ABSTRACT
The octave-vaulting Tara theme from Gone With the Wind (1939) is one of the most recognized melodies ever written for film. “We hear four notes of Max Steiner’s theme,” writes film historian Molly Haskell, “and we’re awash in emotions.”2 The melody now serves as shorthand for not only a four-hour film but also an industry. Film critic and biographer David Thomson notes, “Whenever that music starts to play, people all over the world think, ‘Hollywood.’ ”3 These are sweeping remarks for a sweeping melody, the wide-ranging associations of which sometimes deflect critical engagement. At the time of the film’s release, the Tara theme also impressed film music critic Bruno Ussher, who noted that Steiner’s score in general and the Tara theme in particular matched “the epic and intimately human moods of the film.”4
