Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", which MGM did on June 3, 1938, from Sam Goldwyn for $75,000. Hits in 1939 included "The Wizard of Oz", "Boys Town" and "Gone with the Wind", starring Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as Rhett Butler. Although "Gone With the Wind" was produced by Selznick International Pictures, it was distributed by MGM as part of a deal for producer David O. Selznick, Mayer's son-in-law, to obtain the services of Gable as well as financial assistance to complete the film. While "The Wizard of Oz" was a critical hit, the film took 20
Gone with the Wind (film) house in the Hollywood region. "Gone with the Wind" was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress in 1989 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". "Gone with the Wind" has been criticized as having perpetuated Civil War myths and black stereotypes. David Reynolds writes that "The white women are elegant, their menfolk noble or at least dashing. And, in the background, the black slaves are mostly dutiful and content, clearly incapable of an independent existence." Reynolds likened "Gone with the Wind" to "The Birth of a Nation" and other re-imaginings of