British film star was secret agent, claims author

saltwn · #1 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 07:03 AM

Quote:

He is remembered as the obsessive love interest of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, but Leslie Howard should also be recalled as a British secret agent who died returning from a clandestine war mission, claims a Spanish author.

José Rey-Xímena said that Howard, who was in a passenger aircraft shot down by the Luftwaffe in 1943, had just been to a secret meeting with General Franco, allegedly on a special mission for Winston Churchill, who wanted to get a secret message to the Spanish dictator.

"Thanks to him, at least in theory, Spain was persuaded to stay out of the war," Rey-Xímena claimed of the actor famous for his portrayal of the unattainable southern gentleman Ashley Wilkes, in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.

The alleged message conveyed by Howard was just one of the British attempts to keep Franco, who had come to power with the support of Hitler and Mussolini, from joining the wartime Axis alliance, Rey-Xímena said yesterday. British film star was secret agent, claims author | Film | The Guardian

The rest of the article is interesting enough to be the basis for its own Hollywood flick.

tristanrobin · #2 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 09:52 AM

This is fascinating - and has a bit of the Scarlett Pimpernel about it!, as Leslie Howard was always a rather foppish and ineffectual wimp in the movies. It would be wonderful if he turned out to be this brave, courageous patriot spy!

bhkad · #3 (**permalink**) 10-06-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltwn

The rest of the article is interesting enough to be the basis for its own Hollywood flick.

Absolutely!

I just watched, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," the story of ABC-TV game show producer, (Dating Game, Newlywed Game, Gong Show) Chuck Barris.

He asserts he was recruited to work for the CIA and performed dozens of sanctioned 'hits.' Many have called these claims, B.S. And even though I have doubts, I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Nice find.

saltwn · #4 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 12:45 AM

Thing is when I finally saw the movie after reading Gone With the Wind twice, I was in Ashley's corner and always wanted Melanie to take a hike, so Ashley and Scarlet could finally get together. But even though Rhett had ears like Dumbo, he always got me with "Frankly, my dear..."

tristanrobin · #5 (**permalink**) 10-07-2008, 08:25 AM

I always thought that Ashley was SUCH a wimp. I never got what Scarlett saw in him. He wasn't even that handsome! LOL

Unlike Melanie, who you start off thinking is a woose, and then she gets stronger and stronger through the story, Ashley just gets goofier and more worthless.

I think Scarlett and Melanie should have run away together and taken a cottage by the sea.

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