Prologue: January 1940

The American cinema in early 1940 was a study in paradox, with Hollywood in the full flowering of its "golden age" while the industry foundered economically and was beset by crises both at home and abroad. In terms of filmmaking achievements, Hollywood was just coming off what many considered its best year ever-a view underscored in January 1940 when several top holiday pictures went into widespread release. Those late-1939 releases included MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN, and GONE WITH THE WIND. The most significant of these, without question, was GONE WITH THE WIND, an industry phenomenon of the first order and striking evidence of the movie industry's paradoxical state.

Released in late December 1939, GONE WITH THE WIND was an immediate hit of such magnitude that it redefined what...