15. “Frankly, My Dear, I don’t give a ____,” Part 2
It appears the Motion Picture Association’s Production Code had a fair bit of inconsistency. Two of the recommended replacements contained “Frankly, my dear, you can go to the devil” with alternate endings of “for all of me” and “for all I care.” It is rather curious that “damn” should be such an issue, but literally telling someone to go to the devil (the actual meaning of damn) was perfectly fine. A third choice was “the devil may care — I don’t!.” Their objection was simply to the “cuss” of damn, and not the actual threat or discussion of eternal damnation and the devil himself.
By far, the most common theme of the suggest replacement carried the same tone of the original – just not caring. There are numerous variations, including not giving a hoot or whoop, both of which would have dated the film horribly to modern ears. An especially dated reference was the phrase “I don’t give a Continental,” referring to the usefulness of the Continental currency that was briefly printed during the American Revolution. However, given the story was set during the American Civil War, a cultural reference to the Revolutionary War may have added an interesting note to the film.
Thankfully, perhaps inspired by the awfulness of many of the corny substitutes, the Motion Picture Association amended their production code in time for the original, iconic line to be included in the film. The line has gone on to be paid homage or parodied in countless movies and television shows and is an ingrained part of the American cultural lexicon.