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Lot 543
A final shooting script to Gone With the Wind, presented by David O. Selznick to Leslie Howard
30 November 2016, 12:00 EST
New YorkUS$80,000 - US$120,000
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A final shooting script to Gone With the Wind, presented by David O. Selznick to Leslie Howard
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939. Mimeographed manuscript, 256 pages, dated January 24, 1939, full gilt-stamped burgundy morocco with original yellow wrappers bound in, "Leslie Howard" to lower right corner of upper cover, with eight approx. 7 ½ x 9 ¾ in stills laid down to insert pages. Inscribed and signed by Selznick to the front free endpaper: "For Leslie- / with the profound / (but probably futile) / hope that he'll / finally read it! / Xmas, 1939."
In 1938, neither Leslie Howard nor Clark Gable wanted their roles in David O. Selznick's Gone With the Wind. But Gable was under contract to MGM and was eventually pressured into the film. Leslie Howard, on the other hand, one of the most popular stars in Hollywood at the time, wasn't under contract to any studio and was free to negotiate when and where he pleased. In order to land Howard for the film, Selznick had to go the extra mile. As incentive, he offered Howard the Associate Producer position on the 1939 classic Intermezzo with Howard starring and Ingrid Bergman making her American film debut. Howard accepted the deal. And so the role of Ashley Wilkes, loved by both Scarlett and Melanie, was cast. As it turned out, Howard was the highest paid of the four stars (at $7500 per week) due to the fact that he was the only one not tied to a studio loan-out agreement.
When Gone With the Wind finished filming, and indeed as those involved finished their respective employment during the production, Selznick, for secrecy reasons, collected the shooting scripts and had them destroyed. Very few escaped. Then in December 1939, he personally inscribed and signed beautifully bound copies of the GWTW script and presented them to a certain number of cast, crew and associates as gifts. His pithy and perfect inscriptions in many of the scripts add an exceptional dimension to these highly prized volumes. Bound in maroon cloth and leather for most of the recipients, special recipients, including the four stars, received deluxe full leather bindings.
Leslie Howard's richly bound script carries the all important, marvelously appropriate Selznick inscription reflecting the fact that Howard apparently never actually read the book or the full script. He only learned his part. An exceptional, one-of-a-kind star script from one of Hollywood's all-time legendary films and still the adjusted domestic gross leader with $1,749,700,000 seventy-seven years later. These personalized copies of the script are among the most desirable of all Gone With the Wind memorabilia. Clark Gable's copy set a record in 1996 when it sold for $244,000.
In 1938, neither Leslie Howard nor Clark Gable wanted their roles in David O. Selznick's Gone With the Wind. But Gable was under contract to MGM and was eventually pressured into the film. Leslie Howard, on the other hand, one of the most popular stars in Hollywood at the time, wasn't under contract to any studio and was free to negotiate when and where he pleased. In order to land Howard for the film, Selznick had to go the extra mile. As incentive, he offered Howard the Associate Producer position on the 1939 classic Intermezzo with Howard starring and Ingrid Bergman making her American film debut. Howard accepted the deal. And so the role of Ashley Wilkes, loved by both Scarlett and Melanie, was cast. As it turned out, Howard was the highest paid of the four stars (at $7500 per week) due to the fact that he was the only one not tied to a studio loan-out agreement.
When Gone With the Wind finished filming, and indeed as those involved finished their respective employment during the production, Selznick, for secrecy reasons, collected the shooting scripts and had them destroyed. Very few escaped. Then in December 1939, he personally inscribed and signed beautifully bound copies of the GWTW script and presented them to a certain number of cast, crew and associates as gifts. His pithy and perfect inscriptions in many of the scripts add an exceptional dimension to these highly prized volumes. Bound in maroon cloth and leather for most of the recipients, special recipients, including the four stars, received deluxe full leather bindings.
Leslie Howard's richly bound script carries the all important, marvelously appropriate Selznick inscription reflecting the fact that Howard apparently never actually read the book or the full script. He only learned his part. An exceptional, one-of-a-kind star script from one of Hollywood's all-time legendary films and still the adjusted domestic gross leader with $1,749,700,000 seventy-seven years later. These personalized copies of the script are among the most desirable of all Gone With the Wind memorabilia. Clark Gable's copy set a record in 1996 when it sold for $244,000.