Breathless for 'Gone with the Wind' memories?
Tyrades! by Danny Tyree
November 7, 1976 was a special day for me, and I’m not just whistling “Dixie.”
That was when NBC broadcast the first part of the network television premiere of the Hollywood epic “Gone with the Wind.”
I was working the day shift at the convenience market and babbling about my evening plans to anyone who would listen (and who wouldn’t ridicule me for having to watch the Technicolor movie on a black-and-white TV).
“Gone with the Wind” didn’t quite ring a bell with customer Woodrow Helmick, who would have been a young adult when the film first hit theaters in 1939. (“Is it a Disney movie?”) Bless his heart, he wasn’t “up” on current events, so he probably thought the idea of “brother against brother” was as ludicrous as (ha ha) North Vietnam versus South Vietnam.
Nowadays, only live sporting events make much of a ratings splash on network television, but “Gone with the Wind” (part of NBC’s “The Big Event” umbrella title) had quite the ripple effect on culture. For one thing, it encouraged my boss’s wife to dismiss someone’s impertinence with “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a hydroelectric dam.”
And just five days after part 2 aired, CBS broadcast the Carol Burnett spoof “Went With the Wind,” featuring the iconic line “Thank you. I saw it in the window, and I just couldn’t resist it.” (R.I.P., Bob Mackie.)
The aura of good will had its limits, however. I wanted to read Margaret Mitchell’s 1936 novel for a junior year English book report, but Mrs. Jones didn’t feel it was “classic” enough. Maybe I should have tried bluffing my way through with a few Shakespearean tweaks. (“Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent carpetbags…”)
“Gone with the Wind” became my favorite movie (I still whistle “Tara’s Theme” when deep in thought) and I have stayed loyal to it this past half-century. Perhaps some of my stubbornness comes from great-great grandfather Joseph Harrison Gipson. He was wounded at the battle of Dead Angle on the Kennesaw Mountain line near Marietta, Georgia. The Confederate infantryman never received a military pension because he steadfastly refused to sign a loyalty oath to the Union. (If only the Loyalty Program had offered 10 cents off on a gallon of gasoline…)
Even without the family connection, I would still thrill to the spectacular “burning of Atlanta” scene, although modern technology has tried to dim its impact. (“The Johnson Family’s CGI Yule Log: it’s Sherman’s March to the Sea, Moses parting the Red Sea and Ben-Hur’s chariot race all rolled into one!”)
Sadly, “Gone with the Wind” is now saddled with politically correct disclaimers, such as the mandatory four-and-a-half-minute introduction on HBO Max. I dread the not-so-distant future when “Frozen” comes with a trigger warning. (“Advisory: this film may rub it in your face that you have a snowball’s chance of ever collecting your Social Security.”)
I was reasonably impressed with the 1994 miniseries sequel “Scarlett,” but I hope no one is tempted to abuse the intellectual property for advertising, say, GLP-1 drugs. (“As God is my witness, as the FDA is my witness, I’m not going to lick icing. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never feel hungry again.”)
I’d like to take a long breather, but fiddle-dee-dee, such luxury is not for me.
After all, next week is another deadline.
-
Copyright 2026 Danny Tyree, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
Danny Tyree welcomes email responses at tyreetyrades@aol.com and visits to his Facebook fan page “Tyree’s Tyrades.”
Copyright 2026 Danny Tyree, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
Comments