Rare and desirable vintage 8 x 10 inch (25.7 x 20.2 cm) film still as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, boldly signed and inscribed in black ink to lower right area of the image. The still is unattributed but by Clarence Sinclair Bull, numbered S.I.P 108 245x within the negative, and depicts Leigh in the famous red velvet dressing gown designed by Walter Plunkett. The lightest of wear to the edges, glue residue from an early mounting to verso, overall in very fine condition. Signed full-sized stills of Leigh in her most celebrated role are extremely rare.
Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, beautiful but drunk in this red velvet dressing gown, is shocked into sobriety when she meets Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) in the dining room of their home where he, too, is drunk – and angry. Rhett had previously forced Scarlett to go to Ashley Wilkes' birthday party after the town gossips found her and Ashley embracing (innocent though it was at that particular time). As the cuckolded husband, Rhett is less embarrassed about her love for Ashley than he is saddened that Scarlett feels no love for him. His sadness manifests itself in anger when he physically puts his hands on both sides of her head and claims he could kill her at that very moment if he wanted to. It's a tense scene further enhanced by the red dress which symbolizes Scarlett's adulterous longing for Ashley. Behind the scenes, Clark Gable good-naturedly complained about the weight of the red dressing gown as he carried Leigh up the staircase for Scarlett and Rhett's night of passion. During one take, the crew added to his load by sewing weights into the hem of the gown!
Leigh won two Best Actress Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End. But no actress has, nor probably ever will, capture the heart of a nation the way Vivien Leigh did as Scarlett O'Hara.
On December 15, 1939, over 300,000 people arrived at Atlanta's Fox Theatre eagerly awaiting the premiere of David O. Selznick's record three hour forty minute epic, "Gone With The Wind." A Gallup Poll even estimated over 56.5 million people were looking forward to it! Such fanfair seems natural when considering the great pains Selznick took in creating and casting the most famous movie in history.
The search by David O. Selznick for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in the film was one of the most publicized talent searches in Hollywood history. Actresses such as Irene Dunn, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner and Lucille Ball were among those considered for the role. Besides the serious contenders which also included Loretta Young and Katherine Hepburn, casting directors were sent around the country, testing over 1000 unknowns for the role. Then, in December of 1938, even after filming had begun, Myron Selznick, David's brother, brought his candidate, an unknown 25-year-old Vivien Leigh from England. David Selznick immediately cast her for the role as Margaret Mitchell's legendary southern belle;"with a seventeen inch waist."
By the time the film premiered in Hollywood (almost three weeks after Atlanta), the Hollywood Reporter headline read: "Gone With The Wind-Magnificent and Supreme Triumph of Film History." Such tremendous responses to the film rocked the film industry. Following the New York Film Critics Awards which named Vivien Leigh as best actress, the Hollywood Reporter exclaimed that the awards were "a revolution" and stated: "Bette Davis who, up to this minute has won every critical voice as the best actress, had to take a back seat for Vivien."
When she won the 1939 Academy Award for best actress, it was in a year in which other nominees includes some of the Silver Screen's most popular stars: Bette Davis, Irene Dunn, Greta Garbo, and Greer Garson!
Rare and desirable vintage 8 x 10 inch (25.7 x 20.2 cm) film still as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind, boldly signed and inscribed in black ink to lower right area of the image. The still is unattributed but by Clarence Sinclair Bull, numbered S.I.P 108 245x within the negative, and depicts Leigh in the famous red velvet dressing gown designed by Walter Plunkett. The lightest of wear to the edges, glue residue from an early mounting to verso, overall in very fine condition. Signed full-sized stills of Leigh in her most celebrated role are extremely rare.
Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh, beautiful but drunk in this red velvet dressing gown, is shocked into sobriety when she meets Rhett Butler (played by Clark Gable) in the dining room of their home where he, too, is drunk – and angry. Rhett had previously forced Scarlett to go to Ashley Wilkes' birthday party after the town gossips found her and Ashley embracing (innocent though it was at that particular time). As the cuckolded husband, Rhett is less embarrassed about her love for Ashley than he is saddened that Scarlett feels no love for him. His sadness manifests itself in anger when he physically puts his hands on both sides of her head and claims he could kill her at that very moment if he wanted to. It's a tense scene further enhanced by the red dress which symbolizes Scarlett's adulterous longing for Ashley. Behind the scenes, Clark Gable good-naturedly complained about the weight of the red dressing gown as he carried Leigh up the staircase for Scarlett and Rhett's night of passion. During one take, the crew added to his load by sewing weights into the hem of the gown!
Leigh won two Best Actress Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and Blanche DuBois in the film version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), a role she had also played on stage in London's West End. But no actress has, nor probably ever will, capture the heart of a nation the way Vivien Leigh did as Scarlett O'Hara.
On December 15, 1939, over 300,000 people arrived at Atlanta's Fox Theatre eagerly awaiting the premiere of David O. Selznick's record three hour forty minute epic, "Gone With The Wind." A Gallup Poll even estimated over 56.5 million people were looking forward to it! Such fanfair seems natural when considering the great pains Selznick took in creating and casting the most famous movie in history.
The search by David O. Selznick for an actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in the film was one of the most publicized talent searches in Hollywood history. Actresses such as Irene Dunn, Claudette Colbert, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner and Lucille Ball were among those considered for the role. Besides the serious contenders which also included Loretta Young and Katherine Hepburn, casting directors were sent around the country, testing over 1000 unknowns for the role. Then, in December of 1938, even after filming had begun, Myron Selznick, David's brother, brought his candidate, an unknown 25-year-old Vivien Leigh from England. David Selznick immediately cast her for the role as Margaret Mitchell's legendary southern belle;"with a seventeen inch waist."
By the time the film premiered in Hollywood (almost three weeks after Atlanta), the Hollywood Reporter headline read: "Gone With The Wind-Magnificent and Supreme Triumph of Film History." Such tremendous responses to the film rocked the film industry. Following the New York Film Critics Awards which named Vivien Leigh as best actress, the Hollywood Reporter exclaimed that the awards were "a revolution" and stated: "Bette Davis who, up to this minute has won every critical voice as the best actress, had to take a back seat for Vivien."
When she won the 1939 Academy Award for best actress, it was in a year in which other nominees includes some of the Silver Screen's most popular stars: Bette Davis, Irene Dunn, Greta Garbo, and Greer Garson!