European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Leslie Howard As Ashley Wilkes with  orc in to Vivien Leigh As Scarlett o Hara charms admirers in gone with  Hattie Mcdaniel with Olivia de Havilland Vivien Leigh first Black to win Oscar. Film scene Scarlett o Hara amid War casualties at Atlanta Railroad station. By Carol Woodford associated press Hett Butler is gone and Tara s a mess but Scarlett o Hara still knows one thing tomorrow is another  gone with the by Newas a mess too but David o. Selznick s blockbuster the world s most popular film has been restored and will Rise yet again for a 50th anniversary tour that s already Selling out Heaters. Since . 15,1939, premiere the popularity of the movie based on Margaret Mitchell s novel about the civil War and reconstruction has never faltered. It broke Box office records by grossing $14 million its first year and new generations flocked to carefully spaced reissues in 1947,1954,1961 and 1967. The 1976 television debut was the largest audience Ever to tune in for a theatrical feature with 33.9 million Homes watching. The film has so far grossed $76.7 million at the Box office and had been the no. 1 top grossing movie until the sound of music edged ahead in 1965. A widescreen version made in the 1960s turned gone with the Windzio a celluloid mess. The conversion ruined the color and composition of the movie which had been made in technicolor. Promoters say the newly restored version brings Back the color and majesty of the original. Television entrepreneur Ted Turner who owns the film is planning a 42-City tour in american movie houses for the restored print. The 31/2 hour film which won eight Academy awards including Best picture is already sold out with tickets at $10 and $12.50 for the first showing Jan. 30-31 in new York City. The Day of its premiere in 1939, the governor declared a Holiday and More than a million people crowded into downtown Atlanta As Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh led a Parade of stars Down peach free Street to Loew s grand theater which was decked out with a White Marble facade reminiscent of Tara Scarlett s Plantation. They were celebrating the film version of a Hometown writer s pulitzer prize winning epic. Turner acquired the rights to the. Movie in 1985 when he bought Mem a entertainment corp. With its massive film Library for $1.5 billion. He began showing the David 0. Selznick blockbuster in 1987 daily at one of the six Heaters at can Center the Headquarters of his Cable to Empire a shop in the atrium offers a wow Memorabilia. He also launched his 24 hour to Channel Turner network television with you guessed it a wow. It s his favorite movie said Turner broadcasting system spokesman Frank Miller so Turner was Only too Happy to foot the $250,000 Bill for the Complex restoration process using the original negatives. The situation before was that they were making prints from masters that were several stages removed from the original negatives Miller said. There were prints floating around that were four or five generations  for the restored version Turner obtained every bit of negative he could in the Best possible condition from Eastman House in Rochester n.y., and then printed under optimal conditions he said. What really comes out is a better print than has Ever been seen before even since 39. They Selznick s Crew had wonderful equipment for recording and sound but not As Good equipment for printing  also restored is the original sweep title which moved across the screen from right to left in the 1939 version. It had been replaced by a Block title showing All four words at once in remakes during the 1960s. The anniversary Celebration comes just one year before the anticipated publication of the Long awaited sequel to Mitchell s novel. After fighting for decades to keep others from continuing the Story of Scarlett and Rhett the Mitchell estate authorized a sequel in 1987 and last year chose Alexandra Ripley a Virginia author to write it. Warner books paid $4.94 million for the rights to publish the sequel. Turner s staff is putting together events to celebrate the film s 50th anniversary in  will be a Ball of some kind in Atlanta Miller said but it s not for sure right now what exactly is going to be  until Turner bought the rights Atlanta had few permanent reminders that it was the Home of Mitchell who won a pulitzer prize for the 1936 novel that has sold 25 million copies. Efforts to save the apartment where she wrote much of the Book Are tied up in court. The Loews which opened As an opera House in 1892, was gutted by fire in 1978. The restored version of a wow will be available on videocassette for Home use As will a Tbs documentary the making of a legend gone with  which was produced by Selznick s sons l Jeffrey and Daniel Selznick. The original was released on videocassette in 1985, and has sold More than 500,000 copies at $89.95 each in the United states with similar sales overseas. Initially 29,000 copies had to be destroyed because they opened with 45 seconds of the wrong music a strident marching song. The videos were later re released with the Correct tune Dixie. Dpi up scene seen by millions Clark Gable Rhett Butler embraces Vivien Leigh Scarlett o Hara. Crowd outside theaster theater in new York at the premiere of gone with  in1939. The world s most popular film has been restored for a nationwide 50th anniversary tour. Groucho Marx As Rhett Butler by Dolores Barclay associated press Hett Butler with a wide painted on Mustache meandering eyebrows Eye glasses and a Cigar Well if author Margaret Mitchell had her Way and had been really serious about it it would have been Groucho Marx who swept miss Scarlett up All those stairs for a taste of Southern lust instead of Clark Gable. With All the Hollywood hype to recruit stars for gone with  Mitchell who wrote the pulitzer prize winning Best seller kept her distance because she feared fellow southerners would blame her if the movie did t turn out Well. She did t want to help write the script would t participate in the casting search for stars and finally coughed up her own candidate the Ribald comic. As one of the most popular movies of All time gone with  is awash with such nuggets. Did you know for example that the Winner of eight Academy awards was panned by some critics a major event in the history of the Industry but Only a minor event in motion picture Art. There Are moments when the two categories meet on Good terms but the Long stretches Between Are filled with Mere spectacular efficiency wrote Franz Hoellering in the nation. Shakespeare s the taming of the shrew seems to have gotten mixed up with one of the novels of Ethel m. Dell wrote James Agate. Here Are some other a wow factoids two soundtracks were released with the 1939 film one for Domestic distribution and one for overseas. In the International version there was strident marching music and the visual was an elaborate description of the North South conflict. The Domestic version had a Sweet version of Dixie and talked about the Halcyon Days in the South that Are gone with . With All the oscars the movie copped there was one significant omission Clark Gable. He  out to Robert Donat for his performance in goodbye or. Chips. Hattie Mcdaniel who won an Academy award for supporting actress for her role As the maid Mammy kept her Long manicured fingernails in the movie As her own Way of protesting the treatment of Blacks in Hollywood. She was not she wanted the world to know a maid. She was the first Black actor nominated for an Oscar and the first to win one. Vivien Leigh refused to have any embraces with Gable when they first began shooting the movie because of a foul Mouth odor caused by his dentures. He eventually remedied the problem. Cammie King Conlon who portrayed Bonnie Blue Rhett and Scarlett s Little girl could t Stop blinking while playing dead so a mask of her face was made and used Over her real face. Also it was t the actress who fell from the Pony but a midget. Scenes of the Tara Plantation and the burning of Atlanta were filmed at the backlog of Laird studios in downtown Culver City Calif. The Structure which collapses in flames during the burning of Atlanta had also been the Temple of Jerusalem in King of Kings and the native Village in King Kong. George Cukor began As director of the movie but Clark Gable complained that he favored the actresses. Sam Wood and William Cameron Menzies also had directorial stints on the epic. Victor Fleming ultimately got the main credit and the Oscar for Best director. The film rights for the blockbuster were purchased for a Mere $50,000 in 1936. Paulette Goddard was Selznick s first Choice for Scarlett. But he feared her attachment to Charlie Chaplin would be bad publicity. She and Chaplin later married. Leslie Howard Only agreed to appear in the movie As the wimpy Ashley Wilkes after Selznick agreed to make him associate producer on intermezzo Ingrid Bergman s first Hollywood film. Irving Thalberg who directed Mem production under studio head Louis  Mayer did t think a wow stood a Chance at the Box office. Said he to Louis b., forget it Louis. No civil War picture Ever made a  the movie went on to break Box office records its first year by grossing $14 million. Page 14 the stars and stripes tuesday january 31,1989 the stars and stripes Page 15