The Great Vivien Leigh

[ClassyCo]

It's often intrigued me how a British actress swept a nation and won Academy Awards for her portrayals of two complex Southern belles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire.

Vivien Leigh was a powerhouse actress who is routinely overlooked in most conversations concerning classic Hollywood's elite. Sure, her filmography is relatively small when compared to her contemporaries, but that can be explained off because of her stage work and her battles with manic depression. Her marriage to the great Laurence Olivier became one of the biggest marriages in cinematic history, and it solidifies her as the foremost of Hollywood royalty.

What's your thoughts?

 

[Crimson]

Vivien was one of the great beauties of her era and, even if she had only played Scarlett and Blanche, would deserve a legendary reputation. To be honest though, other than those two roles, I just don't find her work particularly interesting. David Shipman, in his book "The Great Movie Stars", suggests that Leigh was breathtakingly good on a few occasions but that the majority of her work was no better than any other decent, hard-working, ambitious actress. I agree with that. The fire and power she brought to Scarlett and Blanche are missing from everything else she did. She was good, but with a tendency towards artifice. Often, she fell back on the haughty, 'grand lady' mannerisms that so many actresses of that era used as their default. I can't think of any other performance she gave, other than the two, that couldn't have been equaled by, say, Joan Fontaine. Maybe if Olivier had been able to get MACBETH funded ...

But those two performances are epic. Florid, sure, but both roles warranted it. No other actress of her time could have played Scarlett with the full range of qualities Leigh brought to the part. (Goddard and Bennet, the two strongest candidates, had the beauty and fire but lacked the depth. Davis, an outside chance, could have brought the intensity but was too sour-faced to believe Clark Gable would chase her for 4 hours.)

Likewise, I don't think any other actress could have played Blanche with the extravagance and nuance. Brando said Jessica Tandy was too shrill in the role, and even Jessica Lange, one of the great actresses of our time, couldn't quite do it justice. Sometimes I wish I could peak into an alternate universe where the movie was made with Olivia De Havilland or, maybe, Talullah Bankhead (who the part was written for) -- although I'm not sure she could have summoned her full talents by 1950.

 

[ginnyfan]

When talking about great Vivien Leigh performances, please lets not forget Waterloo Bridge (1940), which is one of my favorite romantic movies ever. It's an absolute classic and I urge those who haven't seen it, to do so. Vivien gives a tender, delicate performance as an English ballerina in love who ends up on the wrong side of tracks. It's a very different performance from the fierce Southern Belles she's best known for.

It's such a shame Vivien didn't make more movies. It's shocking how small her filmography is, especially after Waterloo Bridge. I wish she did more Hollywood productions instead of those highbrow British costume dramas and all the Olivier movies.

 

[Angela Channing]

I always found her performances to be a bit hammy and probably she would have been more suited to the theatre than to films. Can't say I was a big fan, sorry. That said, Gone With The Wind and Streetcar were good films.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Kate Hepburn said jealous Larry Olivier coerced his wife to return to the stage every time Vivien won an Oscar in order to sabotage Leigh's cinematic momentum.

Brando said Jessica Tandy was too shrill in the role, and even Jessica Lange, one of the great actresses of our time, couldn't quite do it justice.

Kazan said Tandy was better and I'm inclined to believe it. I thought Lange was awful in the role.

 

[ClassyCo]

When talking about great Vivien Leigh performances, please lets not forget Waterloo Bridge (1940), which is one of my favorite romantic movies ever. It's an absolute classic and I urge those who haven't seen it, to do so. Vivien gives a tender, delicate performance as an English ballerina in love who ends up on the wrong side of tracks. It's a very different performance from the fierce Southern Belles she's best known for.

It's such a shame Vivien didn't make more movies. It's shocking how small her filmography is, especially after Waterloo Bridge. I wish she did more Hollywood productions instead of those highbrow British costume dramas and all the Olivier movies.

And apparently Waterloo Bridge was Leigh's own personal favorite. I've seen it, but it's been years. I need to revisit it.

 

[Angela Channing]

And apparently Waterloo Bridge was Leigh's own personal favorite. I've seen it, but it's been years. I need to revisit it.

I think it's a weird film because the character she played was clearly a prostitute but because there were so many delicate people around at the time they couldn't portray her as such. So for the entirety of the film they skirted around the subject in a way that just seems daft and completely unconvincing when watching it today.

 

[ClassyCo]

It's hard to mention Vivien Leigh and not think about GONE WITH THE WIND and her star-turn as Scarlett O'Hara, one of the most sought after leading roles for women in the history of cinema. She beat out a host of Hollywood stars and would-be hopefuls for the role of a lifetime. The little-known British actress generated some controversy for being hired to play a Southern belle, but apparently the real Southerners proclaimed, "Better an English girl, than a yankee."

GONE WITH THE WIND was the biggest hit of 1939. Leigh won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Scarlett. Naturally, it catapulted her to the forefront of Hollywood actresses. She starred in a remake of WATERLOO BRIDGE (1940), for which she received top billing over Robert Taylor, reflecting her status in the industry. The film was another hit, but her film work thereafter slowed down. Leigh made just three more movies in the 1940s: THAT HAMILTON WOMAN (1941), CAESAR AND CLEOPATRA (1945), and ANNA KARENINA (1948). She won another Academy Award for playing yet another Southern belle in A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRED (1951), which introduced Marlon Brando to a wide audience. Her film work thereafter was also sporadic. She made just three more movies before she passed: THE DEEP BLUE SEA (1955), THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE (1961), and SHIP OF FOOLS (1965).

Her acting work after GONE WITH THE WIND was primarily on the stage. Her marriage to English actor Laurence Olivier drew a lot of publicity.​

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[Snarky Oracle!]

Hitchcock once said that casting is character, and Vivien Leigh was perfectly cast as Scarlett O'Hara --- GWTW would never have had its near-century-long reputation as Hollywood's most celebrated movie if one of the other actresses were cast, and George Cukor said as much.

I thought she was good in several things, and showed the grit not quite permitted by GWTW's final director, Victor Fleming, who seemed to want to keep Scarlett bitchily shrill for the entire film.

She was acceptable in STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, but I'm awfully curious as to how Jessica Tandy would have done, Tandy being the only one of the four leads from the Broadway play not asked to do the movie because the studio needed "a movie star," something Brando was not yet. Director Elia Kazan said Tandy had the edge, in terms of her performance, but gave Leigh the 'nobody worked harder' credit.

Katharine Hepburn told her biographer that Lord Larry, although a huge actor was a small man, asserting that whenever his wife experienced a towering success -- like an Oscar for Scarlett O'Hara and for Blanche duBois, the two most famous southern belles in cinema history -- he would stress to her the need for her to return to the stage, in Olivier's effort to sabotage Vivien's momentum.

Charming.

 

[DallasFanForever]

I haven’t really seen much of her work outside of Gone With The Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire but I really enjoyed her in both. Sadly yet another actress that died way too young.

 

[ClassyCo]

Hitchcock once said that casting is character, and Vivien Leigh was perfectly cast as Scarlett O'Hara --- GWTW would never have had its near-century-long reputation as Hollywood's most celebrated movie if one of the other actresses were cast, and George Cukor said as much.

I thought she was good in several things, and showed the grit not quite permitted by GWTW's final director, Victor Fleming, who seemed to want to keep Scarlett bitchily shrill for the entire film.

She was acceptable in STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, but I'm awfully curious as to how Jessica Tandy would have done, Tandy being the only one of the four leads from the Broadway play not asked to do the movie because the studio needed "a movie star," something Brando was not yet. Director Elia Kazan said Tandy had the edge, in terms of her performance, but gave Leigh the 'nobody worked harder' credit.

Katharine Hepburn told her biographer that Lord Larry, although a huge actor was a small man, asserting that whenever his wife experienced a towering success -- like an Oscar for Scarlett O'Hara and for Blanche duBois, the two most famous southern belles in cinema history -- he would stress to her the need for her to return to the stage, in Olivier's effort to sabotage Vivien's momentum.

Charming.

GONE WITH THE WIND is certainly dependent on her portrayal and appearance as Scarlett O'Hara. Had anyone else been given the role, I'm sure the film would've still been a big hit, but I doubt it would've generated the longevity in popular culture that it has some eighty years after it premiered. Vivien's look as Scarlett is iconic in itself. That "Scarlett O'Hara" image almost completely defines her to that place in history where she stole the hearts of many an American moviegoer.

I'd also like to have seen what Jessica Tandy would've done in the movie version of A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, but at the same time, I wouldn't take Vivien away as Blanche DuBois for anything in this world. I thought she was fabulous, and I found the movie to be very good.

Olivier always seemed insistent on Leigh's doing more stage work, probably because that's where the "serious" actors and actresses worked. It's a shame too: not saying her stage work was inferior, but it's not on celluloid, so therefore we haven't anyway to revisit it. I wish she had made more films, especially in her heyday. She was beautiful and a good actress, but her filmography is so short.

I actually liked THE ROMAN SPRING OF MRS. STONE the one time I saw it a few years ago. I thought she and young Warren Beatty played off each other well. Of course, my opinions may have changed since then (as I'm sure they have), but that's my consensus as of now.​

 

[ClassyCo]

Vivien on the set of WATERLOO BRIDGE, the film she called her favorite.​

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Olivier always seemed insistent on Leigh's doing more stage work, probably because that's where the "serious" actors and actresses worked.

That was the pretext, yes.

 

[ClassyCo]

That was the pretext, yes.

Lord and Lady Olivier did star in THE SLEEPING PRINCE on the stage together. When Larry got the chance to duplicate the story on film, he told his wife she was too old to play her part on the screen. He recruited Marilyn Monroe to take her place, and the movie title became THE PRINCE AND THE SHOWGIRL on Marilyn's insistence that her character be mentioned in the title. Needless to say Larry and Marilyn had a bumpy working relationship.

I wonder how the Oliviers' conversation went concerning Vivien's not getting to play Elsie on film?



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[Crimson]

I think Vivien is just about the most beautiful lady to star in movies and a good actress who was, on a couple of occasions, spectacular. Beyond those, though, I find most of her performances just kind of okay. She wavered between theatrical artifice and full blown emotionalism, and was much better in the later. At her worst, like so many actresses of her era, she defaulted to a kind of 'grand lady' mannerism that I find hollow and haughty.

Vivien Leigh was perfectly cast as Scarlett O'Hara --- GWTW would never have had its near-century-long reputation as Hollywood's most celebrated movie if one of the other actresses were cast, and George Cukor said as much.

Very few pairings of role and actor in movie history are as indelible as Scarlett. Any other actress in the role is inconceivable to me. Scarlett is rather a pain-in-the ass; a compendium of unlikeable traits that Vivien somehow turns compelling. Selznick had the entire pantheon of Hollywood goddesses at his fingertips and not one of them could have brought all of the qualities to the role that Vivien was able to.

I'm awfully curious as to how Jessica Tandy would have done, Tandy being the only one of the four leads from the Broadway play not asked to do the movie because the studio needed "a movie star," something Brando was not yet

Hollywood had a long history of bypassing Broadway stars in their greatest roles (Bankhead, Merman, Andrews); but, in this instance, I think they made the right choice. Brando dogged Tandy's performance in his autobiography but, on the other hand, I don't really care about his opinion. Mostly, it seems to me, that Tandy had a priggish quality as an actress that I don't think would sit well on Blanche. Like Barbara Bel Geddes as Maggie the Cat, maybe that worked on stage but I don't think it would have translated to screen.

Unlike Scarlett though, I do sometimes imagine what other actresses might have done with the role. Bankhead is tantalizing since the role was written with her in mind, although I suspect by 1950 she no longer had full command of her talents. De Havilland, who apparently declined the role, would probably have been far more delicate than Vivien; although few roles warrant a florid performance quite as much as Blanche.

In any case, Blanche seems like a trap for actresses so it's hard to say anyone else could have navigated it as well as Vivien. Ann Margaret and Jessica Lange, both who seemed ideally suited to the part, fell on their faces.

asserting that whenever his wife experienced a towering success -- like an Oscar for Scarlett O'Hara and for Blanche duBois, the two most famous southern belles in cinema history -- he would stress to her the need for her to return to the stage, in Olivier's effort to sabotage Vivien's momentum.

In his autobiography, Olivier offered a lot of "oh, poor dear Vivien was haunted", but never even tiptoed in the vicinity of his own culpability in adding to her insecurities. Perhaps most damning was Olivier's failure to defend Vivien against the attacks from Kenneth Tynan; Olivier seemed more than happy to accept Tynan's worship and dismissal of his wife's talents.

 

[ClassyCo]

I've only seen three of Vivien's performances in full: Scarlett O'Hara, Blanche DuBois, and Mrs. Karen Stone. I thought she was exceptionally well-suited to all three of the roles.

It's almost inconceivable to see anyone other than Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara. How that role wasn't written for with her in mind, I haven't any idea. She was born to play that part. When you see all the other names that were considered -- such as Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, Margaret Sullavan, and others -- and those that actually tested -- like Tallulah Bankhead, Lana Turner, Susan Hayward, Jean Arthur, Joan Bennett, and so many more -- it's amazing that none of those could have played the part as good as Vivien did. Not even Paulette Goddard -- who was a very serious contender until Selznick decided she wasn't 'proper' enough to play the 'improper' Scarlett -- could have done as well. As of December 1938, there were still four serious contenders that got full screen tests: Paulette Goddard, Joan Bennett, Jean Arthur, and Vivien Leigh. Vivien was a late bloomer to the auditions, but she was quickly pushed to the forefront of contenders after Selznick's first meeting with her. Only Goddard and Leigh were permitted to film Technicolor screen tests on December 20, 1938.

BELOW: Paulette Goddard (left) and Vivien Leigh (right)
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It's always been ironic to me how a British actress won two Oscars for playing two defining Southern belles. Vivien Leigh was truly a master of her craft, especially when she was at her topnotch. I've seen clips of her other performances where she mellowed into that 'grand lady' manneristic approach. Not a big fan of that either, unless it's in the right movie.

It's a shame that Larry basically sabotaged Vivien's chances at having a stronger film career. She was the hottest thing in the business after GONE WITH THE WIND and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, and he apparently salvaged it all. But at the same time it's better her filmography be shorter with good films, than longer with a whole lot of junk in the mix.​

 

[Angela Channing]

Vivien Leigh was perfectly cast as Scarlett O'Hara

I always found her performance in Gone With The Wind to be a bit hammy and overly melodramatic. I totally get that it was a style of acting was common in the 1930s - 1940s but watching it today her performance at times seems unnatural when compared with almost every other actor in the film.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Ann Margaret and Jessica Lange, both who seemed ideally suited to the part, fell on their faces.

Lange was beyond awful.

I always found her performance in Gone With The Wind to be a bit hammy and overly melodramatic. I totally get that it was a style of acting was common in the 1930s - 1940s but watching it today her performance at times seems unnatural when compared with almost every other actor in the film.

Leslie Howard was terribly miscast, and Margaret Mitchell agreed. Even Howard didn't want to do the movie.

 

[Angela Channing]

Leslie Howard was terribly miscast, and Margaret Mitchell agreed. Even Howard didn't want to do the movie.

Leslie Howard is the other actor I would say was a weak link in the film. All the other principles (Olivia de Havilland, Clarke Gable, Hattie McDaniel) were outstanding and for me just showed up the weaknesses in the performances of Vivien Leigh and Leslie Howard.

I still think it's a great film so they couldn't have been completely bad.

 

[ClassyCo]

I must resoundingly disagree -- I thought Vivien Leigh was the primary reason to see the movie. She was perfectly cast, and she carries three-plus-hours of cinematic drama primarily on her shoulders alone. No other actress they tested or considered could've done such a fine job at Scarlett as Vivien did.



On the other hand, I thought Leslie Howard was hopelessly miscast as Ashley. After seeing the different screen tests over the years, I personally believe Melvyn Douglas would've gotten my vote to play Ashley, even though Selznick allegedly dismissed him as "too beefy" despite praising his reading of Ashley in the test he filmed.

Leslie Howard and Clark Gable both had zero interest whatsoever in their roles or doing GONE WITH THE WIND in general. They should've let Howard alone and found someone else, but Gable was the perfect choice for Rhett. The primary reason Gable didn't want to play Butler was out of fear: he worried that the fans of the book would have strong, preconceived ideas of Rhett and he didn't want to disappoint them on such a high-profile level. And I can understand his view, even though it's unthinkable of seeing anyone else tipping his hat at Miss Scarlett other than the King of Hollywood himself. Gable also apparently had misgivings over doing another 'costume picture' because PARNELL had been such a huge flop a few years before. He didn't want to make such a film again, but MGM's agreement to allow him to dump his wife Ria and marry Carole Lombard swayed him over to Tara.

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