While painting the family room over this holiday weekend Suzanne mentioned that Gone With the Wind was about to begin and suggested we watch. As it is one of my favorite movies and we are 34 days from our 1930’s themed wedding, I agreed.
During the film, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) asked Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) to marry him and she asked him "Can I keep the lumber mill?"
Suzanne proclaimed, "She’s a true entrepreneur. Here she was just proposed to and she wants to know if she can keep her business after she’s married."
Once again I agreed. (I’m in a very agreeable mood these days)
It got me thinking about who my favorite movie character entrepreneurs are. I’ve come up with two. One in the best male entrepreneur category, and the other in the best female entrepreneur category.
I’ll go with Scarlett O’Hara for best female. She really is similar to so many entrepreneurs in that she didn’t set out to own her own business, it was just inevitable. She has so many of the character traits of an entrepreneur. She is bold, self-assured, knows what she wants and will do anything to get it.
And when tough times come, and they always do for entrepreneurs, she dug her heels in even deeper and proclaimed, "As God is my witness I’ll never be hungry again!", while holding her fist high against all adversaries.
Remember too at the end of the movie after Rhett Butler gave his famous line, "Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn." and walks away from her, Scarlett gathers herself and with an undying spirit gleams, "Tomorrow is another day."
A true entrepreneur.
For best male, I’m selecting Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casabalanca. As the small business owner of Rick’s American Cafe, Rick is total master of his domain. Just watch as he glides with great precision through his business and is respected by every person in the jam-packed bar.
His employees, including the head bartender and Sam the piano player, jump when Rick speaks. The customers and gamblers, including Peter Lorre just as he is about to be arrested as a spy, turn to Rick as the single person who can come to their aid. Even the warring French patrons and German officers know that in this establishment, Rick is the final authority.
An entrepreneur in total command of his business.
Got a favorite movie entrepreneur? Head on over to a community forum topic I’ve started on this subject and share yours.
