Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="ClassyCo" data-source="post: 274769" data-attributes="member: 7">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&#039;ve done such a fine job at Scarlett as Vivien did. 

[ATTACH=full]27630[/ATTACH]

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&#039;ve gotten my vote to play Ashley, even though Selznick allegedly dismissed him as &quot;too beefy&quot; 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&#039;ve let Howard alone and found someone else, but Gable was the perfect choice for Rhett. The primary reason Gable didn&#039;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&#039;t want to disappoint them on such a high-profile level. And I can understand his view, even though it&#039;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 &#039;costume picture&#039; because PARNELL had been such a huge flop a few years before. He didn&#039;t want to make such a film again, but MGM&#039;s agreement to allow him to dump his wife Ria and marry Carole Lombard swayed him over to Tara. 

[ATTACH=full]27631[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

[QUOTE="ClassyCo, post: 274769, member: 7"] [JUSTIFY]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. [ATTACH type="full"]27630[/ATTACH] 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. [ATTACH type="full" width="309px"]27631[/ATTACH][/JUSTIFY] [/QUOTE]

Verification

What month follows July?