When Gary Cooper turned down the role for Rhett Butler, he was passionately against it. He is quoted saying both, "Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history," and, "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper."
When Melanie says that Bonnie's eyes are "as blue as the 'Bonnie Blue' flag", she is referring to the popular name of the single-star secession flag that was flown over Georgia after it seceded from the union (as well as over all other states that did so). Is consisted of a single white star over a field of blue. Tradition holds that it flew over Georgia for the first few months of 1861 before being replaced by the better-known "Stars And Bars" Confederate flags of later years.
When Scarlett receives the letter that her husband Charles has died, the letter is signed Wade Hampton. He was Charles' commander in the war.
While directing the scene where Prissy says "Oh Miss Scarlett! I don't know nuthin' 'bout birthin' babies," director George Cukor told Vivien Leigh to actually slap actress Butterfly McQueen and to make it as realistic as possible, and directed Butterfly McQueen to scream. After many takes, McQueen broke down in tears, complaining that Vivien Leigh was hitting her too hard. In a later interview, Butterfly McQueen said that she "bargained" with the others, stating that if Vivien Leigh hit her, she would NOT scream, but if Vivien Leigh's hand only passed close to her face with the illusion of hitting her, she would scream as loudly as she could. McQueen also giggled and said that she thought "Prissy should have been slapped often, because she was horrid!"
While still in production, Selznick wanted to evaluate an audience's response to the film. Months before the official gala premiere, the movie was given an unannounced ("sneak") preview screening in a small theater in Riverside outside Los Angeles. The theater was scheduled to show Beau Geste. At this time, many elements of the film were still unfinished, including the opening titles and musical scoring by Max Steiner. For this sneak preview, the studio quickly filmed a "makeshift" opening title sequence. These opening credits, still surviving today, show a woman's hand turning the pages of a large book with colorful drawings of Southern scenes accompanied by printed text of the opening credits, accompanied by the opening title music from David O. Selznick's own production of The Prisoner of Zenda (music by Alfred Newman).
Writer Sidney Howard was paid $2,000 a week to do the screenplay. Many other writers contributed to the final script, with the final sum paid to every one of them being $126,000. Sidney Howard received sole screen credit. David O. Selznick also wrote much of the screenplay.
Although Scarlett and Charles' son Wade Hamilton was omitted from the movie the letter Scarlett receives informing her of Charles dying is signed Wade Hampton. In the book, the character of Scarlett's first child was named after Charles' commanding officer and thus named Wade Hampton Hamilton.
Gone With The Wind was the first color film to win the Best Picture Oscar.
Olivia de Havilland's salary for Gone With The Wind (1939) was $25,000.
The most frequently cited sketch on The Carol Burnett Show was the 1976 parody, "Went with the Wind", a send-up of Gone with the Wind. Burnett, as Starlett O'Hara, descends a long staircase wearing a dress made from a green window curtain -- complete with curtain rod! The outfit, designed by Bob Mackie, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution.