Random Dark Tales From Behind The Scenes Of 'Gone with the Wind' (18 items)

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  (#7) The Actors' Bathrooms Were Initially Segregated

  Although the NAACP was rightfully concerned with the portrayal of Black people on screen in Gone with the Wind, there were problems behind the scenes as well. Segregated bathrooms were set up for the Black actors, and although they were outraged, they were too afraid of losing their jobs to speak up.

  One young Black extra, Lennie Bluett, wanted things to change, and brought the matter to Clark Gable's attention. Gable supposedly called director Victor Fleming and threatened to quit the film if the signs separating the bathrooms were not taken down. The director complied, and segregation on the set was ended.
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  (#13) Vivien Leigh And Olivia De Havilland Were Secretly Coached By George Cukor After He Was Fired

  When director George Cukor was fired, both Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland became extremely upset. The actresses went to see producer David O. Selznick, still appropriately dressed in their black mourning costumes after shooting the film's funeral scene.

  De Havilland remembers:

  When George was no longer with us, that was a great shock for Vivien and for me. We had set our characters through working with him and wanted to be able to maintain those characters and develop them. It was a terrible loss for both of us. Vivien did not get along as well with Victor as I did, but nonetheless she was a pro so everything proceeded.

  Both actresses eventually went behind the studio's back and consulted Cukor in private for coaching on their scenes. While de Havilland accepted the studio's decision, Leigh never really got over it and made replacement Victor Fleming's job tougher by constantly arguing with him. She and Cukor remained good friends for the rest of their lives, sometimes picking up men together.
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  (#3) George Cukor Was Fired, Possibly Because He Was Gay

  George Cukor was the first of three directors who worked on Gone with the Wind. Although he was hand-picked by producer David O. Selznick, the two clashed over the direction of the film. Selznick wanted to start his own studio, and thought he could use the movie to prove he could. He involved himself in every part of production and asked Cukor to check in with him daily. Eventually, the director was fired for working too slowly.

  However, some people believe the real reason Cukor was let go was because he was openly homosexual and Clark Gable had a problem with that. Gable supposedly flew into a rage on set, complaining, "I won't be directed by a fairy! I have to work with a real man!"
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  (#8) The NAACP Wanted To Assign An Advisor To The Film, But That Never Happened

  When the NAACP learned David O. Selznick was turning Gone with the Wind into a movie, the members wanted to send a representative to be on set. The rep would make sure Black actors were being treated fairly, and ensure the most racist parts of the book would not end up in the film. Selznick replied that he would be happy to supply his own advisor, and suggested a man who had been working in Hollywood for several years. The NAACP was concerned Selznick's man was an "insider" who would go along with whatever the studio wanted.

  A series of letters were sent back and forth between Selznick and NAACP leader Walter White, who seriously doubted a non-racist version of the story could even be made. Selznick never did hire an advisor, but the NAACP claimed a small victory in that all references to the Ku Klux Klan were taken out of the film.
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  (#4) The Black Actors Weren't Allowed To Attend The Premiere

  Gone with the Wind premiered in Atlanta in 1939, at a time when Jim Crow laws were still alive and well in the state of Georgia. According to the rules set by Loew's Grand Theatre the Black actors in the film would be allowed to appear on stage, but couldn't attend the premiere party. They also had to sit in a separate area from the white audience. To make things easier for himself, producer David O. Selznick decided to just not allow his Black actors to attend the event at all.
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  (#15) Vivien Leigh Was Bipolar And Struggled Through A Difficult Shoot

  Vivien Leigh was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and the alternation between depression and mania gave her a reputation as an actress with behavior problems. She would suffer mood swings during filming, screaming and physically attacking others. "My cheek wore the imprint of Vivien's fingers for the rest of the afternoon," one actress commented. Leigh was also supposedly a nymphomaniac, and the fact that her lover, Laurence Olivier, wasn't around may have made her condition worse.

  Leigh famously didn't get along with director Victor Fleming, either. The lighting had to be constantly adjusted so her blue eyes would appear green on film, and she had to wear painful corsets that cut off her breath. Producer David O. Selznick, who former director George Cukor had protected Leigh from until he was fired, demanded her wardrobe be altered to show more cleavage, at one point even ordering her breasts to be taped together. To cap it all off, Leigh worked 122 days compared to Clark Gable's 73, and was paid around $25,000 although he made $120,000.

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