The Scarlett O'Hara War
Encyclopedia
The Scarlett O'Hara War is a 1980 made for TV movie directed by John Erman
. It is based on the novel Moviola by Garson Kanin
. The film is set against the backdrop of late 1930s
Hollywood as the search for Scarlett O'Hara
begins to unfold.
's Gone With The Wind is released and it is an instant nationwide sensation. As all things in Hollywood go, the movie rights are up for grabs and every studio in Hollywood wants in on it. While having lunch at the MGM dining room, Louis B. Meyer
is talking to his son-in-law David O. Selznick
about the film rights. In time, Selznick establishes his own production company, Selznick International Pictures
, and wants his studio to have a film that will cement both its fame and his as well.
Back at MGM, Joan Crawford
is negotiating the idea of her portraying the acclaimed heroine, even getting Selznick to come back to her place to spend the night to "seal the deal". However, other actresses must be tested in order to expand possibilities. One of the first to do this is Paulette Goddard
and her screen test is the most praised out of them all. Tallulah Bankhead
comes down from New York
and auditions for the role and although she herself is a Southerner who could easily play the part, Selznick decides to give her more tests and seek other candidates. But when Louella Parsons
gets wind of this, she misinforms her radio audience that Tallulah has gotten the part, thanks to the influential power of her father William Brockman Bankhead. When this is announced, Joan Crawford throws her radio at a mirror and Paulette makes a beeline to the study of her lover, Charles Chaplin, announcing that Tallulah has gotten the part.
After this error has been cleared and the actresses have been reassured that the role is still up for grabs, the casting process continues. One day while Clark Gable
and Myron Selznick
are hunting, Gable mentions that he is being considered for the role of Rhett Butler
. Fleming agrees that Gable would be an appropriate choice but Gable is uncertain about accepting the role because the film is to be directed by George Cukor
, a woman's director. Gable first tries to withdraw from the very idea but later goes forth with the role after Louis B. Meyer threatens him with a suspension. It isn't long before Gable's love interest Carole Lombard
is considered for the part.
One night at the Selznick lot, a party is thrown to honor the actresses who are closest to winning the role of Scarlett and entertaining such stars as Joan Bennett
, Margaret Sullavan
, Jean Arthur
, and Miriam Hopkins
. Tallulah Bankhead is there, too, sitting at the table saying to herself, "Oh God, when will it ever stop?". While at this party, George Cukor is talking with the actresses, seeing if they would be interested to star in his new film The Women (1939 film)
after Gone With The Wind is filmed. When it comes time to have dinner at the party, Tallulah and Carole, who are sitting with Selznick between them, decide to get back at the producer for putting them through this acting contest. They stand up to make an announcement, pour their soup bowls onto his head, and declare, "Frankly my dear we don't give a damn". Laughter ensues.
Later in 1938 Selznick has still not decided who he'll have as his Scarlett after Paulette Goddard is denied the part for failing to verify whether she is married to Charlie Chaplin. As the burning of Atlanta scene is to begin for a test sequence, his brother Myron Selznick
arrives with a new actress. When he directs Selznick to look at her, David first refuses but after more badgering finally submits. When the young actress removes her hat, he sees the beautiful Vivien Leigh
and informs her that she is his Scarlett. The rest is film history.
and costume design by Travilla. It was nominated in five categories; Outstanding Director in a Limited Series or Special, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special (Tony Curtis), Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (Harold Gould), and Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series (Carrie Nye). At the Golden Globe Awards in 1981 the movie was nominated for Best TV Series in the Drama category.
A large percent of the studio scenes were filmed on Stages 12 and 19 at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios in Burbank, California. This film was so well received that a follow up was made entitled The Silent Lovers (1980) which was also set in the 1930s Hollywood and focused on the ill-fated relationship of Greta Garbo
and John Gilbert
. The distribution company for this film was by Warner Bros. Television.
Actress Morgan Brittany
actually reprised her role as Vivien Leigh
; in 1976 she first portrayed the famed actress in Gable and Lombard
. Also, actress Annie Potts
, of Designing Women
fame, has a small, uncredited role as a starlet
who auditions for the role of Scarlett.
The complete film is one of the bonus features on the Blu-ray Bonus disc (disc 2) included with the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition of "Gone With the Wind" from Warner Home Video.
John Erman
John Erman is an American television and film director, actor and producer.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Erman spent the early years of his career, after a few small roles in films such as The Cosmic Man , directing episodes of such primetime series as Peyton Place, The Fugitive, The Outer Limits,...
. It is based on the novel Moviola by Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin
Garson Kanin was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films.-Film and stage career:...
. The film is set against the backdrop of late 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
Hollywood as the search for Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O'Hara
Scarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
begins to unfold.
Synopsis
In 1936, Margaret MitchellMargaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
's Gone With The Wind is released and it is an instant nationwide sensation. As all things in Hollywood go, the movie rights are up for grabs and every studio in Hollywood wants in on it. While having lunch at the MGM dining room, Louis B. Meyer
Louis B. Meyer
Louis B. Meyer was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.Meyer was born in Marion, North Carolina but spent most of his youth in Enfield, North Carolina, where his mentor was local attorney and politician Joseph Branch...
is talking to his son-in-law David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
about the film rights. In time, Selznick establishes his own production company, Selznick International Pictures
Selznick International Pictures
-Origin:It was founded in 1935 by producer David O. Selznick and investor John Hay "Jock" Whitney after Selznick left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and leased a section of the RKO Pictures lot in Culver City, California...
, and wants his studio to have a film that will cement both its fame and his as well.
Back at MGM, Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....
is negotiating the idea of her portraying the acclaimed heroine, even getting Selznick to come back to her place to spend the night to "seal the deal". However, other actresses must be tested in order to expand possibilities. One of the first to do this is Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard
Paulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich...
and her screen test is the most praised out of them all. Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante...
comes down from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and auditions for the role and although she herself is a Southerner who could easily play the part, Selznick decides to give her more tests and seek other candidates. But when Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons
Louella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her...
gets wind of this, she misinforms her radio audience that Tallulah has gotten the part, thanks to the influential power of her father William Brockman Bankhead. When this is announced, Joan Crawford throws her radio at a mirror and Paulette makes a beeline to the study of her lover, Charles Chaplin, announcing that Tallulah has gotten the part.
After this error has been cleared and the actresses have been reassured that the role is still up for grabs, the casting process continues. One day while Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
and Myron Selznick
Myron Selznick
Myron Selznick was an American film producer and talent agent.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Selznick was the son of film executive Lewis J. Selznick and brother of renowned producer David O. Selznick...
are hunting, Gable mentions that he is being considered for the role of Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
. Fleming agrees that Gable would be an appropriate choice but Gable is uncertain about accepting the role because the film is to be directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
, a woman's director. Gable first tries to withdraw from the very idea but later goes forth with the role after Louis B. Meyer threatens him with a suspension. It isn't long before Gable's love interest Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s...
is considered for the part.
One night at the Selznick lot, a party is thrown to honor the actresses who are closest to winning the role of Scarlett and entertaining such stars as Joan Bennett
Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...
, Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Sullavan
Margaret Brooke Sullavan was an American stage and film actress. Sullavan started her career on the stage in 1929. In 1933 she caught the attention of movie director John M. Stahl and had her debut on the screen that same year in Only Yesterday...
, Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
, and Miriam Hopkins
Miriam Hopkins
Ellen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
. Tallulah Bankhead is there, too, sitting at the table saying to herself, "Oh God, when will it ever stop?". While at this party, George Cukor is talking with the actresses, seeing if they would be interested to star in his new film The Women (1939 film)
The Women (1939 film)
The Women is a 1939 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor. The film is based on Clare Boothe Luce's play of the same name, and was adapted for the screen by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin, who had to make the film acceptable for the Production Code in order for it to be released.The film...
after Gone With The Wind is filmed. When it comes time to have dinner at the party, Tallulah and Carole, who are sitting with Selznick between them, decide to get back at the producer for putting them through this acting contest. They stand up to make an announcement, pour their soup bowls onto his head, and declare, "Frankly my dear we don't give a damn". Laughter ensues.
Later in 1938 Selznick has still not decided who he'll have as his Scarlett after Paulette Goddard is denied the part for failing to verify whether she is married to Charlie Chaplin. As the burning of Atlanta scene is to begin for a test sequence, his brother Myron Selznick
Myron Selznick
Myron Selznick was an American film producer and talent agent.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Selznick was the son of film executive Lewis J. Selznick and brother of renowned producer David O. Selznick...
arrives with a new actress. When he directs Selznick to look at her, David first refuses but after more badgering finally submits. When the young actress removes her hat, he sees the beautiful Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
and informs her that she is his Scarlett. The rest is film history.
Cast
- Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
... David O. SelznickDavid O. SelznickDavid O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:... - Bill MacyBill MacyBill Macy is an American television and stage actor.Macy was born in Revere, Massachusetts, to Mollie and Michael Garber, a manufacturer...
... Myron SelznickMyron SelznickMyron Selznick was an American film producer and talent agent.-Life and career:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Selznick was the son of film executive Lewis J. Selznick and brother of renowned producer David O. Selznick... - Harold GouldHarold GouldHarold V. Goldstein , best known by his stage name Harold Gould, was an American actor best known for playing Martin Morgenstern in the 1970s sitcoms Rhoda and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and as Miles Webber in The Golden Girls...
... Louis B. MayerLouis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B... - Sharon GlessSharon GlessSharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
... Carole LombardCarole LombardCarole Lombard was an American actress. She was particularly noted for her comedic roles in the screwball comedies of the 1930s... - George FurthGeorge FurthGeorge Furth was an American librettist, playwright, and actor.-Biography:Furth was born George Schweinfurth in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Evelyn and George Schweinfurth...
... George CukorGeorge CukorGeorge Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and... - Edward Winter... Clark GableClark GableWilliam Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
- Barrie YoungfellowBarrie YoungfellowBarrie Youngellow is a retired American film and television actress.She began her career in the early 1970s in an episode of The Streets of San Francisco. Throughout the 1970s she starred in numerous television shows and made for TV movies and she appeared in commercials too...
... Joan CrawfordJoan CrawfordJoan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre.... - Carrie NyeCarrie Nye-Early life:Nye was born Caroline Nye McGeoy in Greenwood, Mississippi; her father was a vice president of a local bank. She attended Stephens College and then went on to the Yale School of Drama.-Career:...
... Tallulah BankheadTallulah BankheadTallulah Brockman Bankhead was an award-winning American actress of the stage and screen, talk-show host, and bonne vivante... - Clive RevillClive RevillClive Selsby Revill is a New Zealand-born British character actor best known for his performances in musical theatre and on the London stage.-Early life and stage career:...
... Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I... - Gwen HumbleGwen HumbleGwen Humble is an American actress, whose credits include Barnaby Jones, CHiPs, The Greatest American Hero, Three's Company, Remington Steele, Absolutely Fabulous, Lovejoy and JAG....
... Paulette GoddardPaulette GoddardPaulette Goddard was an American film and theatre actress. A former child fashion model and in several Broadway productions as Ziegfeld Girl, she was a major star of the Paramount Studio in the 1940s. She was married to several notable men, including Charlie Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich... - Jane KeanJane KeanJane Kean is an American actress.-Career:Jane Kean and her older sister, , formed a comedy duo that worked the nightclub circuit throughout the 1940s and '50s, and the two appeared on Broadway as sisters in the short-lived 1955 musical Ankles Aweigh.She studied acting with Sanford Meisner at the...
... Louella ParsonsLouella ParsonsLouella Parsons was the first American news-writer movie columnist in the United States. She was a gossip columnist who, for many years, was an influential arbiter of Hollywood mores, often feared and hated by the individuals, mostly actors, whose careers she could negatively impact via her... - Marianne Taylor... Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
- Gypsi DeYoung... Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
- Vicki Belmonte... Jean ArthurJean ArthurJean Arthur was an American actress and a major film star of the 1930s and 1940s. She remains arguably the epitome of the female screwball comedy actress. As James Harvey wrote in his recounting of the era, "No one was more closely identified with the screwball comedy than Jean Arthur...
- Sheilah Wells... Miriam HopkinsMiriam HopkinsEllen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
- Morgan BrittanyMorgan BrittanyMorgan Brittany is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her role in the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas, where she portrayed Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes.-Early career:Under her birth name, Brittany...
... Vivien LeighVivien LeighVivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
Reception, Filming Locations, and Additional Details
At the 1980 Emmy Awards, The Scarlett O'Hara War won two awards for make-up by Richard BlairRichard Blair
Richard Blair was an English cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman who played for Bedfordshire. He was born in Stanstead, Suffolk....
and costume design by Travilla. It was nominated in five categories; Outstanding Director in a Limited Series or Special, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Special (Tony Curtis), Outstanding Limited Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (Harold Gould), and Outstanding Actress in a Limited Series (Carrie Nye). At the Golden Globe Awards in 1981 the movie was nominated for Best TV Series in the Drama category.
A large percent of the studio scenes were filmed on Stages 12 and 19 at the Warner Bros. Burbank Studios in Burbank, California. This film was so well received that a follow up was made entitled The Silent Lovers (1980) which was also set in the 1930s Hollywood and focused on the ill-fated relationship of Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo
Greta Garbo , born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson, was a Swedish film actress. Garbo was an international star and icon during Hollywood's silent and classic periods. Many of Garbo's films were sensational hits, and all but three were profitable...
and John Gilbert
John Gilbert (actor)
John Gilbert was an American actor and a major star of the silent film era.Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw...
. The distribution company for this film was by Warner Bros. Television.
Actress Morgan Brittany
Morgan Brittany
Morgan Brittany is an American film and television actress. She is possibly best known for her role in the 1980s primetime soap opera Dallas, where she portrayed Katherine Wentworth, the scheming younger half-sister of Pamela Ewing and Cliff Barnes.-Early career:Under her birth name, Brittany...
actually reprised her role as Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
; in 1976 she first portrayed the famed actress in Gable and Lombard
Gable and Lombard
Gable and Lombard is a 1976 American biographical film directed by Sidney J. Furie. The screenplay by Barry Sandler is based on the romance and consequent marriage of legendary screen stars Clark Gable and Carole Lombard...
. Also, actress Annie Potts
Annie Potts
Anne Hampton "Annie" Potts is an American film and television actress. She is known for her roles in the 1980s popular films such as Ghostbusters , Pretty in Pink , Jumpin' Jack Flash , Who's Harry Crumb? and Ghostbusters II . Potts is also known as a voice-actress...
, of Designing Women
Designing Women
Designing Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
fame, has a small, uncredited role as a starlet
Starlet
Starlet may refer to:*Toyota Starlet, car*Corby Starlet, airplane*The Starlet, reality TV show*Starlet sea anemone, a species of sea anemone native to the east coast of the United States...
who auditions for the role of Scarlett.
The complete film is one of the bonus features on the Blu-ray Bonus disc (disc 2) included with the 70th Anniversary Limited Edition of "Gone With the Wind" from Warner Home Video.