By Walker Joyce
Recently, I was watching the Turner Classics channel, something I do almost daily. I flipped it on, and there was GONE WITH THE WIND, the most famous Hollywood movie ever made. It was the gem of the Golden Age, and nearly 90 years after its premiere, it remains the biggest box office hit, adjusted for inflation.
Its earnings total 3.44 BILLION Dollars, to be precise—and counting.
It was made back when the Studios held sway, and the moguls who ran them knew how to make a movie, not like today, when MGM, Warner Brothers, et al are run by corporate drones who only care about the bottom line.
Alas, great storytelling, imagination and creativity are now also Gone With the Wind. Along with the patriotism that used to rule Tinseltown, but that’s another column!
I sat watching the luminous Vivian Leigh play Scarlett O’Hara, the most coveted female role of the age. Every top actress wanted it and most screen-tested for it. Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, Joan Bennett. ALL of them. But in the end, it was an English Rose who snagged that most-American of parts.
She deservedly won the Oscar, and nobody can imagine anybody else as the fiery heroine of Tara.
Ah, but what if another woman DID land Scarlett? Leigh was a last-minute choice. Others came close, and it’s said that if producer David Selznick wasn’t leery about her shacking up with Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard would’ve booked the job.
She might’ve been fine, and I’ve often wondered how Susan Hayward would have fared, but ultimately, I can’t imagine anybody topping Viv.
There are other What-Ifs and Almosts. Tom Selleck was hired to play Indiana Jones in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but his bosses on the TV hit MAGNUM wouldn’t flex his shooting schedule. Thus, Harrison Ford grabbed a great franchise. He was perfect, but given how both men have aged, Tom would’ve been the better choice for longevity: he still looks like an action hero, while Harry needed some AI help with his last turn.
Ford also captured another cottage industry when Alec Baldwin quit the Tom Clancy series, leaving after the first film, THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER. He handed Ford yet another plum when he turned down the big-screen version of THE FUGITIVE. Alex has always been a bonehead.
Can you imagine Dick Van Dyke as James Bond?! It was actually discussed when Sean Connery first resigned as 007. The offer was withdrawn when Dick reminded Cubby Broccoli of his cockney accent in MARY POPPINS.
Pierce Brosnan was already in costume before network execs screwed things up again. He became the super-spy a few years later, however, and by then he’d acquired the gravitas he was missing the first time: the delay was a blessing. Many (like me) think he was the best Bond after champion Connery.
How ‘bout John Denver playing the Richard Gere part in AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN? That script was first written with the folk singer in mind!
Back to the WIND in Atlanta. Do you know who Margaret Mitchell pictured as Rhett (the Clark Gable character) when she wrote the novel, and then wanted for the movie? Basil Rathbone, who went on to star in horror flicks and memorably embodied Sherlock Holmes. Frankly, My Dear, that would’ve been a disaster.
The Sundance Kid was supposed to be Steve McQueen, but he wanted top billing and too much money. Thus, Robert Redford became a superstar.
And Fair-Haired Boy Bobby? Some “suit” wanted him to play Michael in THE GODFATHER instead of Al Pacino, who, in the wake of that classic’s success, was offered Han Solo (Harrison Ford’s breakthrough) in STAR WARS. They also wanted Jack Nicholson in the family, and anybody but Brando (Rod Steiger, Tony Quinn) as the Don.
Even George C. Scott, who was about the 5th choice for PATTON.
Clearly, movie-casting is pure Art, not science, with a big dose of luck.
