piano for their guests to help alleviate the situation.

Her first selection Somebody's Darling stirs Fanny Elsings grief over Dallas McClure.  Scarlett is at a loss as to what to play next, till Rhett comes in and suggest My Old Kentucky Home, which they duet on.

My Old Kentucky Home was written by Stephen Foster, who also wrote such American classics as, Oh, Susanna, Camptown Races, and Beautiful Dreamer among many others. The song became the official state song of Kentucky in 1928, and the lyrics were changed from "darkies" to "people".  The Hidden Racial History of My  Old Kentucky Home states the song is about a slave being sold down south, where he fears death from overwork and ill treatment.

My Old Kentucky Home is the song that keeps running through Scarlett's mind as she trudges home to Tara, the day after fleeing Atlanta.  Her hope of putting down her "weary load" once she reaches home is shattered by her mother's death, Gerald's mental health, and the Yankees looting all the food and livestock.

Army Music-

The Library of Congress provides information on what army bands on both sides played in their Band Music from the Civil War collection.