美文欣賞-Romance Behind Gone With The Wind

In 1938, Photo Play Magazine listed Gable and 1)Lombard among Hollywood’s unmarried husbands and wives, along with Gilbert Roland and Constance Spinet and Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwick. The 2)revelation threatened to 3)cheat Gable of the role of his career - Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind, produced by one of Lombard’s old lovers, David O. Selznick.

Gable was a 4)unanimous choice for the part. He immediately launched proceedings to divorce Lana. He also went house hunting with Lombard. They bought a 5)ranch at Ensigne, the home of director Raoul Walsh, which was only eight miles from Hollywood. Lombard paid for most of it.

While the couple were looking for a home, the search for Gone With The Wind’s Scarlet O’Hara was reaching a fever pitch. Charley Chaplin’s wife, Paulette Govdarv, was one of the many leading ladies who tested for the part.

Paulette Govdarv (Film Lines): While Charles Hamilton, you handsome old thing you. Did you think it was kind of you to bring this good-looking brother of yours down here to break our poor civil country heart?...

The filming had already been done. The huge set originally built for King Kong was going up in flames 6)standing in for a burning Atlanta. Paulette Govdarv’s spirited 7)impersonation of a tempestuous southern Belle was in vain, for at this moment, so legend has it, David O. Selznick first set eyes on his Scarlet - the British actress Vivien Leigh.

The fact that Leigh and her lover, Lawrence Oliver, shared an agent Miron Selznick, who just happened to be David Selznick’s brother might also have had something to do with it. But Hollywood has never let facts interfere with the legend.

Thus it was that two married stars, Gable and Leigh, both of whom were having affairs with other stars, were set to make movie history in Gone With The Wind. In March 1939, Gable’s divorce went through. At the end of the month he married Lombard in secret, in the tiny Arizona town of Kingbern.

Although Gone with The Wind had given Gable the defining role of his career, he did not want to attend the film’s spectacular 8)premier in Atlanta. From the moment the search for Scarlet had been triumphantly concluded, Gable had been overshadowed by Vivian Leigh. An essentially selfish man, Gable did not want to play second 9)fiddle in Atlanta to the beautiful British star who flew in with Selznick and Olivia Deharrold.

Lombard made her husband see sense and they arrived separately for one of the most remarkable events in movie history. Atlanta’s population of 300,000 had swollen to over a million. The stars drove through streets heaving with frantic fans. Gable chose to leave the 10)limelight to Vivian Leigh.

Vivian Leigh: Ladies and gentleman, I’ve spent quite a good deal of my time on Fleight Street this year. And now that I’m here with you. It’s just as if I’ll coming home. And the warmth and kindness of your wonderful welcome made it the happiest homecoming I could possibly imagine. I greet you and I want to thank you with all my heart.

1、Lombard 朗巴德，美國四十年代著名女演員兼導演

2、revelation n. 揭露，泄露

3、cheat of 騙取，詐取

4、unanimous a. 意見統(tǒng)一的

5、ranch n. 大農(nóng)場

6、stand in for 取而代之，替代

7、impersonation n. 表演，模擬

8、premier n. 首映

9、fiddle n.(俗)小提琴

10、limelight n. 聚光燈