Monday, November 30, 2009

Frankly My Dear, I don't Give a Damn.....

... is a line from the 1939 film "Gone With The Wind" starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. It was spoken by Gable, as Rhett Butler, in his last words to Scarlett O'Hara. It occurs at the end of the film when Scarlett asks Rhett,

- "Where shall I go? What shall I do?" if he leaves her.

The line is memorable not only because it contains profanity (which was generally not allowed in films of that time period), but because it demonstrates that Rhett has finally given up on Scarlett and no longer cares what happens to her. This quotation was voted the number one movie line of all time by the American Film Institute 2005.

In the novel "Gone With The Wind", Rhett does not say "Frankly," but simply "My dear, I don't give a damn." The context is also different; he is speaking quietly to Scarlett in a room, not storming dramatically out of the house.

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