1939 – Olivia De Havilland
Gone With the Wind
De Havilland was a skilled actress, and though I do not begrudge her nomination in any way, I have seen her in other films, in which she played characters of far more complexity and weight. I’m only saying that though she was good in Gone With the Wind, she was incredible in other films like The Snake Pit in 1948. Just sayin’.
If I had to sum up her character in only three words, they would be sweet, frail, and loving. And that was it. That was about all there was to her character. She loved her husband, she loved Scarlett, and she loved her son. She was sweet and loving to everyone. And she was physically weak, especially when compared to the story’s main heroine, Scarlett. She seemed to get sick at the drop of a hat, and she also lacked her sister-in-law’s iron will. But she was unwavering in her loyalty to Scarlett, never believing all the terrible things that were said about her.
At least, that was my initial impression of the character of Melanie Wilkes, as De Havilland played her. But upon watching the movie again, I was reminded of two scenes that showed a different side to her, both of which were excellently played by De Havilland. The first was the one in which she is still recovering from giving birth to her son. When a Union Soldier sneaks into Tera intent on stealing whatever he can find, Scarlett murders him. But Melanie had actually gotten out of her sick bed and was approaching the scene with a sword in her hand. Then she offers to dispose of the body. The other is when she lied to the police to defend her husband from arrest. In those scenes, it was clear that there was a little fire in her after all. And on top of that, I am reminded that her sicknesses were always because of complications with pregnancies, something that was not uncommon in those days.
But all that being said, even though her character was a little one-note, she was still likable and that was in great part due to De Havilland’s solid performance. There was a gentleness about the character of Melanie that was clearly a part of the actress’s own personality, a trait that was important to the role. I think she did the part justice with the subtlety of her performance. It was clear she could act, even though the roll didn’t seem to demand that much from her.