David Selznick And Since You Went Away :: essays research papers fc

David Selznick and Since You Went Away "I have a different concept of producing than other producers. Some producers are money men, and others are just lieutenants. For me to produce is to make a picture. As a producer, I can maintain an editorial perspective that I wouldn't have as a director. I consider myself first a creative producer, then a showman and then a businessman. You need all three things to succeed in the business today." -David O. Selznick The film Since You Went Away was released in 1944. This epic film attempted to relate to the American audience that was dealing with the war foreclosing and the flux of soldiers coming home at the time. The Hollywood studios were constantly trying to do their part for the war buy making films about the war in a fairy tale "Hollywood" style. Since You Went Away crossed these boundaries, and the movie audience at the time, positively responded for this reason. The producer and screenwriter of the film knew America craved this portrayal. Critics of the film from this period, applauded it's "realism", but in hindsight studies of the film in the seventies and eighties were a little more critical of the film. David O. Selznick was the man behind the vision of this film and Selznick is best known for film classic's like; Gone With the Wind, (from which the formula of this movie draws heavily from) Rebecca, and King Kong. This film was a special project for Selznick at the time, and it was seen as his contribution to the war effort. The academy awards recognized Selznick's effort and nominated his film for best picture of 1944. David Selznick was known as a one of the great creative producers- along side Walt Disney. A creative producer is usually "a powerful mogul who supervises the production of a film in such exacting detail that he was virtually its artistic creator." (Eyman p. 121) In this period, Selznick's style was remembered best by his epic length movies in which he paid special attention to detail. His films catered to the female market but also had potential to cross over to the male segment. Selznick was "increasingly becoming aware of the commercial value of his name." (Fenster p.36) He decided to repeat the formula that worked well in Gone With the Wind and made a decision to purchase a war novel/diary from Margaret Wilder. Since You Went Away spawned from Wilder's novel, after Selznick spent many hours on developing the screenplay and hiring the right cast. The war film was a popular genre to produce during the war