[Paulette Goddard Day]

What a wonderful actress! Yes, she was the front runner for the role of Scarlett O'Hara. The producer, David Selznick was nervous over the fact she was living with Charlie Chaplin and they weren't married. In the America of 1939 this was indeed sinful. Paulette insisted they were married by a captain while on a cruise in the South Seas, but she couldn't produce any proof. Selznick knew she would make a perfect Scarlett, but couldn't take a chance. He was afraid that women's groups might start a boycott of GWTW if they found out Paulette was living in a "state of sin." If you get a chance, view one of the extras on the making of GWTW (included with the DVD), and especially note the screentest of Paulette as directed by George Cukor. It's called "The Paddock Scene" and Scarlett is trying to coax Ashley to run away because she is sick and tired of taking care of family members in the aftermath of the Civil War. Paulette is absolutely brilliant! In this scene she shows more talent than Vivien Leigh, but in all fairness, Ms. Leigh was exhausted at this point of the filming. It's well documented that the director, Victor Fleming, gave Leigh no direction prior to shooting the scene, basically telling her and Leslie Howard to go ahead "and get it over with." All things considered, Vivien Leigh was superb in GWTW, but could Paulette have been better? We will never know.

[Robert Taylor at 100: What is your favorite film?]

[Robert Taylor at 100: What is your favorite film?]

A rather wooden actor who was a perfect example of the power of the studio system. Without the backing of MGM, he would never have made it on his own, as did good actors such as Cary Grant, and James Stewart. Younger fans of TCM need to know that Taylor cooperated with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This right-wing group brought hundreds of actors, screenwriters and other employees of the film industry to Washington, forcing them to testify about supposed communist influences in the industry. Many innocent and talented individals had their lives and careers ruined without any proof. These hearings were not an example of democracy at its best! While Taylor didn't name names, he was a very cooperative lackey of the committee, and his prominence as a popular Metro star gave a false legitimacy to these right-wing politicians that they didn't deserve.