Like the beloved red earth of Tara which stands as a symbol of the Old South amid the ravages of a fast-disappearing way of life,she remains one of our last links with the luminous Golden Age of Hollywood. Olivia de Havilland,Melanie to Vivien Leighs impetuous Scarlett,can still remember her experiences during the filming of the classic,Gone With The Wind. First released 70 years ago,the cinematic adaptation of Margaret Mitchells civil war epic saw de Havilland play Melanie Wilkes alongside Clark Gable as Rhett Butler,Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O Hara and Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes. At 93,she is the last-surviving principal cast member from the spectacular David O Selznick production. The film premiered in Atlanta (where a major portion of it set) on December 15,1939 and was released in theatres on January 17,1940. I have so many memories. I remember my first scene under Victor Flemings direction (he replaced George Cuckor),the one where Scarlett,in her filmy green-sprigged white dress and her beribboned straw hat,greets Melanie and Ashley at Twelve Oaks. At the first rehearsal,I spoke Melanies lines in a slightly formal way,as this was a social occasion and Melanie and Scarlett were not yet the friends they later became. Right after that rehearsal,Victor drew me aside and said,Whatever Melanie says,she means. In the second rehearsal,I not only tried to incorporate that quality in Melanies response,but from then on,sought to make it an essential key to Melanies character. I never forgot that piece of direction,and have remembered it in approaching all of the parts I have played since then, de Havilland says in a fax reply to The Sunday Express. Olivia Mary de Havilland (b July 1916,) made her film debut playing Hermia in the screen adaptation of A Midsummer Nights Dream (1935). Her gentle beauty and her sweet voice soon made her one of the most sought after actresses,starring opposite Errol Flynn in a series of action-adventure outings (The Adventures of Robin Hood,Captain Blood,The Charge of the Light Brigade). But it was in the role of the genteel and upright Melanie Hamilton that she broke out of the stereotypical damsel in distress. The sister of actress Joan Fontaine,de Havilland is perhaps the only actress of the time to not covet the role of Scarlett OHaraher resolve to play Melanie was matched by producer David O Selznicks determination to cast her in the role. This was in stark contrast to the laborious two-year search for an actress to play Scarlett before settling on Leigh. Playing Melanie was a profoundly fulfilling experience for me. She was a character with depth and dimension,rather than a cardboard ingénue which was often my assignment at Warner Bros., De Havilland says. She decided to take on Warner Bros. at a time when few stars dared to speak up against the dictatorial attitude of the studios. She won the case which brought in the landmark seven-year rule for personal service contracts. This took away the most powerful tool of the studios to punish stars that of suspending them at will and adding the suspension period to their contracts. My deep need and desire to interpret women who,like Melanie,undergo significant human experiences,certainly influenced my later turning down pallid,banal material at Warnerseven though this meant my taking suspensions until another actress performed the role. My successful court case had a liberating effect not only on my own situation,but also on that of every other actor, she says. The decision rendered by the courts is entered in the law books as The de Havilland Decision. The actress followed up her Oscar-nominated performance in GWTW (De Havilland lost the Best Supporting Actress award to co-star Hattie Mc Daniel for her portrayal of the lovingly dictatorial Mammy,the first Academy Award for an African American actor). She later won the Best Actress Oscars for To Each His Own (1946) and for The Heiress (1949). Asked about the enduring popularity of Gone With The Wind 70 years after it was made,she replies,The film expresses universal themes. All nations and all peoples have experienced war,defeat,and renaissance,or great misfortune and renewal. It is easy for people to identify with the characters in this film,and all they undergo. The film is full of vitality and fresh developments. Each time I view GWTW,I discover some marvellous detail I had missed in all the times I had previously seen the film. De Havilland is understandably horrified at ideas of a GWTW remake. When asked if (heaven help us!) who she would see in the roles of Rhett,Scarlett and Melanie,she replied,Heaven help us indeed! Counting on heaven to prevent a remake,there is no need for me to answer this question! Ms de Havilland,honoured with the National Medal of the Arts in 2008,is settled in France and is currently working on her autobiography.
