Gone With The Wind

 BEHIND THE SCENES AT TARA — BEFORE SCARLETT O’HARA BECAME A LEGEND 

I love behind-the-scenes photographs like this because they show just how much work went into creating even the earliest moments of Gone With the Wind.

Here we see Vivien Leigh during filming of the opening sequence at Tara, surrounded by cast and crew as they prepare for the scene.

In the finished movie, this is where we are first introduced to Scarlett O’Hara sitting with the Tarleton twins, Brent and Stuart. Within minutes, we learn almost everything we need to know about Scarlett. The twins want to talk about war, but Scarlett wants absolutely nothing to do with that subject.

Then they mention Ashley Wilkes and Melanie Hamilton—and suddenly they have Scarlett’s complete attention.

It’s hard to believe when looking at the finished film that just outside the camera’s view there were crew members, equipment, reflectors and people making sure every little detail was right.

And there sits Vivien in the middle of it all, already looking every bit like Scarlett.

What makes photographs like this special to me is that we’re seeing the moment before Hollywood magic took over. Once the cameras rolled, all of this disappeared—and Tara became completely real.

 When you watch the opening scene, would you ever imagine this many people were standing just a few feet away from Scarlett?