William Hartsfield - Gone With the Wind premiere film

William Berry Hartsfield (1890-1971) served as Mayor of Atlanta 1937-1962. The film Gone With the Wind premiered in Atlanta, December 15, 1939. The film is edited from several individual reels and includes title and story cards. The first several minutes of the film captures the arrival of the principal actors and studio executives as they disembark at Atlanta Municipal Airport and proceed down the streets of Atlanta. There are many close-up shots of Olivia De Havilland, Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Ona Munson, and Laura Hope Crews. The director, David O. Selznick, is pictured along with Carole Lombard, wife of Clark Gable, and Laurence Olivier, companion of Vivien Leigh. The next several minutes capture the ball hosted by the Atlanta Junior League. The film shows guests arriving, some in Civil War period costume, and dancing to music by a live band. The final minutes of the film capture some of the principal actors touring the Cyclorama, the site of the Battle of Peachtree Creek.