Today in History: Clark Gable simply didn’t give a damn …
Filming of the scene took place on the final day of principal filming of the classic, Gone with the Wind.
The ‘Frankly, my dear…’ scene has undoubtedly become one of the most iconic and easily-recognisable scenes in cinematic history, and was filmed on this day 79 years ago.
The filming of the famous epic was itself an epic, with two-and-a-half years elapsing between producer David Selznick’s purchase of the rights to Margaret Mitchell’s novel and the movie’s debut in Atlanta in December 1939. Selznick had baulked at paying an unprecedented $50 000 for the rights to a first novel, but Mitchell stuck to her asking price and Selznick eventually agreed in July 1937.
He hired director George Cukor immediately, and casting began in the Fall. Selznick launched a nationwide talent search, hoping to find a new actress to play the female lead, while he set writers to work on the script. A year later, Selznick still hadn’t found an actress or received a satisfactory script.
In May 1938, running low on funds, Selznick struck a deal with MGM. He sold the worldwide distribution rights for the film to the studio for $1,5million, and MGM agreed to lend Clark Gable to Selznick. Filming finally began on 10 December, 1938, with the burning of Atlanta scene, despite Scarlett still not having been cast.
British actress Vivien Leigh just happened to drop by the set to visit her agent, Myron Selznick, brother of the producer, and David asked her to test for Scarlett. In January, Leigh signed on as Scarlett and Leslie Howard signed up to play Ashley Wilkes, and at last, principal filming began.
By February, however, there was trouble on the set. Gable clashed with the director, and by 14 February, Victor Fleming had replaced George Cukor.
The famous scene which referred to earlier was actually filmed on the day that principal filming ended (27 June 1939). The scene shows Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) parting ways. Director Victor Fleming shot the scene twice, using the alternate line, “Frankly, my dear, I just don’t care,” in case the film censors objected to the word ‘damn’ in the original. The censors approved the movie, and the line, but fined producer David Selznick $5 000 for including the curse word.
You can relive the iconic scene right here:
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