“Frankly my dear I don’t give a damn”
In the novel, Rhett's line is "My dear, I don't give a damn," but writer Sidney Howard added "Frankly" -creating what is now one of the most memorable lines, if not the most in cinema history.
voted as the most famous one movie line by the American Film Institute in 2005
Hollywood lore still prevails that in 1939, David O. Selznick paid a $5,000 fine for the privilege of using the word DAMN when Rhett abandons Scarlett at the door of their Atlanta mansion & walks off into the foggy distance. Turns out he didn't-but he would have-
Potential alternatives for the Line were
"Frankly my dear... I just don't care," "... it makes my gorge rise," "... my indifference is boundless," "... I don't give a hoot," and "... nothing could interest me less."
David Selznick bemoaned the fact that he would be a laughing stock if he edited THE line in Margret Mitchell's best selling novel to please the censors. He was willing to pay,but after pleading his case-The Motion Picture Association board passed an amendment to the Production Code in November 1939, to insure that Selznick would be in compliance with the code:
The words "hell" and "damn" would be banned except when they "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."
...damn, not to mention the cameo brooch, the staircase, the stained glass scenic mural, the flocked paper & the damned fog, oh-and the perfectly manicured topiary tree.
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