Gone With the Wind remains the highest-grossing movie of all time when adjusted for inflation. Part of its success is due to frequent re-releases, especially in the decades before home video options like VCRs existed.

The film was nominated for numerous Oscars and won eight, including Best Picture.

Hattie McDaniel, who played Mammy, became the first African-American actress to win an Oscar. Sadly, due to segregation, she was barred from many of the film’s events, including the Atlanta premiere.

The production of Gone With the Wind took about two years. The search for the actress to play Scarlett O’Hara lasted nearly as long. After around 1,400 auditions, the role went to Vivien Leigh, an English actress who had to master a Southern accent. During filming, Leigh nearly got burned during the “Burning of Atlanta” scene, and reportedly experienced a serious toll on her mental health after the film’s release.

Katharine Hepburn was considered for the role of Scarlett, but the final decision-maker rejected her, stating she wasn’t sexy enough.

At nearly four hours long, Gone With the Wind was the longest sound film at the time of its release.

The movie had three different directors. One was George Cukor, who had a tense relationship with Clark Gable, reportedly due to Cukor’s status of being openly gay, which Gable did not approve of. After Cukor’s departure, Victor Fleming and Sam Wood took over the director’s chair.

Clark Gable was initially hesitant to take on the role of Rhett Butler, fearing it might damage his career. He was also known for having very bad breath and almost quit the film when asked to cry on camera.

The line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” is an iconic piece of film history, but it was nearly censored—only making it through because it originated from the novel.

The “burning of Atlanta” scene actually used old props from other films, including King Kong.

As one of the early films made in Technicolor, Gone With the Wind’s production team worked hard to perfect the lighting throughout the film.

To reduce controversy, fewer Confederate flags were shown in the movie than originally planned.

There were multiple deleted scenes that are now considered lost forever.

The film’s original working title was Tote That Weary Load.