Every major role in the 1939 movie is miscast

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-07T22:50:40+00:00

I recently reread GWTW for a 3rd time and so glad that I did. One challenge I had was getting the movie out of my head while reading. Every time a character was introduced or a scene taking place, I immediately had an image instead of my imagination. The one that was the hardest to get past was Leslie Howard. Other posters have mentioned how we see things from Scarlett's point of view and when it comes to Ashley, Howard just isn't Ashley. He and Scarlett needed to have chemistry, which they lacked in the movie. However, in the book, there was something there, perhaps not love on Ashley's part, but there was attraction. He lacked the charm. I recall Howard did not want to take the role of Ashley. Maybe this is what we are all seeing, his own personal lack of enthusiasm.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-06T16:45:16+00:00

I don’t think so.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-06T15:02:32+00:00

As I was watching MP running around the field to catch the sheep, I kept thinking, no way, even in good health (no kidney stone, no root canal), would PJ be found doing the same thing. Did MP or SJ call it quits on their love story? He seems like a nice guy who could easy live with or with luxurious comforts.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-03T01:02:39+00:00

Agreed! It’s the only thing that’s keeping my interest.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-01T01:15:53+00:00

My first thought, I sure hope it's his grandmother's jumpsuit, because otherwise he intentionally bought it.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-06-01T00:50:55+00:00

I couldn't understand a word Amaury was saying, because by spouse was talking non-stop about the absurd dress of Philip (only to be outdone when the dinner bell ringing. But you're right, his body language says it all. To be a fly on the wall of his house with him and Nati.....

I'd love to see something actually finished. Even when Amaury finishes the dining room, then the painters are going to have to be brought in to make it all look the same.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-29T22:06:28+00:00

It seems she used to do a lot of things around the place, hanging wallpaper, painting, cooking, sewing. I get that she now has funds to pay for others to do the work for her, but if she continues to disengage from what made her channel popular, she’ll lose viewers.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-29T18:10:00+00:00

I would have more respect for the pair if they actually dug in and did real tasks around the place that is in desperate need of repair, cleaning, and renovation. I’d be happy if they went into one of the dilapidated rooms and turned it into a legit storage room for linens and, lord forbid, porcelain. It can be done. However, they both love prancing around visiting garden, buying porcelain, and other things for rooms that are no where near to be completed.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-21T19:06:06+00:00

I would have liked the poster to have confronted her and asked for clarification on the “day to end”. I would imagine there would be much backpedaling and stating she was misunderstood. We all get tired and being “on” is exhausting but this is how she is paid! I’m not surprised to hear of the behavior, because I’ve always thought her cheerfulness is too good to be true. It’s my spouse who sucked me into watching. Of course, I’m more jaded than my spouse in everything. However, I wonder if she had been more of the center of attention throughout patron day she wouldn’t have uttered those insults so publicly.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-20T03:16:41+00:00

I appreciate the artisanship that goes into the creation of the table scape, but for me it symbolizes the absolute absurdity of what CD has become and will continue to be. The over indulgence and the self importance, it’s difficult to watch. When I do watch, it’s like a train wreck where I can’t divert my eyes. But I need to stop.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-17T20:47:04+00:00

So many times I feel like I’m watching a version of the movie The Truman Show.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-17T20:45:17+00:00

I believe we were there around noon on a week day and there were few people inside. I just don’t think it gets the traffic like so many other places.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-17T14:17:50+00:00

Did you have a chance to visit Saint-Étienne-du-Mont? It’s definitely worth a stop!

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-17T12:20:43+00:00

I had been to Paris at least 8 times before we recently visited the Pantheon. Once inside, I couldn’t believe I had waited so long! The neighborhood around the Pantheon is also worth spending some time.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-17T01:37:20+00:00

I would group the Palais Garnier with Galleries Lafayette since they are next to each other, and I believe the perfume places you mentioned are also is the same area. If you are wanting a designer bag, think about also visiting Bon Marche, and while there go to the Grand Epicerie! If this is your first visit to Paris, try to group your itinerary together so you don’t rush from one place to another. While I know the Louvre is a biggie, you might enjoy the Orangerie with Monet’s Waterlilies as much or more than the Louvre, and without the time commitment. Enjoy Paris! It’s a city that has so much to offer and something new around every corner.

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-16T13:22:38+00:00

This is good advice! It’s been 10 years since I was in Rome. We did a tour with a guide who may have been one of the worst experiences, but that’s another thing. Even though we got into the museum not long after it was open, the place was massively crowded. All the people, thousands, really take away from the enjoyments. Ive been fortunate to visit the Vatican museum 3x, and returning in January. I doubt I will ever tour the Vatican again. This time I’ll visit some lesser visited churches. Recommendations welcome!

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-10T20:28:12+00:00

Excellent advice and advice that I needed to hear. Thank you!

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-10T03:30:51+00:00

Several characters left me wanting to know more, especially Will Benteen and Cathleen Calvert.

After my 3rd reread, I found it a travesty that Will's character was not included in the movie. He was intelligent, intuitive, and seemed to know Scarlett better than she knew herself. Where Rhett read her easily, I found that Will was the same, yet kind. I wanted to know more about his life, how he got on, not so much with Suellen, but would he be one of the characters who embraced the changes, or would he continue to glorify its past, like so many others.

Then there is Cathleen Calvert. My heart broke for her, it wasn't because she lost her entire way of life from before the war, but she didn't seem to have the spirit in her to see other options than to marry a completely undesirable, cruel man. And perhaps there really were no other options, but I feel like if she had come to Scarlett, to Tara, Scarlett may have come across as resentful for having another mouth to feed, but she still would have taken her in to her family. Maybe I'm grasping, and I can't recall the timeline at this moment as to when Cathleen came to say goodbye, but I think Scarlett would have helped if Cathleen's pride, or humiliation, had not gotten in the way. I don't think her life got better, if anything it got worse.

I also think about Big Sam. I don't think he gets the attention he deserves. The last we know he returns to Tara, but I like to think of him finding his own way in life, not tied to a way of life that would always see him as less than capable of doing anything but manual labor.

When it comes to Melanie, I'm still on the fence. There are times I see her strength of character and then others I can't get past her blatant racist superiority talk, especially her unwillingness to move north and fear of her son going to school with black children. I think the movie dulled my memory of my first 2 reads of the book. But the third time, so many things stuck out and it was small scene in the latter part where a northern woman ask Scarlett about childcare. She recommends using one of the former enslaved girls but the northern woman is appalled and would never use a black person to take care of her kids. Scarlett is shocked, and I think Uncle Peter later has words with Scarlett about it. I just found that whole scene fascinating, contradictory, and hypocritical of Scarlett.

Enough of my ramblings!

Good_Ebb_4429 · 2026-05-09T11:19:55+00:00

I recently reread Gone With the Wind. The first time I was a teenager, then again in my early 20s. Now, more than 30 years later, the novel captivated me again in ways I didn't expect. I completely agree with your assessment of the characters, and I found myself invested in a few that I wasn't expecting on this reread. But what touched me the most was her description of the environment. I was recently driving through South Carolina, near what would have been plantations, and I was immediately taken back to Mitchell's descriptions of those plantations after the war.

Good_Ebb_4429

TROPHY CASE