A Most Unappreciated Man

[Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, 1939]

Leslie Howard definitely did not want the role of Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind (1939). Howard thought Ashley to be "a dreadful milk-sop, totally spineless and negative." He found the character "unsure and vacillating, uncertain as a moth fluttering between lamps—the done-to instead of the doing man, torn between the opposing polarities of two

Programming Note

[Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer on
the set of Romeo and Juliet, 1936]

Romeo and Juliet to air on TCM on Thursday, June 30, at 12:15 AM PST [Please check your local listings]

Adapted from the play by Shakespeare, Leslie Howard appears in this film from 1936 directed by George Cukor and co-starring Norma Shearer as Juliet. The screenplay is by Talbot Jennings. The supporting cast includes John Barrymore, Basil Rathbone, Edna Mae Oliver and Andy Devine.

The New York Times selected the film as one of the "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made."

On the night of the Los Angeles premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre Norma Shearer's husband and the producer of the film, Irving Thalberg, died at the age of 37. Of course, the show still went on.

The picture received four Academy Award nominations:

Best Picture - Irving Thalberg

Best Actress - Norma Shearer

Best Supporting Actor - Basil Rathbone

Best Art Direction - Cedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope and Edwin B. Willis

[Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes in
Gone With The Wind, 1939]

Gone With The Wind to air on TCM Friday, July 1, at 6:15 PM PST [Please check your local listings]

Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland star in the top grossing movie of all time, Gone With The Wind. Produced by David O. Selznick, Directed by Victor Fleming and Screenplay by Sidney Howard, this film was delayed for two years while Selznick negotiated with MGM for Clark Gable and conducted an extensive "American Idol" type search for Scarlett O'Hara.

Top Awards:

Best Picture - Selznick International Pictures
Best Director - Victor Fleming
Best Actress - Vivien Leigh
Best Adapted Screenplay - Sidney Howard
Best Supporting Actress - Hattie McDaniel

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Honoring Shakespeare

In honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death:

Leslie Howard in Romeo and Juliet, produced by Irving Thalberg and distributed by MGM. Released August 20, 1936. The New York Times selected the film as one of the "Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made", calling it "a lavish production" which "is extremely well-produced and acted."

[Leslie Howard in Romeo and Juliet, 1936]

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