He Made "Gone With The Wind"

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1940, Page 5 (Supplement)

He Made "Gone With The Wind"

D'YE want to know something about the man who made

"Gone With the Wind?" No, I don't mean David Selznick. I mean Victor Fleming, about whom far too little has been heard in the hullabaloo and the bouquets accorded the biggest, costliest picture ever made. Victor Fleming was only the director, of course, but it has been my experience in Hollywood that the part of every picture spelling success or failure belongs to the man with the megaphone. First of all, he is better looking than most of the stars he directs—and be has directed Gable, Taylor, Spencer Tracy et al. He is tall, broad-shouldered, tanned of face and prematurely whitehaired (which somehow adds" to his attraction). He also has more appeal to the fair sex than- most of the screen's heartbrcakers. . (Yes.. I like him—but Judy Garland fell for him just as hard.) I Btill don't know why they enll Fleming a "man's" director (as opposed to George Cilkor, who is a "woman's" director). Maybe, because Flemiii" prefers to do the masculine typo oi

By--Sheilah Graham

story—like "Captains Courageous" (to my mind the best picture ever made) and "Test Pilot" (which wasn't bad cither). And "The Yearling"—his next assignment. "But I liko directing women, too," ho assures me, and discounts the stories of quarrels with the temperamental Vivien Leigh in "Gone With the Wind." Started as Cameraman. Fleming was born in California (Pasadena) some -4S years ago. He has directed pictures for 21) years. He started in motion pictures as a cameraman (the dramatic values of the superb photography in "Gone With The Wind" can be credited to Fleming). The late Douglas Fairbanks gave Fleming his first try- nt directing —for "The Clouds 1 801 l By." "In those days," says Victor, "we made epics for SO.OOO dollars ("Gone With The Wind" cost around four million dollars). "But," he continues, ''those pictures made as much money as the million-dollar movies of to-day." Fleming continued as a top director until the advent of the talkies. "Then," bo tells me, "all the silent directors were thrown out on their ears and told they were through." (The list includes John Fo.d, King Vidor, Frank Borzagc. Henry King.) Then came an influx of stage directors for the new talkie tech-nique-—only two of these sound experts remain—Cukor and John Cromwell. Many Successes. "I was with Famous Players nt the time," continues Fleming, "and after six months of idleness they decided to give me another chance. I made "J-Hie Virginian' (one of the most successful pictures of all time) and then walked out on them!" Pictures directed by Fleming include "Around the World in Eighty Minutes" (with the senior Fairbanks), "Treasure Island" (with Jackie Cooper) : several with Jean Harlow—"Blonde Bombshell,'' "Reckless" (which he considers his worst picture); 'TVizard of Oz." "The Crowd Boars" and "The Great Waltz." (On the last two, Fleming's name was not on the credit sheet—but they were his pictures none-lhe-less.) Of the nine years that Fleming has toiled for Metro, the past five were minus a -written contract. But they finally wore him down, and a few months ago he put bis name on the dotled line for a highly interesting salary—to say the least + + + + •ROBERT DOXAT will play'the name! part in Frank Capra's long-talked-of Chopin film for M.G.M. at Denham (London) in May. When Capra left Columbia that firm sold the rights in the Chopin story to M.G.M. The theme, even more topical than it was two years ago -when the script was first prepared, is Poland's fight for freedom. Following this, Boh will probably make that "Beau Brummcll" film his fans have been asking for, and then "Ruined City."