"Went with the Wind!" is a sketch in the eighth episode of the tenth season of the American variety series The Carol Burnett Show. Originally airing in the United States on November 13, 1976, it is a parody of the 1939 epic American historical drama film 'Gone with the Wind', based off Margaret Mitchell's 1936 eponymous fictional Pulitzer Prize winning (and only) novel. The sketch was written by two young writers, one being Rick Hawkins, of whom won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series two years later due to his work for Carol's show. Before the sketch begins, Carol Burnett introduces it by saying: "Recently, nearly the entire nation spent a total of five hours watching 'Gone with the Wind' make its TV debut. So for those of you who ran out of Kleenex and were unable to watch it, we put together our own mini-version to let you know what you've missed. Uh-huh."
'Gone with the Wind' received its world television premiere on the HBO cable network on June 11, 1976, and played on the channel for a total of fourteen times throughout the rest of the month. It made its network television debut in November later that year, NBC paying $5 million for a one-off airing. It was broadcast in two parts on successive evenings. It eventually became at that time the highest- rated television program ever presented on a single network. Mrs. Burnett then decided to put her own dizzy spin on the American historical tearjerker.
The title card of the first half reads: WENT WITH THE WIND! and ATLANTA, TERRA (land, territory) PLANTATION SOMEWHERE IN GEORGIA where the eccentric Southern belle Starlet O'Hara (Carol Burnett) is hosting a party and greeting her guests. House servant Sissy (Vicki Lawrence, of whom was hired for the show due to her similar appearance of Mrs. Burnett) comes in screaming "Miss Starlet! Miss Startlet!" telling her that Mr. Brashly (Tim Conway) is here. Starlet opens the door to see Brashley introducing her to his cousin Melody (Dinah Shore). Brashley informs Starlet that he and Melody are to be married, in which she then tells him to leave. Angry, Starlet throws a vase across the room, only to have Ratt Butler (Harvey Korman) catch it, of whom just happened to be there. The two have a moment, only to be informed that a war has just broken out. Everyone leaves as Melody announces that she is going to have a baby now. A soldier comes to the door asking to borrow a match, and, moments afterward, a fire breaks out, as we are lead to believe this was the cause of the Atlanta fire. As Melody gives birth, Starlet tries to deliver her speech about how she will "never go hungry again", only to be interrupted by a wailing Sissy traipsing circles around the couch, who, as she had mentioned earlier, does know about birthing babies but does nothing.
The title card of the second half: TERRA PLANTATION ONE WAR LATER. The once elegant and grandeur interior of Terra Plantation is nothing more now than the bedraggled aftermath of charred walls and broken pillars. Sissy "Miss Starlet! Miss Starlet!" tells her that the war is over. A bankrupt Brashley arrives, saying how Ratt became a millionaire during the war. Starlet, trying to figure out how to look good enough to ask Ratt for the money quickly takes the drapes from the window "I've got me a dress to make." Captain Butler arrives "I really like what you've done with the place"; Sissy stalling him as he tells of his lost dreams. The Yankee soldier marries Ratt and Starlet (after coming to from before when Starlet knocked him unconscious with a chair). After an altercation and discovering that Starlet is in love with Brashley, Melody dies, but only after she pushes an unsuspecting Starlet down the stairs, the first time being when Starlet accidentally got punched by Ratt when he saw her embracing Brashley. Brashley leaves, followed by Ratt, Starlet slamming the door in his face just as he is about to deliver the famous line of the original film. Then Starlet complains to Sissy, "What am I gonna do?" to which Sissy slaps her and retorts, "Frankly, Miss Starlet, I don't give a damn."
There are far too many hilarious moments in this sketch to go over, given the allotted twenty minutes of television time to show possibly 'deleted scenes' taken from a serious four-hour war drama as only the show could convey it, laden with sight gags, slapstick and cultural references, including 'Dixie' (Ratt: "Look away!" Sissy: "Look away?" Ratt: "LOOK AWAY! Dixieland." Sissy: "You know that's real catchy. You oughta set that to music Captain Butler." But the highlight is when Starlet descends the staircase replete in her handmade green garb finished off with curtain rod. The curtain dress was conceptualized and designed by the show's costumer Bob Mackie. The script originally called for the dress to be hanging off of Burnett, but Mackie did not find it funny. He asked the art director for a real curtain rod and green fabric, making the dress on a mannequin. Burnett said that she came into costume and fittings and when she saw the curtain and rod she said it was the most brilliant sight gag ever. The curtain dress scene was named number two in TV Guide's January 23-29, 1999 list of The 50 Funniest Moments in Television. Mrs. Burnett did other classic film parodies such as 'Babes in Arms', 'Double Indemnity', 'Sunset Blvd.', 'The Heiress', 'Mildred Pierce' and even 'The Exorcist' as a sketch for 'As the Stomach Turns', but none has ever made us laugh quite as much as this one.
'Gone with the Wind' received its world television premiere on the HBO cable network on June 11, 1976, and played on the channel for a total of fourteen times throughout the rest of the month. It made its network television debut in November later that year, NBC paying $5 million for a one-off airing. It was broadcast in two parts on successive evenings. It eventually became at that time the highest- rated television program ever presented on a single network. Mrs. Burnett then decided to put her own dizzy spin on the American historical tearjerker.
The title card of the first half reads: WENT WITH THE WIND! and ATLANTA, TERRA (land, territory) PLANTATION SOMEWHERE IN GEORGIA where the eccentric Southern belle Starlet O'Hara (Carol Burnett) is hosting a party and greeting her guests. House servant Sissy (Vicki Lawrence, of whom was hired for the show due to her similar appearance of Mrs. Burnett) comes in screaming "Miss Starlet! Miss Startlet!" telling her that Mr. Brashly (Tim Conway) is here. Starlet opens the door to see Brashley introducing her to his cousin Melody (Dinah Shore). Brashley informs Starlet that he and Melody are to be married, in which she then tells him to leave. Angry, Starlet throws a vase across the room, only to have Ratt Butler (Harvey Korman) catch it, of whom just happened to be there. The two have a moment, only to be informed that a war has just broken out. Everyone leaves as Melody announces that she is going to have a baby now. A soldier comes to the door asking to borrow a match, and, moments afterward, a fire breaks out, as we are lead to believe this was the cause of the Atlanta fire. As Melody gives birth, Starlet tries to deliver her speech about how she will "never go hungry again", only to be interrupted by a wailing Sissy traipsing circles around the couch, who, as she had mentioned earlier, does know about birthing babies but does nothing.
The title card of the second half: TERRA PLANTATION ONE WAR LATER. The once elegant and grandeur interior of Terra Plantation is nothing more now than the bedraggled aftermath of charred walls and broken pillars. Sissy "Miss Starlet! Miss Starlet!" tells her that the war is over. A bankrupt Brashley arrives, saying how Ratt became a millionaire during the war. Starlet, trying to figure out how to look good enough to ask Ratt for the money quickly takes the drapes from the window "I've got me a dress to make." Captain Butler arrives "I really like what you've done with the place"; Sissy stalling him as he tells of his lost dreams. The Yankee soldier marries Ratt and Starlet (after coming to from before when Starlet knocked him unconscious with a chair). After an altercation and discovering that Starlet is in love with Brashley, Melody dies, but only after she pushes an unsuspecting Starlet down the stairs, the first time being when Starlet accidentally got punched by Ratt when he saw her embracing Brashley. Brashley leaves, followed by Ratt, Starlet slamming the door in his face just as he is about to deliver the famous line of the original film. Then Starlet complains to Sissy, "What am I gonna do?" to which Sissy slaps her and retorts, "Frankly, Miss Starlet, I don't give a damn."
There are far too many hilarious moments in this sketch to go over, given the allotted twenty minutes of television time to show possibly 'deleted scenes' taken from a serious four-hour war drama as only the show could convey it, laden with sight gags, slapstick and cultural references, including 'Dixie' (Ratt: "Look away!" Sissy: "Look away?" Ratt: "LOOK AWAY! Dixieland." Sissy: "You know that's real catchy. You oughta set that to music Captain Butler." But the highlight is when Starlet descends the staircase replete in her handmade green garb finished off with curtain rod. The curtain dress was conceptualized and designed by the show's costumer Bob Mackie. The script originally called for the dress to be hanging off of Burnett, but Mackie did not find it funny. He asked the art director for a real curtain rod and green fabric, making the dress on a mannequin. Burnett said that she came into costume and fittings and when she saw the curtain and rod she said it was the most brilliant sight gag ever. The curtain dress scene was named number two in TV Guide's January 23-29, 1999 list of The 50 Funniest Moments in Television. Mrs. Burnett did other classic film parodies such as 'Babes in Arms', 'Double Indemnity', 'Sunset Blvd.', 'The Heiress', 'Mildred Pierce' and even 'The Exorcist' as a sketch for 'As the Stomach Turns', but none has ever made us laugh quite as much as this one.
