Jack Cosgrove had input into “GWTW” as far back as 1936 during production on several Selznick films such as “THE GARDEN OF ALLAH” and “THE PRISONER OF ZENDA” when David O’Selznick first acquired the initial galleys or publishers proofs of Margaret Mitchells’ as yet unpublished epic novel. Selznick saw immediate potential in the near 1000 pages to initiate design sketches by art director Lyle Wheeler – pictured below with Selznick and preproduction paintings upon which Cosgrove would design his numerous trick shots. The master production designer William Cameron Menzies was brought on board and together with Wheeler and production illustrators Dorothy Holt, J.MacMillan Johnson and Wilber Kurtz laid out the entire look of the picture in watercolours. A significant number of these wonderful artifacts apparently still survive in the University of Texas as part of a large Selznick bequest…
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A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX
Please Note: Now that I am all caught up with Matte & Effects Films Celebrated, I am going further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more great articles from this great site.
This blog is intended primarily as a tribute to the inventiveness and ingenuity of the craft of the matte painter during Hollywoods’ Golden Era. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today.