Victor Fleming
On 23rd February, 1883 Victor Fleming was born. He was an American film director best known for The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, both released in 1939.
Born in Pasadena, California he graduated from the Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles in 1905, aged 16 years old. Ignoring the pleas of family to become a teacher or engineer, he followed his passion for mechanics and cars, and you could say from there that fate intervened.
Whilst working as a chauffeur to a wealthy Santa Barbara family, he met Marshall Neilan, a part time actor. When Canadian born film director, Allan Dwan was having trouble with his car which no other mechanic had been able to fix, Neilan swore that he knew of a man who could do the job. Whilst waiting around at the garage, Dwan noticed his collection of cameras and photography work, and intrigued, he asked Fleming to share some of his photography work. Dwan was impressed, and after his car had been repaired, offered Fleming a job as a camera assistant.
He went on to become a cinematographer, working behind the camera on many of the films of Douglas Fairbanks, and D W Griffith before joining the signal corps during World War I. After the war, he even managed to land himself the coveted role of personal cameraman for President Woodrow Wilson during the Versailles Peace Conference!
On his return to Hollywood, he again teamed up with Douglas Fairbanks, making the leap to director in 1919 with his first movie, When The Clouds Roll By. He followed this up with a number of notable movies, and in 1929 directed a thirty year old Gary Cooper in his first leading role in a western, his first 'talkie', The Virginian, which vaulted him to stardom.
During his years in Hollywood, he had gained a reputation for being able to straighten out troubled productions, and took over the direction of MGM's Wizard of Oz project at the beginning of November 1938, directing most of the movie. However, he left early in 1939 to take over Gone With The Wind, another troubled shoot - with Clark Gable (who he had worked with in Red Dust in 1932), who was refusing to speak with the current director, George Cukor.
He is the only credited director on either film though, and is the one who walked away with the Oscar for Best Director in 1939.
Victor Fleming directed his final film, Joan of Arc in 1948, which starred Ingrid Bergman. It received seven Academy Award nominations, winning two Oscars.
Going through all of my RUSC archives, I was surprised to find that there was no radio adaptation of Gone With The Wind - or at least, none that is extant - which is such a shame. I did, however, find a few adaptations of movies he directed, which you can listen to on RUSC.
The Virginian - starring Gary Cooper
Red Dust - starring Clark Gable
Wizard of Oz - starring Judy Garland
Treasure Island and Joan of Arc were also adapted for radio, but don't have the original actors reprising their roles. They're still great though!
Happy listening my friends,
