Claim: For a quarter of a century, Gone with the Wind was the highest-earning film.

Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from Margaret Mitchell 's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind . It was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming . Set in the American South against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era , the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara , the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner , from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes , who is married to his cousin , Melanie Hamilton , to her marriage to Rhett Butler . The leading roles are portrayed by Vivien Leigh -LRB- Scarlett -RRB- , Clark Gable -LRB- Rhett -RRB- , Leslie Howard -LRB- Ashley -RRB- , and Olivia de Havilland -LRB- Melanie -RRB- .   Production was difficult from the start . Filming was delayed for two years due to Selznick 's determination to secure Gable for the role of Rhett Butler , and the `` search for Scarlett '' led to 1,400 women being interviewed for the part . The original screenplay was written by Sidney Howard , but underwent many revisions by several writers in an attempt to get it down to a suitable length . The original director , George Cukor , was fired shortly after filming had begun and was replaced by Fleming , who in turn was briefly replaced by Sam Wood while Fleming took some time off due to exhaustion .   The film received positive reviews upon its release in December 1939 , although some reviewers found it dramatically lacking and bloated . The casting was widely praised and many reviewers found Leigh especially suited to her role as Scarlett . At the 12th Academy Awards , it received ten Academy Awards -LRB- eight competitive , two honorary -RRB- from thirteen nominations , including wins for Best Picture , Best Director -LRB- Fleming -RRB- , Best Adapted Screenplay -LRB- posthumously awarded to Sidney Howard -RRB- , Best Actress -LRB- Leigh -RRB- , and Best Supporting Actress -LRB- Hattie McDaniel , becoming the first African-American to win an Academy Award -RRB- . It set records for the total number of wins and nominations at the time . The film was immensely popular , becoming the highest-earning film made up to that point , and retained the record for over a quarter of a century . When adjusted for monetary inflation , it is still the most successful film in box-office history .   Gone with the Wind has been criticized as historical revisionism glorifying slavery , but nevertheless , it has been credited for triggering changes to the way African-Americans are depicted cinematically . It was re-released periodically throughout the 20th century and became ingrained in popular culture . The film is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time ; it has placed in the top ten of the American Film Institute 's list of top 100 American films since the list 's inception in 1998 , and in 1989 , the United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry .