The 'Burning of Atlanta' scene in 'Gone with the Wind' (1939) was one of the most ambitious and dangerous practical effects ever filmed. To create the inferno, producer David O. Selznick actually burned down old movie sets on the MGM backlot, including the massive 'Great Wall' set from the 1933 film 'King Kong.' The fire was so large that residents of Culver City called the fire department, thinking the studio was genuinely being destroyed. Interestingly, the scene was filmed before the lead actress, Vivien Leigh, was even cast. A stunt double played Scarlett O’Hara in the scene, and it was during the filming of this sequence that Selznick was introduced to Leigh for the first time. The scene required seven cameras—nearly all that existed in Hollywood at the time—to capture the one-take destruction.