Beschreibung:

Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer signed letters pertaining to Gone With the Wind Typed Letter Signed ("Joan Crawford"), 1 p, 8vo, Los Angeles, March 21, 1937, to Miss Lesbia Graham, on personal stationery, with original transmittal envelope. Crawford was one of the few stars who diligently answered her own fan mail. In this missive, she responds to Graham's inquiry about whether she will play the much-coveted role of Scarlett O'Hara by saying that she would like to, "but it will be impossible for me to do it. The moving picture rights to the book are owned by a studio where I am not under contract, and my own studio can not [sic] lend me for the part." Together with a Typed Letter Signed ("Norma Shearer"), 1 p, 8vo, Culver City, November 10, 1938, to Marjory Pollock, on monogrammed stationery. Though it now seems inconceivable that anyone but Vivien Leigh could play Scarlett O'Hara, it was nationally announced in June and July of 1938 that popular actress Norma Shearer would play the part. When many of Shearer's fans balked, saying she was too sweet for the role, Shearer acquiesced. In this letter to one of her fans, she explains why: "It has always been my desire to vary my roles ... but I felt I had been associated with such idealistic characters in the past few years that to play Scarlett whole-heartedly might be offensive and leave an unpleasant impression on the minds of the public." Provenance: the collection of Tom Heyes. 6.25 x 10 in. and 7.25 x 10.5 in.