Original ‘Gone With The Wind’ Script Reveals Harsher Depiction Of Slavery
etcanada.com“Gone with the Wind” originally had a more fraught relationship with its portrayal of slavery. The 1939 film has frequently been criticized for its depiction of slavery on a plantation, but Historian David Vincent Kimel reveals the script had a very different approach in several cut key scenes.
In an article for The Ankler, he detailed his explosive finds in his purchase of the 301-page shooting script which included two different schools of thought regarding how to approach history. “Rival groups of screenwriters on the script emerged: ‘Romantics’ and ‘Realists’ who amped up scenes of mistreatment to highlight the brutality of Scarlett’s character and even condemn the institution of slavery itself,” wrote Kimel.
He purchased the script in 2020 for $15,000 and estimates less than a dozen copies remain. READ MORE: Olivia de Havilland, ‘Gone With The Wind’ Star, Dead At 104 The film adapted Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel with producer David O.
Selznick hiring over a dozen screenwriters to tackle the script. According to Kimel, after completion Selznick ordered all copies of shooting scripts to be destroyed.
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