Gone with the Wind Premieres: Cinematic Phenomenon Begins

Atlanta shut down for a three-day celebration of a movie about its own destruction. On December 15, 1939, Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew's Grand Theatre to an audience of 2,000 invited guests, launching what would become the highest-grossing film in history when adjusted for inflation. The premiere was the social event of the decade, drawing 300,000 spectators to a city whose population was barely 300,000 itself. Producer David O. Selznick had spent three years and $3.85 million adapting Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel, cycling through three directors and over a dozen screenwriters. The production was plagued by conflicts, delays, and the legendary search for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara, a role that attracted 1,400 auditions before going to British newcomer Vivien Leigh. Clark Gable signed on as Rhett Butler, the role the American public had demanded he play since the book's publication. The premiere itself reflected the racial politics the film both depicted and perpetuated. Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy and would become the first African American to win an Academy Award, was not invited to the Atlanta screening because Georgia's segregation laws prohibited her attendance. The Junior League hosted a costume ball the night before at the Municipal Auditorium, where performers in blackface sang spirituals. Gone with the Wind ran nearly four hours and won eight competitive Academy Awards plus two honorary ones. Audiences flocked to theaters for years, with multiple re-releases extending its commercial dominance across decades. Adjusted for inflation, its worldwide gross exceeds $3.7 billion, a figure no modern blockbuster has approached. The film's romanticized portrayal of slavery and the antebellum South has generated increasing criticism over the decades, prompting HBO Max to temporarily remove it from its platform in 2020 before restoring it with a contextual disclaimer.