Official PoCo Muse Film Critic Jeff Schultz revisits Gone with the Wind for his November 2021 Review.
A system of strong winds and cold moved through New England in late November 1971. The nor’easter dumped over 20 inches of snow in upstate New York. Winds were so strong through the coastline along Long Island that Macy’s called off flying the balloons in its annual Thanksgiving Day parade in fear the giant inflatable Smokey the Bear would fly away. There’s not much you can do to prevent forest fires if you are stuck hovering over the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first Turkey Day without the balloons since WWII when helium had to be rationed. What does this have to do with the history of the Premier Theatre in Valparaiso, Ind.? Well, the Shauers may have predicted the blustery predicament one week prior by showing a movie called “Gone with the Wind.”
Like the turkey and cranberry sauce sitting in your fridge, “Gone with the Wind” was a leftover when it played at the Premier this month in 1971, or that is to say the movie had been shown at the Premier earlier in March as part of the film’s rerelease that year. “Gone with the Wind” is no turkey, however. To this day it still holds the distinction of the movie that has sold the most tickets, in the area of 202 million. That’s a sizable margin ahead of the second biggest ticket-seller, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” which has sold 178.5 million.
You’d think with that prestige I would have chosen it for my March movie review, but I passed since it would be nearly impossible to write about its history and manage to keep it brief. The making and the legacy of “Gone with the Wind” has about as much drama as its source material, the 1,037-page bestseller by Margaret Mitchell published in 1936. Subsequently, while researching the Premier Theatre for the Poco Muse Podcast episode this summer, I learned that Justin Shauer claimed that his theater was the first to show “Gone with the Wind” in the Midwest that was “the size of (Valparaiso)”, which I imagine meant anywhere besides Chicago. “Gone with the Wind” hadn’t played at the Premier originally on March 12, 1940 as I erroneously stated in the podcast but rather the Lake Theatre on North Franklin Street, which the Shauers also had ownership of then.
The Lake Theatre, holding about 200 fewer seats than the Premier, was selected as one of the first theaters during the roadshow run of “Gone with the Wind.” Roadshow screenings were given to big movies by the distributor before they had a proper general release, playing only in a small number of theaters for a short time. Going to these was more like going to see a play. People would dress up in formal attire to go to the theater and be given programs about the movie or lobby cards as souvenirs. Tickets usually had to be reserved ahead of time and would cost more than regular admission. What’s interesting is these engagements were almost always big cities rather than towns like Valparaiso so I looked to the archives to find out more about this presentation.
According to the article appearing in The Vidette-Messenger on March 8, 1940, the Shauers were obligated to negotiate the terms with a representative of Metro-Goldwin-Mayer, which included running the entire movie three times daily and for a “rehearsal” to be held before the first showing. The MGM rep would check “a hundred and one details to see that nothing is left undone that might add to the picture’s effectiveness. The producers insist that all projection equipment checked thoroughly before the saga of the south is presented,” the article said. Theater managers were given a twelve-page booklet instructing them of how to draw the curtains which had to be done at specific times. An announcement had to be made to unseated guests before the overture started. The projectionist was required to count to five at the start of the drum roll to signal opening the curtains. MGM also demanded control of how tickets would be sold. Specifically, no tickets could be ordered over the phone. All advanced tickets had to be paid in full beforehand so MGM could be sure to get its money. Reservations would be required for all evening shows and the Sunday matinee. Theaters were also demanded to spend certain amounts on advertising the movie. “(An) average theater manager considers himself lucky if, after showing “Gone with the Wind” for a week his profits – and his hair – are both not gone with the wind too,” the article said.
Scarlett O’Hara already was a household name by the time “Gone with the Wind” had its world premiere in Atlanta, Ga., on December 15, 1939. The premiere saw 300,000 fans engulfing Loew’s Grand Theater pining to get a glimpse of the film’s stars while parades and bands marched down streets. President Jimmy Carter said he remembered it as the biggest event ever seen in the South. The spectacle was a testament to efforts by the film’s producer David O. Selznick who guided the production to fruition over three years, spending nearly $4 million. Selznick initially held the same hesitancy as other producers in Hollywood when the film rights of the novel were optioned. Despite the runaway success of the book, no one wanted to risk the expense it would involve adapting it into a movie because Civil War films at the time were not having any success at the box office. It took convincing by Selznick’s story editor that he produce “Gone with the Wind.” Once Selznick acquired the rights, he set out to make the movie the best he could. Fans wrote to him their wishes on who he should cast as the leads. Clark Gable as Rhett Butler was no contest. Suggestions for Scarlett O’Hara were otherwise all over the map. Legend has it over 1,400 actresses were considered and finally little-known British actress Vivian Leigh got the part.
Within a few months after its premiere, “Gone with the Wind” catapulted to the top of the list of highest grossing films of all time with $18 million, surpassing the previous record holder “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” It would be rereleased in 1942 and 1947 and was converted to widescreen for its 15th anniversary in 1954 when it raked in an additional $7 million. It doubled that with $14 million for its 1961 rerelease commemorating the centennial of the Civil War. In 1965, it was dethroned by “The Sound of Music” as Hollywood’s biggest moneymaker but recaptured the title briefly in 1971 thanks to its profitable rereleases in 1967 and 1971, fetching $36 million more during those years. It would soon be knocked off once more, this time by “The Godfather” in 1972. However, “Gone with the Wind” is still considered the most successful movie in history when adjusted for inflation. In today’s money, its adjusted worldwide gross is $3.74 billion.
Even as the most popular movie ever, “Gone with the Wind” has not been universally loved. Its romanticized vision of the Antebellum South met protesters even before the movie was first released and its critics continue today who accuse the film of stereotyping its black characters. Selznick worked to remove the more objectionable racial content contained in the novel and the Academy Awards honored Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal as Mammy with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, but those protesting felt it did not excuse the film’s characterizing the relationship between slave and master as idyllic. Representatives of the International Labor of Defense and the National Negro Congress both marched outside theaters chanting “Lincoln would have banned ‘Gone with the Wind’” reportedly at the Chicago premiere in January 1940. Picketers also showed up at a few theaters for the 1967 rerelease during the time of the Civil Rights movement and in 2020, controversy stuck again as the film was temporarily pulled from the HBO Max streaming service. HBO reinstated the film with an introduction saying it is important to discuss Hollywood films like “Gone with the Wind” and the context in which they were made.
Another discussion the film has brought through its existence is how long is too long for a movie. My aunt remembers seeing the film at the Premier in 1971. It was a wondrous experience for her, she says, but her date found it a back-aching four hours of sitting. I can sympathize with both of them. My opinion of “Gone with the Wind” is that it is a three-star soap opera in a four-star movie. It is storytelling at its grandest, a labor of love not only for Selznick but for all of Hollywood. However, it’s all story and no plot. The best I can fathom is it is about a headstrong, self-centered young woman hopelessly in love with a man named Ashley Wilkes, then a lot of other things happen. When people talk about what they love about “Gone with the Wind”, it’s Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara, Gable as Rhett Butter, the romance, the music, the images, the costumes! All these technical elements work beautifully in creating something that rightfully cannot be topped. But as for the plot, I wonder if anyone gives a damn.
This advertisement appeared on page 8 of The Vidette-Messenger on March 2, 1940.