Vivien Leigh friendship developed after he congratulated her on her performance. Olivier and Leigh began an affair while acting as lovers in "Fire Over England" (1937), but Olivier was still married to actress Jill Esmond. During this period, Leigh read the Margaret Mitchell novel "Gone with the Wind" and instructed her American agent to recommend her to David O. Selznick, who was planning a film version. She remarked to a journalist, "I've cast myself as Scarlett O'Hara", and "The Observer" film critic C. A. Lejeune recalled a conversation of the same period in which Leigh "stunned us all" with the assertion that
What a Man (1930 film) What a Man (1930 film) What a Man is a 1930 American romantic comedy film directed by George Crone and starring Reginald Denny, Miriam Seegar and Harvey Clark. It was an adaptation of the play "They All Want Something" by Courtenay Savage, which was itself based on a novel by E.J. Rath. A separate Spanish language version "Thus Is Life" was made at the same time. The film was remade in 1938 as "Merrily We Live". It is also known by the alternative title The Gentleman Chauffeur. A British ex-Grenadier Guards officer moves to America, but struggles to find work.