Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American
epic-
historical romance film adapted from
Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel
Gone with the Wind. It was produced by
David O. Selznick of
Selznick International Pictures and directed by
Victor Fleming. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of
Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of
Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin,
Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to
Rhett Butler. Set against the backdrop of the
American Civil War and
Reconstruction era, the story is told from the perspective of rich white Southerners. The leading roles are portrayed by
Vivien Leigh (Scarlett),
Clark Gable (Rhett),
Leslie Howard (Ashley), and
Olivia de Havilland (Melanie).