Franchot Tone was under consideration-
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867144/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
My lone criticism of this film is that Lesley Howard was miscast. His accent was poor, he was a little too old and he looked uncomfortable with the role.
So who?
Franchot Tone would have been a good choice imo.
I've always thought that Gene Raymond would have been a better Ashley.
He had the blond, youthful good looks to make the character convincing.
I really can't see Franchot Tone as having any romantic appeal.
BTW, Leslie Howard was MUCH too old for the role; he was 46 whereas Ashley was in his early 20's at the beginning of the story.
And Leslie Howard just did not photograph well in color. He looked beautiful in the B&W INTERMEZZO, but the Technicolor camera just made him look his age.
Good points snsurone,
Yes Gene Raymond would have been an excellent choice.
I really can't see Franchot Tone as having any romantic appeal.
And, IMHO, nobody was a more perfect Bond than Connery.
But McGoohan had a very successful career of his own, as both actor and director.
His TV show THE PRISONER was well-received, but I think he was at his best as several killers on COLUMBO.
The chemistry between him and Peter Falk was astounding.
In fact, the two became good friends IRL, and McGoohan directed a couple of episodes of COLUMBO.
I believe his only bad performance was in an episode of MURDER, SHE WROTE.
There, he was unbelievably hammy, chewing the scenery to shreds.
But still, he was fun to watch.
I don't think Howard was badly miscast. If I had any say in it, I would have dismissed him on age, but other than that, I thought he did a good enough job.
A lot of people don't like him because he was whiny and snively, which means he was close enough.
I'll always vote for Vincent Price...
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
Hi brad.
Is your opinion based on Price's performance as the weakling Shelby Carpenter in LAURA?
He was good in that role, but somehow, I can't picture him as Ashley Wilkes.
Maybe that's because of his later fame as a horror film star.
I agree. Howard fit the role well. Ashley was a soft spoken, Southern gentleman. Tall, blond, upper crusty looking guy. Scarlett was always throwing herself into his arms which were quite a set of toned guns for that era.
shareIt's hard to know who could play "lost" as well as Leslie Howard did in the role.
I have always maintained Randolph Scot would have been quite good. He had the looks and was from Virginia. But he had played the lead in the failed Civil War film "So Red The Rose."
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Randolph_Scott-publicity.JPG
It's too bad that Jeffrey Lynn wasn't more impressive in his screen test....I think he had exactly the right look for the part. He was raw and wooden in the test...and perhaps with direction could have improved. He did go on to do good work in other things. And with that particular role, perhaps "wooden" wouldn't have necessarily been a disadvantage.
http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Portrait-of-Actor-Jeffrey-Lynn-Circa-1938-Posters_i8523052_.htm
Yes, I spoze many would be put off by Price's later horror performances. But I'm speaking of the Price characters of LAURA, TOWER OF LONDON, LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN, HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, et al. Weak, smarmy, yet good-looking.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
This role might not have been as easy to cast as some assume.
The alternatives offered here make Leslie Howard look a lot better by contrast.
Gene Raymond? Jeffrey Lynn?
Randolph Scott is the most intriguing choice, but he was also in his forties in 1939, and I honestly don't think he was as polished an actor as Howard, although an authentic southerner.
I just clicked on your name and see you often post on the Classic Film board. You likely know more about this casting choice than I do.
I haven't posted on this board in years. I haven't seen Gone with the Wind in about 20 years and I have only seen in from start to finish twice.
I recall Lesley Howard looked to old for the role. He did not seem comfortable in the role either although he was a professional.
The role should have been portrayed by an actor 10 to 20 years younger.
I mentioned Franchot Tone who was under serious consideration. Another poster mentioned Gene Raymond who would have also have been an excellent choice.
Jeffrey Lynn? I think Franchot Tone or Gene Raymond would have likely been better.
I thing Tone could have been good. I had a list of names I was throwing around in my head, but the main two I thought about were Lew Ayres ( who I believe auditioned for it but there wasn't a screen test ) and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. DFJ was more for looks, though I do think he had the acting chops to pull it off, but I was really impressed with Ayres in All Quiet on the Western Front and feel he really would have made the disillusionment after the war believable. Incidentally the scene where Ashley discussed it with Scarlett is where I think Leslie really shone.
Unapologetic Thomas Barrow Fan
My choice would have been Henry Fonda.
"A real man would rather bow down to a strong woman than dominate a weak one"
I knew I was forgetting someone--Fonda would have been fantastic.
After I saw Jezebel for the first time, I found myself wishing he'd been cast in Leslie's place as Ashley.
Unapologetic Thomas Barrow Fan
Even Margaret Mitchell felt he was the only one of the three principals that was badly miscast.
In the book, you believe Scarlett was haunted by Ashley, Ashley becoming a metaphor for the old south they'd lost. But in the film, you don't believe it -- her neurotic fixation on prissy Ashley just seems a way of irking Rhett.
--
LBJ's mistress on JFK:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcXeutDmuRA
Fonda would've been a fantastic choice, but I doubt he would have considered back-to-back roles in "antebellum" flicks.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
I agree. Ashley was miscast. Leslie Howard was way too old to play Ashley. I think that Gene Raymond or Henry Fonda would have made a good Ashley.
shareWhile I have the deepest respect for Fonda as an actor, it must be remembered that Ashley Wilkes was blond.
One of the constant comparisons in the story was that Ashley was blond and Rhett was dark.
So…would Fonda have consented to have his hair dyed or wear a blond toupee?
I kinda doubt it.
Hi snsurone,
At the time, the overwhelming fan favorite for Ashley was a very dark Tyrone Power. Fox refused to even consider lending him out after Marie Antoinette, and since Fonda was also a Fox star, I doubt that they would have loaned him either. I know Mayer had suggested loaning them Melvin Douglas, but the original director felt he was too beefy. I think Franchot Tone would have made a terrific Ashley, but there was bad blood between Tone and Gable. The producer wanted a star and we got Howard.
I did not know that, I'd come to the conclusion that Power should have played the role independently! Decades after the film came out!
Seriously, he would have been perfect. Howard was all wrong, he was visibly older than Clark Gable and as authentically Southern as a polar bear, he seemed weary of life and uninterested in Scarlett. But Power... Power was in his early 20s, beautiful in a way that wasn't entirely masculine, and his screen persona was that of a quiet, thoughtful, romantic man. He wasn't bookish or Southern, but he was American and could pose elegantly with books, and when it came to finally expressing some passion for Scarlett or Melanie... yeah, he could do that. And Leslie Howard didn't.
So what if he wasn't blond!
Henry Fonda would not necessary have to have his hair dyed blond or wear a blond wig or hair piece. Leslie Howard did not have blond hair in the movie. His hair was more of a reddish brown color. Since Leslie Howard was allowed to keep his hair a reddish brown color instead of wear a blond wig or hair piece, Henry Fonda could probably keep his hair dark in the movie. If they were that concerned about having whoever was going to play Ashley have a lighter hair color, they could settle for the actor playing him having a light brown hair color. Henry Fonda or whoever else might play Ashley may have agreed to having a light brown hair color for the movie. Henry Fonda may have agreed to at least wear a brown hair piece or wear a brown wig. Leslie Howard's hair color was definitely not blond in the movie.
shareHave a look at the movie again.
Leslie Howard was definitely blond.
I looked at different pictures from Gone With The Wind on Google Images. I looked at a few pictures of Ashley. You are right. His hair is blond. It looks like his hair is kind of a dirty blond color. There are different shades of blond. In the movie, I remember his hair color looking reddish brown in some scenes. Maybe it was lighting that made it look kind of reddish brown and because he has dark blond hair. I think that Leslie Howard's real hair color was reddish brown. I have only seen a few of his other movies. I think that most of his movies were filmed in black and white. I'm not sure if he was in any color movies besides Gone With the Wind. His hair color looks reddish brown in the other movies that I have seen him in. He may have dyed his hair dark blond or wore a dark blond hair piece or a wig for this movie.
shareMy choice: Paul Henreid
My second choice, and mostly a curious one: James Stewart
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No. His accent makes him unsuitable.
I said he would have been an intriguing selection, (and a rather appealing one I might add, and I did); however, the more I think about it, (and recalling Stewart's work up to that date and in the following years), I'm becoming more and more convinced that he could have and would have turned in a fine performance, if not an excellent one.
In closing, you asked for others' selections on the role, no one asked for yours, and I certainly didn't ask for your approval of mine.
And let's not forget that Leslie Howard never even bothered to conceal his clipped British accent.
Sure, Ashley spent three years in Europe, but that wouldn't be enough to make him lose the Southern accent he was born with.
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Oh GOD how will I Ever post again???!!!!
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