Offbeat Book Review: The Making of ‘Gone with the Wind’

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Release Date: September 01, 2014

Cinemaphiles have grown to expect certain things from “making of” texts. They expect the book to be a comprehensive and well researched account of a film’s production. They also expect a few photos to be found hidden throughout the text of the book. If the book meets these basic criteria, the reader is usually satisfied. However, it is a rare event when a book exceeds these basic requirements. Steve Wilson’s “The Making of ‘Gone with the Wind’” is such a book.

The book’s elegant visual presentation is evident from the very first page.

Gone With The Wind is one of the most popular movies of all time. To commemorate its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2014, “The Making of ‘Gone With The Wind’” presents more than 600 items from the archives of David O. Selznick (the film’s producer) and his business partner, John Hay “Jock” Whitney. These items are housed at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Steve Wilson is the curator of the film collection at the Harry Ransom Center. These rarely seen materials (which are also being featured in a major 2014 exhibition at the Ransom Center) offer fans and film historians alike a must-have behind-the-camera view of the production of this classic.

Production drawings are only one of the items of interest that can be found in this compelling book.

Before a single frame of film was shot, Gone With The Wind was embroiled in controversy. There were serious concerns about how the film would depict race and violence in the Old South during the Civil War and Reconstruction. While Clark Gable was almost everyone’s choice to play Rhett Butler, there was no clear favorite for Scarlett O’Hara. And then there was the huge challenge of turning Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize–winning epic into a manageable screenplay and producing it at a reasonable cost. “The Making of ‘Gone with the Wind’” tells these and other surprising stories with fascinating items from the Selznick archive, including on-set photographs, storyboards, correspondence and fan mail, production records, audition footage, gowns worn by Vivien Leigh as Scarlett, and Selznick’s own notoriously detailed memos.

Production documents are often shown along with the beautiful vintage photos, and they are fascinating to read.

This reviewer has never come across a more perfect book about the creation of a film. Wilson’s book goes beyond an incredibly comprehensive text and manages to be visually spectacular. Many people would call it a “coffee table book,” but these books rarely provides the reader with such a wealth of information.

Costume and make-up tests add to the book’s interest as well.

This book is essential for fans of Gone with the Wind and film historians alike. It sets a new standard for books of its kind. One can only hope that other publications rise to these standards.

Review by: Devon Powell