• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
UT Shield
Ransom Center Magazine
  • Sections
    • View All Articles
    • Art
    • Authors
    • Books + Manuscripts
    • Conservation
    • Digital Collections
    • Exhibitions + Events
    • Film
    • Literature
    • Photography
    • Research + Teaching
    • Theatre + Performing Arts

November 8, 2013, Filed Under: Exhibitions + Events, Film

75 Days. 75 Years: Chart reveals comparison of possible deals with MGM and Warner Bros.

For 75 days, the Harry Ransom Center is raising funds for its 2014 exhibition The Making of Gone With The Wind. Opening on September 9, 2014, The Making of Gone With The Wind will reveal stories about the making of this quintessential film from Hollywood’s Golden Age and illustrate why it remains influential and controversial 75 years after it was released. Items from film producer David O. Selznick’s archive provide a behind-the-scenes look into the making of the film. Donations will help support outreach, additional exhibition tours, a published exhibition catalog, and complimentary programming and presentations.

Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel Gone With The Wind resonated with the public and became an international bestseller. Film producer David O. Selznick acquired the movie rights, creating early speculation about the film, especially the casting. He knew the public had high expectations, and he did not want to disappoint.

Selznick was concerned about casting not only the role of Scarlett, but also Rhett Butler. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s (MGM) Clark Gable was the overwhelmingly popular choice for the role, but Samuel Goldwyn’s Gary Cooper and Warner Brothers’s Errol Flynn were possibilities too. While none of the other studios were eager to loan their top male stars, all were willing to do so for the right price.  When considering casting Gable, the public’s favorite choice for Rhett, Selznick had to consider what he was willing to concede to obtain him. Negotiations with the three companies would drag on for almost a year.

This chart explores Selznick’s options between Warner Brothers and his former professional home, MGM. The pencil notations are Selznick’s and “SIP” refers to his company Selznick International Pictures.

The Making of Gone With The Wind will include over 300 original items from Selznick’s archive housed at the Ransom Center, including photographs, storyboards, correspondence, production records, audition footage, and fan mail. The exhibition will also feature gowns worn by Vivien Leigh as the beautiful and ambitious Scarlett O’Hara. The newly conserved costumes will be displayed together for the first time in more than 25 years.

Please click on thumbnails to view larger images.

 

Chart comparing MGM’s and Warner Brothers’ production and financing options for Gone With The Wind, ca. 1937.
Chart comparing MGM’s and Warner Brothers’ production and financing options for Gone With The Wind, ca. 1937.
Chart comparing MGM’s and Warner Brothers’ production and financing options for Gone With The Wind, ca. 1937.
Chart comparing MGM’s and Warner Brothers’ production and financing options for Gone With The Wind, ca. 1937.

About Jennifer Tisdale

Tisdale is responsible for identifying, planning, and implementing strategic public affairs activities and programs that range from media relations to social media at the Ransom Center.

Primary Sidebar

Print Edition

Ransom Center Magazine Spring 2025

Search

Recent Posts

  • Winners Announced for 2025 Schuchard Prize
  • Fellowships Awarded to 46 scholars
  • Benjamin Gross Appointed Associate Director of Research Services at the Harry Ransom Center
  • Celebrating Gabriel García Márquez’s Global Journey: Q&A with the Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia
  • De Macondo al Mundo. Una celebración del recorrido global de Gabriel García Márquez
  • Lorne Michaels Lands at the Ransom Center
  • Literature and Change: Flair Symposium 2024
  • Mark Sainsbury on W. S. Merwin
  • Nancy Cunard in the Studio
  • Visualizing the Environment: Ansel Adams and His Legacy
  • Freedom to Write, Freedom to Read: The Story of PEN
  • Milton in Phoenix

Archive

Footer

© Harry Ransom Center 2025
Site Policies
Web Accessibility
Web Privacy

UT Home | Emergency Information | Site Policies | Web Accessibility | Web Privacy | Adobe Reader

© The University of Texas at Austin 2025