Gone With The Wind Premiere – Anniversary

Dec 15, 1939. One of the 20th centurys biggest film blockbusters premiered on this date in Atlanta, GA. Based on Margaret Mitchells bestselling and Pulitzer Prize winning novel of Civil War passions, the film starred Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable and was produced by the dynamic David O. Selznick. It won an unprecedented eight Academy Awards, including best picture. Hattie McDaniel won a best supporting actress Oscar the first time an African-American actor had won or been nominated. No film would touch its Oscar achievement or monetary grosses for decades. At the chilly Atlanta premiere, more than 300,000 people lined the streets to catch sight of the films stars arriving at the Loews Grand Theater.