Gone With the Wind: Who Blew Away Whom (#BOTB Results)

A Silly Gone with the Wind Story

Screenshot of the title page from the trailer for the film
Gone with the Wind (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

       My previous post featured a discussion about Clark Gable and his 1939 film Idiot's Delight.  When I think of Clark Gable my mind invariably turns to Gone With the Wind (GWTW).   Who hasn't seen this epic film also from 1939.   It's on television fairly regularly and available on just about any media source.  That wasn't the case when I first saw the Civil War classic.

        All of my life I'd been aware of GWTW.   I'd often heard it mentioned in discussions about film and read about it in articles here and there.  The film was legendary, but it wasn't shown anywhere where I had access to it.  Perhaps the reason why I'd become aware of the film was partly due to write-ups about it when it had gone into re-release in 1961, 1967, or 1971.  I didn't see it during any of those releases, but I'm sure I'd gotten "wind" of it.

        Finally when it was rereleased in the theaters in 1974 and showed up in my hometown of Maryville, Tennessee I made sure that I wouldn't miss it this time.  I was in college at the time. I knew it was a great film, but I couldn't get any of my friends to go see it with me so I went by myself.

         It was a weeknight so the theater wasn't very full.  The theater was a relatively small venue, but with only 30 or 40 people in the audience it looked bigger than it really was.  The film began and I was engrossed.  When intermission came I thought the film was over. It seemed like an odd way to end the movie but I could see how that could have made an ending.  After all in the 70's there were plenty of films with endings that didn't really seem like endings.  Though it didn't make a lot of sense to me, I figured they must have edited out the part where Rhett says "Damn". That was the controversy that I'd heard so much about.  So anyway, I went ahead and left. 

        When I got to my van I realized that I was the only one who had left the theater. That's when I realized it was only an intermission.  So I wouldn't seem like a total fool if anyone had seen me go to my van I pretended to be looking for something.  Then I sheepishly went back inside hoping that nobody would notice.  The handful of those in attendance were finding their seats or they were already seated waiting for the second half of the film to begin.  No one was paying attention to me so my stupidity apparently had gone unnoticed.

       Fortunately I did see the film to its end. I've seen the film several times since. We have 3 different DVD versions of the film all given to my wife and I as gifts. The gift givers knew it was a film that we both loved.  Now if we want to see GWTW we don't have to wait for a theater showing.  We can watch the film whenever we want.  Getting to see movies is so much easier than it used to be and that's pretty darn cool.

(This post was inspired by a comment originally left at Janie Junebug's site on June 14, 2014)

Battle of the Band Results

        My most recent Battle of the Bands featured two different songs from the film Idiot's Delight.  The outcome of this match was not really a surprise to me and probably won't be a surprise to anyone else.  Actually I feared a shut-out on this though I knew my own vote would save me from this fate.  Thankfully a few of you agreed with my pick so the outcome wasn't quite as one-sided as I had expected.

         The choice was between two songs--"Puttin' on the Ritz" and "How Strange".  The performers weren't supposed to be the criteria for voting though many of you enjoyed "Ritz" as delivered by Clark Gable and Les Blondes as did I.  However, the novelty of seeing and hearing Gable in a rare song and dance was not enough to sway me.

         In my view, "Puttin' on the Ritz" is more of a novelty song that works best in context of a visual presentation.   Typically we see the song performed as a grand dance number.  The song lends itself well to dance, especially tap dance, due to it's syncopation and quirky time signatures.   It's a fun tune, not one that I would call particularly melodic, but with a memorable melody and rhythm that gets toes to tapping and listeners to hum along.   I like musical pieces like this, but it's not what I would sit around listening to for musical pleasure.

          On the other hand, "How Strange" is hauntingly beautiful.   In the version I used, the instrumental opening with what I presume is a viola lures me with it's exotic melody.  Originally the song was a Russian tune that was later adapted with English lyrics.   Since the outset of my Battle "How Strange" is the song that has predominated the playlist in my head.   That's the deciding factor for me.  The song or song version that persists most in my memory, moving me and touching something within me, is the winner in the end.  So based on this my vote goes to the song "How Strange".    Some help for that song, but not enough to even put it close to a win in this contest.

Final Vote

Puttin' on the Ritz             26 votes

How Strange                       9 votes



Coming Up!

       My next Battle on Monday February 1st will be part of a perfect storm of blogging events.   Coinciding with the Battle of the Bands will be the Lost & Found: Valentine's Edition Blog Hop and Michael G D'Agostino's Question of the Month--everything all wrapped up in one tidy package.  You can get more info by clicking on the preceding links.   Hope you'll consider in joining in with your own posts about lost and found loves--we all have a story to tell.

        On Monday the sign-ups for the annual Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will open.  This will be the 7th year of the event!  It's almost hard for me to believe, but it's true.  Consider joining us again if you've done this in the past or if you've never done this then it's a must for any blogger.   Make new friends and hone your blogging skills.  The A to Z Challenge is now blogging legend and you can become a part of the legacy.  Not only you can, but you should!

       Have you signed up for the Lost & Found Blog Hop yet?   Will you be doing the A to Z Challenge this year?   What is the biggest factor in deciding what songs or song versions you like best? 



      

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