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'Gone With The Wind' debuts in Atlanta GA....
'Gone With The Wind' debuts in Atlanta GA....
Item # 585039
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December 19, 1939
THE NEW YORK TIMES, December 19, 1939
* Gone With The Wind film premiere in NYC (day of)
* Clark Gable - Vivien Leigh - Leslie Howard
Here is a great report on the most successful movie of all time in terms of ticket sales.
Page 29 has a 11 x 4 1/2 inch advertisement for opening day at the Capital and Astor movie theaters in New York City (see images).
Also a brief article under the small heading: "Of Local Origin" (see images). A historic issue on one of the greatest films of all time.
Other news, sports and advertisements of the day throughout. Rag edition in nice condition.
wikipedia notes: The film premiered in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 15, 1939. It was the climax of three days of festivities hosted by Mayor William B. Hartsfield, which included a parade of limousines featuring stars from the film, receptions, thousands of Confederate flags, false antebellum fronts on stores and homes, and a costume ball. Eurith D. Rivers, the governor of Georgia, declared December 15 a state holiday. The New York Times reported that thousands lined the streets as "the demonstration exceeded anything in Atlanta's history for noise, magnitude and excitement". President Jimmy Carter would later recall it as "the biggest event to happen in the South in my lifetime."
Hattie McDaniel and the other black actors from the film were prevented from attending the premiere due to Georgia's Jim Crow laws, which would have kept them from sitting with the white members of the cast. Upon learning that McDaniel had been barred from the premiere, Clark Gable threatened to boycott the event. McDaniel convinced him to attend.
Category: The 20th Century
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