The search for the actress to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind was a national phenomenon. This TV movie gives a marvelously entertaining depiction of that search. Casting of the stars is very clever, using both well known TV stars as well as unknowns in the various roles. Sharon Gless and Carrie Nye are wonderfully funny as Carole Lombard and Tallulah Bankhead, Barrie Youngfellow shines as Joan Crawford, and Tony Curtis makes an admirable David O. Selznick. Casting Morgan Brittany as Vivien Leigh and having her appear only at the very end of the film for maximum effect was inspired. An excellent slice of Hollywood lore.
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LordDudley24 September 2001
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ksdilauri15 October 2022There's a lot to like and not like about this made-for-tv flick. The making of GWTW truly was a story in itself. As other reviewers note, some of the casting here is on the nose: Ed Winter as Gable, Sharon Gless as Carole Lombard-and especially Carrie Nye's Tallulah Bankhead-get top marks. (Her screen-test scene is a gem.) Tony Curtis never struck me as physically right for the part of control freak David Selznick--nor am I familiar with any evidence that he fooled around with Crawford while he dangled the part of Scarlett in front of her-but in Hollywood anything's possible, I suppose, and Curtis gives an able performance as the possessed human dynamo.
Like many fans, I would've liked to see more of Vivien Leigh; Morgan Brittany's appearance is brief, but it makes an impression . It's entertaining and worth a watch, then if you want the real story behind the movie, catch "The Making of GWTW" documentary narrated by Christopher Plummer. -
Petey-102 March 2012Gone with the Wind is a movie classic from 1939.This movie tells about that movie, or more about the troubles they had in finding the female lead.The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) is a made for TV movie directed by John Erman.It's based on Garson Kanin's 1979 novel Moviola.The late great Tony Curtis does great work as David O. Selznick.Harold Gould, who actually died the same year and month as Tony did, is excellent as Louis B. Mayer.Bill Macy, who turns 90 next May, is terrific as Myron Selznick.Sharon Gless and Edward Winter are great as the Hollywood glamor couple Carole Lombard and Clark Gable.Very good work from George Furth, who plays George Cukor.Also great work from the actors playing women trying out for the role of Scarlett.Those are Barrie Youngfellow (Joan Crawford), Carrie Nye (Tallulah Bankhead) and Gwen Humble (Paulette Goddard).Clive Revill gives a great portrayal of Charlie Chaplin.Jane Kean is marvelous as Louella Parsons.Morgan Brittany is seen as Vivien Leigh.Also Melody Thomas Scott and Annie Potts are seen in the movie.This is a fascinating piece of history.I just saw from the DVD extras of Gone with the Wind about all the troubles they had in the making of that film, and especially finding the right Scarlett.This was actually one of the extras.With this movie you can dig deeper into the matter.
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Based on part of a 1979 Hollywood novel by Garson Kanin, "The Scarlett O'Hara Wars" covers producer David O. Selznick's lengthy search for the right actress to play Margaret Mitchell's Scarlett in his 1939 production of "Gone with the Wind." This 1980 television film was one of three episodes adapted from the Kanin novel for a limited television series, the others being "The Silent Lovers" and "This Year's Blonde." However, if the other two segments are as bad as this one, better to avoid them and spend the time re-watching the classic Selznick film. Perhaps as an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" this campy tale of Selznick, his brother Myron, George Cukor, and Louis B. Mayer could provide enough giggles from Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot's commentary to prove entertaining. The famous characters portrayed do not converse with each other, they impart nuggets of historical information or exchange legendary gossip for the benefit of viewers. Among the film's mish-mash of fiction and non-fiction, the most amusing part concerns two con men, who pass themselves off as talent scouts for Selznick and seduce young women with promises of playing Scarlett; a cocktail party with all of the actresses competing for the part is also bitchily funny at times. Whether or not any of these episodes is based on fact is dubious, given Kanin's reputation for inventing fictional Hollywood lore, such as his myth-making spin on Tracy and Hepburn.
During an endless 98 minutes, a legion of famous names parades past, "Hello, my name is Vivien Leigh" or "Miss Ball? Yes, Lucille." For the most part, the performances are caricatures; Edward Winter as Clark Gable resembles a refugee from Madame Tussaud's wax works, and Carrie Nye does a drag-queen impersonation of Tallulah Bankhead. To be fair, some actors come off better than others. Although miscast, handsome Tony Curtis makes a brave attempt at being the bland-looking David O. Selznick; George Furth is passable as George Cukor, but looks nothing like him; and Harold Gould is not bad as Louis B. Mayer, but again lacks any physical resemblance. On the other hand, Clive Revill's Charlie Chaplin is a flamboyant embarrassment, and the scenes that depict screen tests will set viewers' teeth on edge, especially fans of "Gone with the Wind;" Gwen Humble's take on the Paulette Goddard test is best left without comment.
The obviously cheap production is colorful and brightly lit like a period sit-com; at times the dialog sounds like comedy as well, intentional or not. William Hanley, who actually won two Emmy awards during his career, wrote the clunky teleplay, and the limited series, "Moviola," which included this episode, garnered Emmy awards for makeup and costumes. However, anyone remotely interested in the background story on the making of "Gone with the Wind" should avoid this farcical turkey. Instead, they should turn to the outstanding 1988 documentary, "The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind," a masterful telling of the film's production from the novel's publication through the movie's numerous re-releases. -
cmvoger27 April 2007Written 04/27/2007; I caught your notation that the movie meter was 'up'(pointed arrow) and the question "why?". I logged onto the "why?" and found myself in a maze of questions for showbiz folk with paid up credit cards. I got out of there; I had gone in there trying to answer your question. The TCM Message Boards has a "forum" called "Hot Topics", and within that is a "thread" called "The'other roles'thread". Under that heading contributers are passing along what they have learned re actors who turned down certain roles, or GOT turned, and the consequences in some cases. The name of S. O'Hara kept cropping up and I got suspicious. I saw this movie when it was first broadcast, but there's a whole generation come to adulthood since then. My theory is that some contributers are raiding your cast list, then going back to the TCM pages with one or two names at a time. I don't know if this info qualifies as a "comment"; just thought you'd like your question answered. Oh -- If it matters, I loved 'The Scarlett O'Hara War'. Tony Curtis as David O. Selnick -- Hoot and a half.
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aramis-112-8048803 June 2023Tony Curtis looks nothing like David O. Selznick; but Selznick looked nothing like a movie star, and movie stars are required for movies like "The Scarlett O'Hara War."
Bill Macy is Myron Selznick, who turns out to be the hero of the piece. The always superb Harold Gould is MGM boss Louis B. Mayer (as in Metro-Goldwyn-). The often-overlooked George Furth is an inspired choice for George Cockor (and without the merest trace of a Humgarian accent).
Though it's not a great movie and it's name-droppy to an embarrassing extent, it's informative in a jokey manner about the ways "Gone With the Wind" (the international best-seller: in the war we found copies on Japanese subs) might have gone wrong.
And don't worry about name dropping. Back in the 1930s Hollywood was a company town.
I'm no fan of "Gone With the Wind." I've never read it and I find the movie an incredibly tedious exercise. But the almost preternaturally lovely Vivian Leigh made the movie. Why do the English give the best fake southern accents?
However, in the biggest (and most publicized--mark that!) talent hunt in motion picture history, the best Selznick could come up with were usual suspects: comediennes Carole Lombard (played by a fiesty, funny Sharon Gless); Joan Crawford, desperate for the role; and Paulette Goddard (companion of Charlie Chaplin, played by a miscast but delightful Clive Revell); an entirely wrong Tallulah Bankhead; and Joan Bennett (later star of the TV series "Dark Shadows"). It all seems weird in retrospect, but they were among the biggest name-brand actresses of the day. Failing to find an ingenue capable of holding together a film of that magnitude, Selznick's options were limited; and he was running out of time.
If anyone knows anything about the search for Scarlett they know Leigh was introduced to David Selznick by his brother after shooting on GWTW had already commenced, allegedly with her beautiful eyes reflecting the fires of the burning of Atlanta. Here she is portrayed, wordlessly, by the also preternaturally lovely Morgan Brittany.
Silly as "The Scarlett O'Hara War" is in spots, it's ultimately likeable and, unusual in so many cases, the climactic scene, with Brittany merely standing there looking lovely, is the best shot of the picture and almost brings tears to the eyes. Almost. -
mark.waltz8 March 2019For the first part of the "Movieola" trio of TV movies, the story concentrated on the greatest casting search in movie history before or since. Margaret Mitchell lengthy novel "Gone With the Wind" was a huge best-seller from 1936 on, and it was obvious that movie rights would be highly desirable for the producer lucky enough to grab them. That ended up in the hands of David O. Selznick, married to MGM's head, Louis B. Mayer's daughter, giving reference to the crack "The Son-in-law Also Rises", a spoof of the Ernest Hemingway novel. from day one, Selznick was pressured by the public as to who would be cast in the lead roles, and even the supporting roles would be coveted by those not lucky enough to be cast as either Rhett or Scarlett.
Here, Selznick is perfectly cast with Tony Curtis, and Harold Gould, popular at the time as Rhoda's father on TV, was convincing as Mayer, even though he didn't really look like him. Bill Macy, aka Maude's husband, played David O.'s brother, agent Myron Selznick, while Jane Kean is a hoot as gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Character actor Edward winter was cast as Clark Gable, and I'm not surprised that they did not cast James Brolin as Clark, having appeared as him in the 1976 flop "Gable and Lombard". Winter emulates Gable without making it a parody, but other actors are not so lucky.
Successful in the female star roles are Sharon Gless, pre-"Cagney and Lacey", quite feisty as Carole Lombard, and stage actress Carrie Nye truly becoming Tallulah Bankhead, even if her screen time is really minimal. I wasn't impressed at all with Barrie Youngfellow as Joan Crawford, certainly no rival to the memories created by both Faye Dunaway and Jessica Lange in their completely different portrayals of the MGM superstar. In addition, Marianne Taylor seems to be giving a drag performance as Hepburn, and the less said about Gwen Humble as Paulette Goddard, the better. they assume that the audience will be amused by Cameo appearances by unknown actors playing formality now famous names, especially the sudden close up of someone apparently trying to be Lucille Ball. You can glimpse future stars Melody Thomas of "The Young and the Restless" and Annie Potts of "Designing Women" as others auditioning for the role of Scarlett.
The real trouble however, is the script. It is a recurring game of "drop that name", often getting details wrong. Tallulah Bankhead never worked at RKO, and a reference to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is way ahead of its time. The script is also padded out with references to other films made the same time, including "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Great Dictator". with all the research that was available of the making of the film and other things going on in Hollywood at the time, you'd think the writer would have been a bit more responsible. In spite of the many flaws, it is a curiosity for much of the casting and the historical elements, and certainly wisely chooses to make the entrance of Morgan Brittany, once again playing Vivien Leigh. The physical detail is fine, but unfortunately, when the wash is dried, it does not iron smoothly. It's too much stuff going on for a 90-minute movie, and the results overall end up being misguided and pretentious.