Selznick Surprise

When in 1936 Producer David Oliver Selznick bought the screen rights to Margaret Mitchell's 1,520,000-copy Gone With the Wind, cinemaddicts jumped to the conclusion that, since his father-in-law is Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Vice President Louis Burt Mayer, Producer Selznick would promptly cast two M-G-M stars--probably Clark Gable and Norma Shearer--as Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara. Instead, Producer Selznick shrewdly announced that he had no idea who would play Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara, said he hoped to discover unknown actors for the parts.

For two years, the vital question of who would play Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler has stirred controversy in U.S. bars, drawing rooms and dinner tables. Actually tested for the role of Scarlett O'Hara were such various charmers as Tallulah Bankhead, Paulette Goddard, a typist named Margaret Tallichet, a manicurist named Arleen Whelan and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, wife of Mr. Selznick's backer. Mentioned for it were so many other actresses, obscure or celebrated, that Variety cracked that, if all of them attended the premiere, the picture would pay expenses in one performance. Playwright Clare Booth wrote a comedy (Kiss the Boys Goodbye) on the subject, scheduled for Manhattan production next season.

Last week, in Hollywood, Producer Selznick finally revealed his plans for Gone With the Wind: production starting this winter; release through M-G-M about Sept. 1, 1939; cost about $1,500,000; Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara to be played by Clark Gable and Norma Shearer.

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