10 things you might not know about ‘Steel Magnolias’
“Steel Magnolias” is a movie many of us have watched more times than we can count — and cried while watching it more times than we can count, too — but while some of us might be able to quote it line-for-line, that doesn’t mean we know everything there is to know about the beloved ’80s flick.
For instance, did you know that it was inspired by real life, right down to the armadillo groom’s cake, and that the cast would have looked very, very different if Bette Davis had gotten her way?
You can read about those behind-the-scenes tidbits and many more about the inspiration for and the making of the iconic Southern flick below.
Get the latest from It’s a Southern Thing by subscribing to our newsletter, where you’ll find the latest videos, stories and recipes.1. While today we can’t imagine anyone but Julia Roberts in the role of Shelby in “Steel Magnolias,” she wasn’t the only well-known actress considered for the part. Winona Ryder and Meg Ryan were both up for he gig before Roberts won producers over with her signature smile, according to The Daily Mail.
2. “Steel Magnolias” writer Robert Harling, who wrote the original play in only 10 days, based it on his sister, Susan Harling Robinson, who passed away from diabetes complications in 1985, according to Garden & Gun.
3. When Ray Stark bought the rights to adapt “Steel Magnolias” into a movie, he promised it’d be filmed in Harling’s hometown of Natchitoches, La. So many of the seems were filmed in the setting they were inspired by, and some of the extras in the film are friends and family of Harling. In fact, the doctors and nurses who treat Shelby in the movie are the same doctors and nurses who treated Harling’s sister in real life.4. Proving her Southern roots run deep, Parton was the only member of the cast who didn’t complaining about the Louisiana heat during filming, which took place in July and August. When asked by Roberts about how she handled it, Harling told Garden & Gun that Parton replied, “When I was young and had nothing, I wanted to be rich and famous and now I am. So I’m not going to complain about anything.”
5. The names of many of the main characters were all inspired by real Southern women. Harling said M’Lynn was named after a close friend of his mother’s from Alabama while Shelby was the last name of some of his mother’s cousins. Clairee was the name of an aunt in South Carolina, and Ouiser was the name of his late sister’s best friend.
6. In 1990, CBS aired the pilot of a spin-off series that took place after the film and focused on the same characters played by different actresses. While it did not get picked up, a 2012 remake starring Queen Latifah and more well-known actresses is the channel’s third most watched original telecast of all time.7. The famed armadillo cake featured in the film, and recreated at weddings across the South ever since, was also a part of the film inspired by real life — sort of. Harling told Garden & Gun that the groom’s cake at his sister’s wedding was an armadillo cake, but it was a simple sheet cake cut into the shape of the critter.
8. Shelby wasn’t the only role that almost went to another famous actress. After seeing “Steel Magnolias” on Broadway, Bette Davis invited Harling to tea so she could ask to be Ouiser. She also pitched Elizabeth Taylor for M’Lynn and Katharine Hepburn as Clairee, according to The Morning Call.
9. Harling said “steel magnolia” is a metaphor that captures the strength and fragility of Southern women, according to Country Living. “My mother would always say to handle magnolia blossoms carefully because they bruise so easily,” Harling told the publication. You think of this flower that is so delicate and has to be handled with care, but is actually made of much stronger stuff.”
10. The impact of “Steel Magnolias” can still be felt in Natchitoches, La., today. In fact, the house that was greatly featured in the film has been converted to a bed and breakfast, and the city offers a walking tour of filming locations, including the cemetery where one of the movie’s most iconic scenes was filmed.
