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 the crowd, “I’ve spent quite a good deal of my time on Peachtree Street this year, and now that I’m here, it feels, well, just as if I were coming home.”
From the Critics
“Is it the greatest motion picture ever made? Probably not, although it is the greatest motion mural we have seen and the most ambitious film-making venture in Hollywood’s spectacular history.”
— New York Times, Dec. 20, 1939
The mayor read a cable of greeting from Leslie Howard, who had returned to England after war broke out with Germany, and then introduced “the man who, by national acclaim, from start to finish, was, is and always will be Rhett Butler.” Gable stepped to the microphones to tumultuous cheers: “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You know, as I started down here this evening, your mayor told me that the population of Atlanta was three hundred thousand. I have seen myself tonight, coming from the airport, three million people!”
After a cocktail party for the press in the hotel ballroom, the visitors changed clothes and headed to the city auditorium for the Atlanta Junior League’s Gone With the Wind ball. Gable, Leigh and de Havilland wore evening clothes, while the rest of the cast members arrived in costumes from the film. A local orchestra played Southern melodies, including “My Old Kentucky Home,” “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny,” “Old Folks at Home,” and, of course, a rousing rendition of “Dixie.” Later, with a large façade backdrop of a white-columned mansion, a choir from the city’s African-American Ebenezer Baptist Church performed spirituals such as “I Want to Walk With Jesus” and “Come Along, Children, and Be Baptized.”
The stars were introduced in their box seats and spotlights picked them out as they rose to take their bows. Shortly after 11:00 p.m., the program was turned over to band leader Kay Kyser and the audience began dancing, allowing the stars to slip out and return to their hotel.
Mitchell briefly addressed the crowd before the premiere, saying, “This is a very happy and exciting day for me.”
A White House Showing
In early December 1939, David O. Selznick wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt and invited him to attend one of the upcoming premiere screenings of Gone With the Wind. While the president’s secretary declined on his behalf, the producer’s offer to arrange a special showing at the White House was accepted. On the day after Christmas, about 30 people gathered