extravaganza. The Atlanta Junior League discussed holding a costume ball, and the Atlanta Women’s Press Club wanted to host a party for the author and any visiting celebrities.
The bulk of filming on Gone With the Wind was completed by the end of June. The following month, a rumor swept the city that Selznick had decided to open the film in New York. Atlantans were outraged. Fuming Junior Leaguers — “a pack of well dressed Eumenides,” as Mitchell described them — stormed the mayor’s office, demanding that he do something. “They can’t do that to Atlanta,” he declared to the press. “We’ve been expecting the premiere. We’re making plans for it. Atlanta is the logical place. ... In a large sense, the entire story belongs to all of us.”
Hartsfield, true to his word, sprang to the ramparts in full battle gear. He wired Selznick, warning that if the premiere were not held in Atlanta: “DISAPPOINTMENT WOULD BE KEENLY FELT AND THIS PICTURE ABOUT WHICH ALL ATLANTA AND THE SOUTH IS INTERESTED WOULD THEN BE JUST ANOTHER WEEK’S ENTERTAINMENT.”
That night, the city council passed a resolution asking the studio to make a public announcement to put the rumors to rest. The mayor also urged “every civic-minded person” to write or telegram Selznick and MGM “and let them know we really are anxious to have this premiere and that we will be extremely distressed if it goes anywhere else.”
The producer, who knew the South’s approval was vital to the film’s success, moved quickly to squelch the unrest. He fired off a telegram declaring that the mayor’s worries were unfounded, and followed up with a letter in which he noted that neither he nor Loew’s, which was distributing the film, “have ever given any thought to opening in any place but Atlanta.” It is “not merely our intention but our earnest desire” that the film be launched there, he added.
The night before the premiere, the Atlanta Junior League held a Gone With the Wind ball. Guests received an elaborate program featuring a still of Rhett and Scarlett dancing at the bazaar. About 5,000 people attended the event (although at least one gentleman failed to pick up two tickets being held for him at his hotel).
Selznick’s reply was reprinted in the city’s newspapers, and the Atlanta Journal savored the victory: “‘Gone With the Wind’ Premiere Decisively Won for Atlanta: General Selznick Surrenders to Dixie After Mayor Hartsfield Draws His Sword.”
Hartsfield — a tireless civic booster who would serve as mayor for a quarter of a century and after whom the world’s busiest airport is named — sealed the deal the following week by sending a box of magnolia blossoms on a Delta Air Lines flight to Wilbur Kurtz, an Atlanta resident serving as the film’s historian. He encouraged Kurtz to distribute the delicate flowers to cast and crew members as a symbol of Southern hospitality and the city’s eagerness to host their visit.
From the Critics
“In the desire apparently to leave nothing out, Selznick has left too much in. Latter portions of story could stand constructively for some vigorous trimming of repetitious scenes and dialog. As entertainment, the film would benefit from the deletions. Miss Mitchell’s story is a good one, and the grueling contest and conflicts between Scarlett and Rhett are absorbing and interesting. But they are overlong and overplayed.”
— Variety, Dec. 19, 1939
A PARTY TO REMEMBER
With the premiere guaranteed, the people of Atlanta swung into high gear. Throughout the summer and into the fall, plans took shape for a ball, a parade, several luncheons and assorted parties. In California — first in Riverside and then in Santa Barbara — Selznick held two sneak previews. The audience comments were overwhelmingly positive, but the producer continued to trim the film and make small tweaks; he shot a short final scene on Nov. 11.
Finally, an official announcement came: Gone With the Wind would have its world premiere on Dec. 15 at Loew’s Grand Theatre in downtown Atlanta. Four days before the unveiling, Selznick wired Kay Brown, his East Coast story editor and general Girl Friday who was in Atlanta helping with premiere preparations: “HAVE JUST FINISHED “GONE WITH THE WIND.” GOD BLESS US ONE AND ALL.”
Selznick and Loew’s sent ahead numerous costumes from the film, as well as dozens of hats, props and set sketches. Most of Atlanta’s downtown retailers gave up valuable Christmas promotions to devote store windows to displays touting the film, while larger stores offered exhibits inside as well, often alongside new lines of Scarlett O’Hara dresses and lingerie and Gone With the Wind evening coats and jewelry. Atlanta’s three newspapers — the Constitution, the Georgian and the Journal — published special editions devoted entirely to the film, while their regular daily issues featured page 1 headlines and photos covering every detail.
On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the celebrities began arriving. Actress Ann Rutherford, who played Carreen O’Hara, was first, coming to Atlanta with her mother on the train. She was met by the mayor and presented with a large bouquet of red roses. That afternoon, Selznick and his wife Irene, Vivien Leigh and her beau Laurence Olivier, and Olivia de Havilland, landed at the Atlanta airport. Evelyn Keyes, who played Suellen O’Hara, and Ona Munson, who portrayed Belle Watling, arrived on a commercial flight about an hour later. Everyone was driven to their hotel in closed cars. The public would not get a glimpse of the stars until Clark Gable arrived the following day. Later that night, Selznick, Leigh and de Havilland quietly slipped away for a private visit with Margaret Mitchell at her apartment. It was the first time Scarlett’s creator met the man who had brought her characters to life on the big screen.
Thousands of Atlantans gathered to catch a glimpse of the visiting stars and dignitaries who arrived in the city for the much-anticipated premiere of Gone With the Wind.
The following day, more celebrities arrived, including Alicia Rhett (who portrayed India Wilkes), Laura Hope Crews (Aunt Pittypat) and actress Claudette Colbert, a friend of Irene Selznick. That afternoon a procession of cars took everyone back to the airport to meet the plane carrying Gable and his wife Carole Lombard. As twilight settled, a line of convertibles began a procession into the city. As the cars made their way into downtown and up Peachtree Street toward the Georgian Terrace Hotel, tens of thousands of people packed the sidewalks and hung out of upstairs windows to catch a glimpse of the stars. The parade route led past Loew’s Grand Theatre, the site of the following night’s premiere, which was decorated with a three-story façade of white columns, an enormous portrait of Gable and Leigh as Rhett and Scarlett, and red, white and blue bunting.
Margaret Mitchell, her husband John Marsh, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard inside Loew’s Grand Theatre.
STARS ON DISPLAY
At the hotel, the mayor introduced the visitors to another massive crowd that had gathered there. He presented each of the stars with a set of demitasse cups and saucers depicting people and scenes from Atlanta history. Selznick shared his desire that the city’s residents would be happy with the film: “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve entered Atlanta with humility and trepidation; we remain in gratitude. And it’s our fervent hope that this city, of all cities, will be pleased with our efforts.”
Vivien Leigh told
