Young Mr. Lincoln

[Thomas Thorne]

Clark Gable was not the best judge of film roles as he did not wish to act in any of the films he was nominated for academy awards for-"It Happened One Night","Mutiny on the Bounty" and "Gone With the Wind."

The public demand that he play Rhett frightened him as he believed he could not satisfy expectations.

Producer David O. Selznick, having left MGM to set up his own studio, was reluctant to seek any help from MGM in loaning him their biggest star,Gable ,but agreed when none of the other Rhett Butler candidates seemed suitable. In addition MGM partly financed GWTW in return for distribution rights. Gable was given a sweetener by MGM to play RB when the studio paid his divorce settlement so he could marry Carole Lombard.

The original director of GWTW was George Cukor who was famous in bringing out the best in actresses. Gable thought Cukor was neglecting him and Selznick thought Cukor was not appreciating the scope of the picture. Selznick fired Cukor and replaced him with Victor Fleming who was Gable's favorite director. Gable's screen persona was partly based on Fleming.

Fleming directed most of the picture but lost several weeks due to a nervous breakdown. Director Sam Wood replaced him and when Fleming returned Selznick employed them both in separate units. Almost all the Gable scenes were directed by Fleming. Late in the production Vivien Leigh and Olivia de Havilland spent some of their spare time with George Cukor who gave them advice.

What might have an ungodly mess was saved by the film's protean producer, David O. Selznick, the best of the creative producers, who imposed his high sense of romance,drama and spectacle onto the film. Selznick's manic energy was bolstered by the newly invented amphetamines which together with sleeping pills ultimately ruined his health. Selznick, who was prone to delay work until deadlines, supervised most of the final GWTW editing in a single 50 hour marathon session which left some staff members asleep on the floor.

PS-2 of John Hay"s grandchildren were stockholders in Selznick's production company and attended the Atlanta premiereof GWTW. John Hay Whitney, a major stockholder in Selznick International was later the publisher of the New York Herald Tribune and Ambassador to the Court of St James. His sister Joan Whitney Payson owned the New York Mets.
Tom