Historic Documentary Film Society settles the wind for audiences

In recognition of the 85th anniversary of Gone the with the Wind, the society screened a documentary film on its making.

June 3, 2024

Neo Phashe 1 minute read

The audience awaits the screening of the documentary.

In celebration of it the 85th Anniversary of the release of Gone with the Wind, The Historic Documentary Film Society screened the documentary, The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind narrated by Christopher Plummer.

It was a screened at the Ditsong Museum of Military History and the plentitude of guests seemed to prove just how much this movie was appreciated by audiences all those years ago and still is now.

For Selwyn Klass, one of the society’s co-founders, his first experience of seeing Gone with the Wind was at the Apollo, an art deco-styled movie house. It stood on Beit Street, in Doornfontein, which he describes as having been a vibrant Jewish communal centre at the time. “The screening was on a Saturday night. Considering the length of the film, it was close to midnight when it ended.”
Klass described a climatic moment being when Rhett Butler leaves Scarlett O’Hara with the now iconic line, ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’.
“Notwithstanding the hour, the audience by and large seemed to linger longer, ‘kibbitzing’ (Yiddish for speculating) whether Scarlett and Rhett would ever get together again? No wonder I love the movie.”

Klass said as co-founder with Henni Erasmus, they’re thrilled to have recognised the 85th anniversary release of its release with the acclaimed documentary, The Making of a Legend GWTW.

Here are some of the guests that attended the screening.

Also read: Wits Theatre celebrates 40th anniversary