David Selznick's production of Gone with the Wind is enough to secure his place in history. While this landmark film was his most successful, his influence on movie production in the 1930s and 1940s also marks his career with greatness. He was a very successful producer and writer with other films to his credit, such as David Copperfield (1935), A Star Is Born (1937), and Rebecca (1940).

Selznick worked for his father's motion picture company, Lewis J. Selznick Productions, until it was forced into bankruptcy in 1923. His first produced feature was Roulette in 1924. Selznick joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1926 as a script reader and assistant story editor. After rapidly rising to supervisor of production he was fired because of disagreements with head of production Irving Thalberg.

Paramount made him their head of production in 1927, but after the depression forced salary cuts he moved to RKO Studios...