I took one look and knew that she was right - at least as far as her appearance went - at least right as far as my conception of how Scarlett O'Hara looked. Later on, her tests, made under George Cukor's brilliant direction, showed that she could act the part right down to the ground, but I'll never recover from that first look. - David O. Selznick producer of Gone With The Wind

During its production, Vivien Leigh worked very hard and long hours from early morning until late evening, in addition to practicing a Southern accent for four hours each day. Her hair was not altered or cut for the film, but padding was added to enhance her bosom. Press and film articles said her parents were of French and Irish decent to connect her real life to the role of Scarlett. It took a total of 122 days on set for her to complete her part, six days of filming a week, sometimes working twenty solid hours and then returning to the set after only four hours sleep. She disliked kissing Clark Gable because of his false teeth and found much of the dialogue 'ridiculous' thinking no one would believe a lot of the scenes they shot. It was exhausting for everyone involved. One scene in particular - Melanie's death - was shot near the end of production after a long day of shooting:

Vic Fleming was directing at that time and he had that shot redone several times but it was so real and everybody was so emotional and so tired out from working so hard that when he said 'cut' everybody on that set was crying - the crew, the electricians, the third and fourth assistant - everybody was weeping as though we had just been to a memorial service or something. That's how real it all seemed. Vic knew he had a good shot when he saw tears in everybody's eyes - including his own.

It was decided, after much debate, that the name to put in front of the film's title would not be "Clark Gable" or "Vivien Leigh", but the author, "Margaret Mitchell". For the grand premiere - balls, parades, and parties were organized in Atlanta - this would be a city in celebration for the days surrounding its gala on Friday December 15, 1939. The day itself, only a month after the last scene had been shot, was one year exactly after Vivien had made her screen tests for director George Cukor.

Thousands of people attended the grand ball to celebrate the film's premiere. Clark Gable, Olivia De Havilland, Vivien Leigh, and many of the supporting cast, were flown in to attend 3 days of festivities and celebration. Over 18 thousand people surrounded Loew's Grand Theatre and the sidewalks surrounding Peachtree Street in Atlanta, with the hope of catch a glimpse of the stars. The theatre itself, seating 2050 people, filled with those fortunate to get and afford tickets. Seats went for 20 times the normal price at the time - equivalent to several hundred dollars today.

The film itself was cut from 6 hours down to under 4 (the length it remains today), and received a standing ovation from crying and cheering audience members that gala night. In addition to great acclaim and press coverage worldwide, Margaret Mitchell said she was very pleased with the results, especially David O. Selznick's determination to get the perfect cast. After all the hard work - 1400 interviews, 400 readings, 90 professional screen tests, and $100,000 spent on finding her - the world had found their Scarlett in the shape of Vivien Leigh.

The film itself was a grand achievement; over 5000 items had been designed for the wardrobe, half a million feet of film shot (approximately 85 hours of raw footage), and 90 sets built (the 'City of Atlanta' set alone having over 50 buildings). 60 million people waited anxiously across the United States to see it that winter, and the book remained a consistent best-seller. A legend had been born, and in many ways, Hollywood would never again top the spectacle, excitement, or phenomenon that Gone With The Wind achieved.