Skip to main content

The 2nd Annual Classic Quotes Blogathon: «Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!»

Gone with the Wind (1939) is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. Directed by Victor Fleming, this Civil War epic tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh), the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, following her life from her romantic pursuit of her gentlemanly neighbour, Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), to her marriage to Rhett Butler (Clark Gable), a wealthy older bachelor and society pariah. Running at over 230 minutes, the film was a massive critical and commercial success upon release, winning a total of ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress for Leigh.

Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

Written by Sidney Howard based on Margaret Mitchell's 1936 bestselling novel of the same name, Gone with the Wind features a series of well-known quotes, many of which have entered popular culture. The most iconic of these is, of course, the classic «Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn», voted the most memorable American movie quotation of all time by the American Film Institute in 2005. (Mitchell's original line was actually «My dear, I don't give a damn»; presumably, Howard added «Frankly.») The line is spoken by Rhett Butler as his last words to Scarlett, in response to her tearful question: «If you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?» This tart reply is supposed to demonstrate Rhett's strength of character and heartbreaking heroism as he finally breaks away from his poisonous relationship with Scarlett.

According to producer David O. Selznick, they had to «put up a strong fight for the line» with the Hays Office, Hollywood's self-imposed censorship board, which strongly objected to the use of the word «damn» on screen. The term had been prohibited by the Motion Picture Production Code Administration (PCA) since July 1934, but it was relatively common in both silent and Pre-Code films. For instance, John Gilbert shouted «Goddamn you!» to the enemy during a battle scene in The Big Parade (1925); Winner Lightner ended Gold Diggers of Broadway (1929) by complaining, «Oh, damn it, I forgot my second line»; and in The Big Trail (1930), John Wayne said, «Zeke always told me women were damn funny.» 
 
LEFT: David O. Selznick, producer of Gone with the Wind. RIGHT: Joseph I. Breen, head of the Production Code Administration from 1934 to 1941.
 
But obviously, by the time Gone with the Wind began production in early 1939, PCA head Joseph I. Breen protested to the use of the word «damn» under Section Five of the Production Code, which stated that, «Pointed profanity (this includes the words God, Lord, Jesus, Christ — unless used reverently — Hell, S.O.B., damn, Gawd) or every other profane or vulgar expression, however used, is expressly forbidden.» A list of far less objectionable alternatives was immediately provided. These included «Frankly, my dear, I don't care»; «Frankly, my dear, nothing could interest me less»; «Frankly, my dear, I don't give a hoot»; and «Frankly, my dear, it makes my gorge rise.» Selznick, however, was concerned that removing the word «damn» would diminish the picture's fidelity to the book, as well as the impact of its conclusion. 
 
A list of alternatives to Rhett Butler's iconic line provided by the PCA.
 
Determined to maintain the integrity of the iconic line, Selznick went over Breen's head and, on October 20, 1939, wrote a letter directly to PCA chairman Will H. Hays, explaining why «the punchline of Gone with the Wind» should be retained. In his letter, Selznick pointed out that a number of popular magazines, including so-called «moral publications» as Woman's Home Companion and the Saturday Evening Post, used the word freely. He also asserted that
«from the reaction of two preview audiences, this line is remembered, loved and looked forward to by the millions who have read this new American classic. [...] A great deal of the force and drama of [the film] is dependent upon that words. It is my contention that this word as used in the picture is not an oath or a curse. The worst that could be said against it is that it is a vulgarism, and it is so described in the Oxford English Dictionary

Selznic ended his lengthy letter to Hays by saying, 
«I do not feel that your giving me a permission to use 'damn' in this one sentence will open the flood-gates and allow every gangster picture to be peppered with 'damns' from end to end. I do believe, however, that if you were to permit our using this dramatic word in its rightfully dramatic place [...] it would establish a helpful precedent [...] which would give to Joe Breen discretionary powers to allow the use of certain harmless oaths and ejaculations whenever in his opinion they are not prejudicial to public morals
 
LEFT: David O. Selznick, Victor Fleming, Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable on the set for the final scene of the film. RIGHT: Victor Fleming and Vivien Leigh.

Meanwhile, Hays was told that if he refused to overrule Breen, then a meeting would take between the major studio heads to discuss the matter. But that was not necessary. On November 1, 1939, a month and a half before the film's release, Hays passed an amendment to the Code that allowed the words «hell» and «damn» to be spoken on screen, when their use «shall be essential and required for portrayal, in proper historical context, of any scene or dialogue based upon historical fact or folklore [...] or a quotation from a literary work, provided that no such use shall be permitted which is intrinsically objectionable or offends good taste.» With this, Breen and the PCA had no further objection to Rhett's closing line. The word «damn» was not used again until John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941), wherein Sara Allgood says to a group of miners, «I am Beth Morgan, as you damn well know!»


This post is my contribution to The 2nd Annual Classic Quotes Blogathon hosted by The Flapper Dame. To view all entries to the blogathon, click HERE.
 

______________________________________________
SOURCES:
Clark Gable: Biography, Filmography, Bibliography by Chrystopher J. Spicer (McFarland & Company Inc., 2002)
The Making of Gone with the Wind by Steve Wilson (University of Texas Press, 2014)
TCM's notes on Gone with the Wind

Comments

  1. Ahh- this story never gets old and I damn glad they were able to use that word because- well Its not the same- and Clark flawlessly gives the line- no emphasis on Damn- he doesnt act as if he's got a privilege to say it- even though he does- its great! thanks so so much for writing- always enjoy your articles! Emily

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely agree. The film would not have been the same without this line. And Clark Gable really does deliver it beautifully. Thanks for reading. :)

      Delete
  2. I am so glad they left this line in there despite objections from the censors. I would be honored if you would submit this to this week's The Classic Movie Marathon link party http://classicmovietreasures.com/the-classic-movie-marathon-link-party-3/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to submit this post to The Classic Movie Marathon Link Party. Thanks for making me aware of it. It's a fabulous idea! :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks for adding it. Look forward to seeing you again next week

      Delete
  3. Yes, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a hoot" really doesn't pack the same punch.

    Thanks for sharing all your research & great background info about this iconic line. I knew there was a "to-do" about it, but didn't realize how much effort went into keeping it in the script.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Golden Couples: Gary Cooper & Patricia Neal

It was April 1948 when director King Vidor spotted 22-year-old Patricia Neal on the Warner Bros. studio lot. A drama graduate from Northwestern University, she had just arrived in Hollywood following a Tony Award-winning performance in Lillian Hellman's Another Part of the Forest . Impressed by Patricia's looks, Vidor approached the young actress and asked if she would be interested in doing a screen test for the female lead in his newest film, The Fountainhead (1949). Gary Cooper had already signed as the male protagonist, and the studio was then considering Lauren Bacall and Barbara Stanwyck to play his love interest.          Neal liked the script and about two months later, she met with the director for sound and photographic tests. Vidor was enthusiastic about Patricia, but her first audition was a complete disaster. Cooper was apparently watching her from off the set and he was so unimpressed by her performance that he commented, « What's that!? » He tried to con

Golden Couples: Henry Fonda & Barbara Stanwyck

In the mid- and late 1930s, screwball comedy was in vogue and practically every actress in Hollywood tried her hand at it. Barbara Stanwyck never considered herself a naturally funny person or a comedienne per se , but after delivering a heart-wrenching performance in King Vidor's Stella Dallas (1937), she decided she needed a « vacation » from emotional dramas. In her search for a role, she stumbled upon a « champagne comedy » called The Mad Miss Manton (1938), originally intended as a Katharine Hepburn vehicle. Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda as Melsa and Peter in The Mad Miss Manton .   Directed by Leigh Jason from a script by Philip G. Epstein, The Mad Miss Manton begins when vivacious Park Avenue socialite Melsa Manton finds a corpse while walking her dogs in the early hours of the morning. She calls the police, but they dismiss the incident — not only because Melsa is a notorious prankster, but also because the body disappears in the meantime. Sarcastic newspaper editor

Film Friday: «Who Was That Lady?» (1960)

Theatrical release poster Directed by George Sidney , Who Was That Lady? (19 60 ) begins when che mistry p rofessor David Wilson (Tony Curtis) is caught by his wife Ann (Janet Leigh) kissing one of his female st u de nts. To stop her from divo rcing him , he a sk s for hel p from his good friend, television writer Michael Haney (Dean Mart in), who invents a crazy story that Davi d is working undercover with the FBI and kissed the student — a foreign agent — in the line of du ty. To convince Ann, Mi ke tricks Schult z (William Newel l), a prop man at the T V studio, into fabricating an FBI identification card for David and s up plying him with a g un. Ann is so t hrilled by the idea of being married to a secret agent t hat she forgives David. Meanwhile, Mike sets up a date wi th the Coogle sisters, Gloria (Barbara N ichols) and Florence ( Joi Lan sing), and takes David along , telling Ann that the girls are foreign agents. Just as Ann realizes that her h usband ha s

Golden Couples: Clark Gable & Jean Harlow

  At the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony, MGM's hugely successful prison drama The Big House (1930) earned writer Frances Marion an Oscar for Best Writing. Hoping that she would be inspired to repeat that accomplishment, Irving Thalberg, head of production at Metro, sent Marion to Chicago, Illinois to research story ideas. While flicking through the pages of The Saturday Evening Post , she found an article revealing that, in a city where people distrusted the police, a small group of leading citizens met in secret to arrange their own justice for criminals. Marion took inspiration from that story and wrote The Secret Six (1931), in which Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone, stars of The Big House , play two mobsters prosecuted by a half a dozen vigilantes. Thalberg was pleased with the leading roles Marion wrote for Beery and Stone, but asked if she could also fill out one of the minor leads for Clark Gable , a tall, dark and handsome 30-year-old actor whom Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had recen

Christmas in Old Hollywood

The beautiful Elizabeth Taylor with an extremely cute little friend. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall with their son Stephen (early 1950s). Here they are again. What an adorable picture! Paulette Goddard looking rather uncomfortable next to her Christmas tree. Boris Karloff and Ginger Rogers at a Hollywood Christmas party in 1932. The adorable Shirley Temple chatting with Santa. Here she is again with a dolly friend. Look how cute she looks here, modeling a new Christmas dress (1935). The fur-tastic Joan Crawford. Doris Day asking us to "do not disturb until Christmas." Don't worry, Doris, we shall not. Though it's past Christmas now, so I'm sure Doris won't mind if we disturb just a little bit. Priscilla Lane looking sparkling drapped in her garlands. A VERY young Carole Lombard sitting next to her tree (1920s). Jean Harlow looking stunning as always. Janet Leigh looking extra cute unde

Films I Saw in 2020

For the past four years, I have shared with you a list of all the films I saw throughout 2016 , 2017 , 2018 and 2019 , so I thought I would continue the «tradition» and do it again in 2020. This list includes both classic and «modern» films, which make up a total of 161 titles. About three or four of these were re-watches, but I decided to include them anyway. Let me know how many from these you have seen. As always, films marked with a heart ( ❤ ) are my favorites. Sherlock Jr. (1924) | Starring Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire and Joe Keaton The Crowd (1928) | Starring James Murray, Eleanor Boardman and Bert Roach Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) | Starring Henry Fonda, Alice Brady and Marjorie Weaver Brief Encounter (1945) | Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard and Stanley Holloway The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) | Starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman The Girl He Left Behind (1956) | Starring Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood Gidget (1959) | Starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson an

Wings of Change: The Story of the First Ever Best Picture Winner

Wings was the first ever film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Since then, it has become one of the most influential war dramas, noted for its technical realism and spectacular air-combat sequences. This is the story of how it came to be made.   A man and his story The concept for Wings originated from a writer trying to sell one of his stories. In September 1924, Byron Morgan approached Jesse L. Lasky, vice-president of Famous Players-Lasky, a component of Paramount Pictures, proposing that the studio do an aviation film. Morgan suggested an «incident and plot» focused on the failure of the American aerial effort in World War I and the effect that the country's «aviation unpreparedness» would have in upcoming conflicts. Lasky liked the idea, and approved the project under the working title «The Menace.»   LEFT: Byron Morgan (1889-1963). RIGHT: Jesse L. Lasky (1880-1958).   During his development of the scenario with William Shepherd, a former war correspondent, Morga

80 Reasons Why I Love Classic Films (Part II)

I started this blog six years ago as a way to share my passion for classic films and Old Hollywood. I used to watch dozens of classic films every month, and every time I discovered a new star I liked I would go and watch their entire filmography. But somewhere along the way, that passion dimmed down. For instance, I watched 73 classic films in 2016, and only 10 in 2020. The other day, I found this film with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. that I had never heard of — the film is Mimi (1935), by the way — and for some reason it made me really excited about Old Hollywood again. It made me really miss the magic of that era and all the wonderful actors and actresses. And it also made me think of all the reasons why I fell in love with classic films in the first place. I came up with 80 reasons, which I thought would be fun to share with you. Most of them are just random little scenes or quirky little quotes, but put them together and they spell Old Hollywood to me. Yesterday I posted part one ; her

Top 10 Favourite Christmas Films

Christmas has always been a source of inspiration to many artists and writers. Over the years, filmmakers have adapted various Christmas stories into both movies and TV specials, which have become staples during the holiday season all around the world. Even though Christmas is my favourite holiday, I haven't watched a lot of Christmas films. Still, I thought it would be fun to rank my top 10 favourites, based on the ones that I have indeed seen. Here they are.  10. Holiday Affair (1949) Directed by Don Hartman, Holiday Affair tells the story of a young widow (Janet Leigh) torn between a boring attorney (Wendell Corey) and a romantic drifter (Robert Mitchum). She's engaged to marry the boring attorney, but her son (Gordon Gebert) likes the romantic drifter better. Who will she choose? Well, we all know who she will choose.   Holiday Affair is not by any means the greatest Christmas film of all time, but it's still a very enjoyable Yule-tide comedy to watch over the holi

The Sinatra Centennial Blogathon: Frank Sinatra & Gene Kelly

  In January 1944, MGM chief Louis B. Mayer happened to see a young crooner by the name of Frank Sinatra perform at a benefit concert for The Jewish Home for the Aged in Los Angeles. According to Nancy Sinatra, Frank's eldest daughter, Mayer was so moved by her father's soulful rendition of « Ol' Man River » that he made the decision right then and there to sign Frank to his studio. Sinatra had been on the MGM payroll once before, singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in the Eleanor Powell vehicle Ship Ahoy (1942), although it is very likely that Mayer never bothered to see that film. Now that Frank was «hot,» however, Metro made arrangements to buy half of his contract from RKO, with the final deal being signed in February of that year. Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in  Anchors Aweigh Being a contract player at the studio that boasted «more stars than there are in the heavens» gave Frank a sudden perspective regarding his own talents as a film performer. The «g