TLS signed “Margaret Mitchell Marsh,” one page, 7 x 11, personal letterhead, June 17, 1938. Letter to psychiatrist Dr. C. E. Mayos. In part: “My information from Hollywood is that the film of ‘Gone With the Wind’ goes into production by the first of September, but the cast has not been announced to me even in confidence. I have heard the cry of ‘wolf, wolf’ so often in the last year and a half that I am a little wary at belief. However, this information seemed definite. An Atlanta historian and architect went to Hollywood in February to act as a technical adviser on architectural and military details of the period with which my book concerned itself. On his return he reported that all costumes had been designed and many of the sets, and that the picture would be done in technicolor. While I know the movies are capable of miracles, I wonder how they will manage the bright red clay which is so vivid a part of any Georgia background. While I have never been to California, I have been told that that State does not have our red soil, and I am wondering what they will do if the film is produced in technicolor.” In fine condition, with intersecting folds (one vertical fold passing through a single letter of the signature).
While David O. Selznick bought the rights to Gone With the Wind in July of 1936, just one month after its publication, it took over two years for production on the film to actually begin. Two months after Mitchell penned this letter, admitting that she did not trust the newly projected state date of September, Gable signed on as Rhett Butler; but as suspected, filming was pushed back yet again as Selznick’s ‘search for Scarlett’—which took over 1400 interviews—had still not turned up the perfect candidate. It was not until January 17, 1939, that he finally announced Vivien Leigh to fill the epic role, and filming finally commenced shortly after. Gone With the Wind was indeed produced in Technicolor, with several scenes filmed in a vacant lot transformed into a Georgia landscape, filled with red soil and faked flora, complete with dogwood blossoms hanging from apple trees and cotton attached to the bushes. A fascinating letter offering a behind-the-scenes look at Mitchell's influence and involvement—or lack thereof—on the film adaptation of her classic bestseller. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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