Happy 99th birthday, Scarlett DuBois

 1939's Gone With The Wind, the ultimate romance

One of classic cinema's supreme beauties, Vivien Leigh's birthday was yesterday November 5th. Yes, Scarlett O' Hara would have been 99 years old, had she still have been with us. But she died far too soon in 1967 at the age of 53, not an old age by any stretch, however if she wished Vivien could have looked back upon her life with a sense of accomplishment. Twice an Oscar nominee for Best Actress, twice a winner, first for 1939's GWTW opposite Clark Gable, then 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Marlon Brando. In both Vivien played a southern belle, in fact one could make a case [ and probably already have ] for these two characters being flip sides of the same coin. One can see Vivien's Scarlett as a young Blanche DuBois, before the death of family, the burden of responsibility, age and sexual dysfunction took over her life and one can see a lot of Scarlett as a young and vivacious Blanche, entertaining, teasing and tempting all the men in her sphere, Blanche as the belle of the ball, before she "depended on the kindness of strangers".

On the verge: Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire

Vivien played other parts than Scarlett and Blanche in the movies but they are the roles upon which her legacy is firmly based. Other prominent characters in Leigh's filmography include Myra the doomed ballet dancer in 1940's haunting, romantic Waterloo Bridge with Robert Taylor, That Hamilton Woman opposite husband and love of her life Laurence Olivier and Caesar and Cleopatra in 1945 with the magnificent Claude Rains. Vivien didn't make a lot of films in her career, only 21. Based on the percentage of films she made and Oscars won, one could say she had the best wins per film ratio in all of cinema.

Do the Charleston! From Ship of Fools

With love of her life, Laurence Olivier. That Hamilton Woman, 1941

Other significant movies are 1961's The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone also starring a very young Warren Beatty in his second film and Stanley Kramer's all star opus Ship of Fools from 1965 which was  Vivien's very last film in which she plays a faded actress, drinking and flirting on a luxury ocean liner in the early days of the Nazi take over of Germany. She aged considerably since her previous film, Mrs. Stone, and her health was not particularly good, but she gave a wonderful performance as Mary Treadwell fighting off the advances of Lee Marvin's uncouth former baseball player [ at one point she beats him off with her shoe ]. In a delightful scene she is shown dancing the charleston alone, to imaginary music. And in another, she is shown gazing at her aged image in a mirror grotesquely applying her make-up. Her performance doesn't save the film, yet it does make for fascinating viewing.

The frightened, lonely Mary Treadwell in Ship of Fools, 1965

Married to Olivier from 1940 to 1960, she, unlike Sir Larry, never remarried. Throughout her life Vivien suffered from tuberculosis and recurring mental problems. In 1948 Leigh and the actor Peter Finch began an on-off affair that would last for several years. In 1953 while making the Paramount film Elephant Walk, Leigh had a complete mental collapse and had to be replaced by Elizabeth Taylor. A fictional, disturbing portrait of Leigh at that time can be found in two chapters of David Niven's book Bring on the Empty Horses, his memoir of his Hollywood days circa 1935-1960, called Our Little Girl . I suppose one could say Vivien Leigh lost quite a lot in her quest and struggle for success but for millions of filmgoers worldwide, she provided us with nothing but wonder and joy, and we can always celebrate both her unique talent and magnificent beauty because the movies and performances she left us with will live on forever. 

This is the image Robert Taylor fell in love with. 1940's Waterloo Bridge