It was the most famous publicity stunt of Hollywood’s golden years. Having secured the screen rights to Gone with the Wind, producer David O. Selznick embarked on a nation-wide search to find the perfect actress to portray the story’s Southern heroine, Scarlett O’Hara. While actresses such as Katherine Hepburn, Joan Crawford and Paulette Goddard jostled for the role, Selznick sent talent scouts all over the United States of America. As it turned out, he should have set his sights a little farther afield.

The best remembered movie of the Moviola trilogy, The Scarlett O’Hara War is also the most entertaining. Though peppered with occasional look-alikes whose inclusion contribute little more than decoration, the roles of other stars are pitch perfect. Edward Winter portrays Clark Gable as a not-so-bright lovable rogue, Barrie Youngfellow almost manages to make one forget Faye Dunaway’s Joan Crawford, and Carrie Nye’s Tallulah Bankhead provides many of the film’s best laughs.

Anchoring this parade of filmdom’s yesteryear is Tony Curtis as Selznick. His rat-a-tat-tat delivery of lines, especially when sparring with Harold Gould as Louis B. Mayer, adds some old-time sparkle to proceedings. 

As filming for Gone with the Wind nears its start, and the biopic nears its end, Selznick laments that despite spending twice as much on the search than he did on the book’s rights, he still hasn’t found his Scarlett. Fortunately for the producer, tomorrow is another day.