Hollywood in Color

Hattie McDaniel: Winning and Losing

Episode Summary

When Gone with the Wind was released, critics were flabbergasted by the willing participation from black actors to be in the film. Hattie McDaniel was at the center of this controversy. She really wanted the part, but she couldn’t foresee, or, maybe she just didn’t care, about the backlash.

Episode Notes

All episodes of Hollywood in Color are heavily researched. Here are the major sources used for this episode:

Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood (book) by Jill Watts

Hattie: The Life of Hattie McDaniel (book) by Carlton Jackson

Scarlett, Rhett, and A Cast of Thousands: The filming of Gone with the Wind (book) by Roland Flamini

Memo from David O. Selznick (book) by David O. Selznick

White Robes, Silver Screens: Movies and the Making of the KKK (book) by Tom Rice

Gone with the Wind: Black and White in Technicolor (article) by Ruth Elizabeth Burks

The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan Right-Wing Movements and National Politics by Rory McVeigh

Race and the Cloud of Unknowing in Gone with the Wind (article) by Patricia Yeager

The Black Reaction to Gone with the Wind (article) by JD Stevens

The African American Press' Reception of Gone with the Wind (article) by James Tracy

Music used in this episode (listed in order heard):

Theme song (intro and outro): Hombre (Instrumental) by Kevin J. Simon (marmosetmusic.com)

The Wait by how the night came (freemusicarchive.org) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Pepper's Theme (full mix) by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Caught the Feeling (Instrumental) by SNVRS (marmosetmusic.com)

Anamalie by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Reflection by how the night came (freemusicarchive.org) — Looped — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Ghostpocalypse 8 Epilog by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Poppers and Prosecco by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

To Move An Inch by Steve Combs (freemusicarchive.org) — Looped — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

July by Kai Engel (freemusicarchive.org) — Looped — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

Danse Morialta by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) — Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Media Cited:

"Banning Gone with the Wind" September 2017, The View

Interview with Lennie Bluett, "Race and Hollywood," May 2006 by Turner Classic Movies

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Hattie McDaniel Winning Best Supporting Actress (1940)

*Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research

Hollywood in Color artwork designed by Shelby Moring

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