‘Gone with the wind’: this was the day the mythical jewel of cinema premiered in Lima in 1940

Filmed in less than a year, never before had another work of the seventh art obtained such a number of statuettes from the Academy, including the first Oscar awarded to an African-American woman: Hattie McDaniel.

While England burned from German bombing in the midst of World War II and in Peru the president Manuel Prado began a trip to Arequipa during his first government, ‘gone With the Wind‘ was screened for the first time in our country 10 months after having triumphantly debuted in Atlanta, United States.

Those were times without television and the premieres of films produced by “the magic” of Hollywood They lived like an event. The historic Metro cinema located in Plaza San Martín was the room that hosted the first presentation in Lima of the award-winning film, on October 10.

The chronicles tell that a special tram service was arranged for the public to the Callao and spas, because the film lasted almost four hours and the start of the function had been scheduled for 9:30 at night.

The organizers defined three types of tickets according to the location of the seats. The numbered stalls cost three soles at the time and the tall stalls cost two soles. Meanwhile, you had to pay a sol to access the balcony area.

The notice in the dean It warned that the entrance was only for the adult public, that is, people over 21 years of age, and made it clear that passes were not accepted. The $5 million film, which was directed by as many as three filmmakers – George Cukor, victor fleming and Sam Wood – at different times, he used 2,400 extras.

The book also arrived in Peru

The enormous publicity apparatus that accompanied this memorable production was the brainchild of Selznick, who exploited the tangled romantic relationship between a sober Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and a fickle Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) as the main attraction.

The expensive production of Metro Goldwyn Mayer, set in the American Civil War, was based on the book of the same name written in 1936 by Margaret Mitchell. Another detail to take into account was that the Peruvians enjoyed a work shot with the modern technicolor system, which enhanced the great sets and the excellent photography. The soundtrack was created by the Austrian Max Steiner.

The day after the premiere in Lima, the vermouth function was added, that is, at 5 in the afternoon, keeping the night function at 9:30 pm, thanks to a special permit granted by the Municipality of Lima.

On October 22 another notice in Trade informed the reader that numbered tickets were on sale for the second and third week of screening. In addition, he warned that the film would not be shown anywhere at popular prices until after a year.

To be in tune with the great premiere of ‘gone With the Wind‘, the International Bookstore of Peru, located at 425 Mercaderes Street in downtown Lima, put up for sale the work of Margaret Mitchell in three presentations.

The first in one volume at 6 soles and the second in two volumes and with sheets of the film at 10 soles. While the English version with plates of the film cost 6.50 soles.

Gable and Leigh in Lima

Gable had been in our capital on his way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 1935, staying at the Country Club Hotel, to where hundreds of fans and especially admirers arrived. The divo appeared on the balcony of the hotel from where he smiled and greeted the public that had waited for him outside.

In the case of Leigh, the British actress born in India, her visit was in April 1962 with the theater group “The Old Vic”, which arrived from Caracas as part of a tour that had included Australia, New Zealand and Mexico. That time the famous artist declared herself interested in learning about “the archaeological remains near Lima and acquiring ‘souvenirs’ from Peru.”

Until November 26, 1940′gone With the Wind‘ was the owner and lady of the stellar functions of the subway cinema. A day later it was replaced by the tape ‘Waterloo Bridge’, where Vivien Leigh also shone, this time with Robert Taylor. Undoubtedly, the 46 days that the mythical film remained at the Cine Metro confirmed the success with which this immortal production had preceded.

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