# In 1938, Vivien Leigh said she’d “go to Hollywood and make one film”. It sold 200,000,000 tickets

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1938-vivien-leigh-said-shed-go-to-hollywood-and-make-one-film-it-sold-200000000-tickets/
- Published: 2026-11-06T12:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T13:50:21+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1938-vivien-leigh-shed-go-to-hollywood-and-make-one-film/
- Topics: Entertainment, Film

## Key points

- Leigh planned to make just one Hollywood film.
- *Gone with the Wind* made her a star and earned her an Oscar.
- She later won a second Oscar for *A Streetcar Named Desire*.

## Summary

Vivien Leigh expected to make one Hollywood film and keep theatre at the centre of her career. Instead, her role as Scarlett O’Hara in *Gone with the Wind* made her an international star and helped turn the 1939 film into a landmark success.

In a 1938 interview, Leigh said she did not want a long-term Hollywood contract because it could limit her stage work. She had a two-film-a-year agreement with British producer Alexander Korda and hoped to travel to Hollywood for individual projects. Leigh won the Best Actress Oscar for *Gone with the Wind*, returned to British film and theatre, then won a second Oscar for *A Streetcar Named Desire* in 1951. The article also notes that aspects of *Gone with the Wind*, including its depictions of race and marital rape, have not endured well.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.