1939: Gone With the Wind

The Best Picture Oscar for 1939 was awarded to "Gone With the Wind," produced by Selznick International Pictures and MGM. It set the record for most nominations and wins for one film.  The nominations include Best Actor (Clark Gable), Best Supporting Actress (Olivia deHavilland), Best Visual Effects (Jack Cosgrove, Fred Albin, and Arthur Johns), Best Original Score (Max Steiner), and Best Sound Recording (Thomas T. Moulton).  Wins include Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel - the first African-American Oscar winner), Best Director (Victor Fleming), Best Adapted Screenplay (Sidney Howard), Best Color Cinematography (Ernest Haller and Ray Rennahan), Best Film Editing (Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom), Best Art Direction (Lyle Wheeler), and two special achievement Oscars: outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood (William Cameron Menzies), and pioneering in the use of coordinated equipment (Don Musgrave and Selznick International Pictures).  Whew!  That's a lot of awards!

Since this blog is really just for my benefit, I'm not going to write much about this film, as I've seen it at least a dozen times, and it's already one of my all-time favorite movies.

Hattie McDaniel

Just one interesting note, though, that I only became aware of through this project:  Harry Davenport (Dr. Meade) appeared in three consecutive Best Picture Winners.  He was the Chief of Staff in "The Life of Emile Zola," and the Night Court Judge in "You Can't Take it With You."  How about that?

Vivien Leigh, Olivia deHavilland and Leslie Howard

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh