Fiddle-dee-dee, Han Solo!
(X-posted to my usual journal...)
Lord almighty. Did everybody else know this already? George Lucas & co. ripped off Margaret Mitchell. Seriously.
I'm reading Gone With the Wind--and finding it totally cool, by the way--and just came across this little scene between Scarlett and Rhett that looked oddly familiar:
---
“Don’t giggle,” he said, and taking her hand, he turned it over and pressed his lips into the palm. His lips traveled to her wrist and she knew he must feel the leap of her pulse as her heart quickened and she tried to draw back her hand.
He laughed softly.
“Don’t pull away! I won’t hurt you!”
“Hurt me? I’m not afraid of you, Rhett Butler, or of any man in shoe leather!” she cried, furious that her voice shook as well as her hands.
“An admirable sentiment, but do lower your voice. Mrs. Wilkes might hear you. And pray compose yourself.” He sounded as though delighted at her flurry.
“Scarlett, you do like me, don’t you?”
That was more like what she was expecting.
“Well, sometimes,” she answered cautiously. “When you aren’t acting like a varmint.”
He laughed again and held the palm of her hand against his hard cheek.
“I think you like me because I am a varmint. You’ve known so few dyed-in-the-wool varmints in your sheltered life that my very difference holds a quaint charm for you.”
This was not the turn she had anticipated and she tried again without success to pull her hand free.
“That’s not true! I like nice men-men you can depend on to always be gentlemanly.”
---
Uh-huh. Let's review this scene from The Empire Strikes Back, a scene I always thought was charming and funny and original:
HAN: You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right.
LEIA: Occasionally, maybe. When you aren't acting like a scoundrel.
HAN: (Taking her hand and massaging it) Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that.
LEIA: Stop that.
HAN: Stop what?
LEIA: Stop that! My hands are dirty.
HAN: My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?
LEIA: Afraid?
HAN: You're trembling.
LEIA: I'm not trembling.
HAN: You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
LEIA: I happen to like nice men.
HAN: I'm a nice man.
Damn. I am dumbfounded.
This page noted the same parallel, and also has photos of the two movie posters looking similar. Oy. Nothing is sacred out there.
Lord almighty. Did everybody else know this already? George Lucas & co. ripped off Margaret Mitchell. Seriously.
I'm reading Gone With the Wind--and finding it totally cool, by the way--and just came across this little scene between Scarlett and Rhett that looked oddly familiar:
---
“Don’t giggle,” he said, and taking her hand, he turned it over and pressed his lips into the palm. His lips traveled to her wrist and she knew he must feel the leap of her pulse as her heart quickened and she tried to draw back her hand.
He laughed softly.
“Don’t pull away! I won’t hurt you!”
“Hurt me? I’m not afraid of you, Rhett Butler, or of any man in shoe leather!” she cried, furious that her voice shook as well as her hands.
“An admirable sentiment, but do lower your voice. Mrs. Wilkes might hear you. And pray compose yourself.” He sounded as though delighted at her flurry.
“Scarlett, you do like me, don’t you?”
That was more like what she was expecting.
“Well, sometimes,” she answered cautiously. “When you aren’t acting like a varmint.”
He laughed again and held the palm of her hand against his hard cheek.
“I think you like me because I am a varmint. You’ve known so few dyed-in-the-wool varmints in your sheltered life that my very difference holds a quaint charm for you.”
This was not the turn she had anticipated and she tried again without success to pull her hand free.
“That’s not true! I like nice men-men you can depend on to always be gentlemanly.”
---
Uh-huh. Let's review this scene from The Empire Strikes Back, a scene I always thought was charming and funny and original:
HAN: You could be a little nicer, though. Come on, admit it. Sometimes you think I'm all right.
LEIA: Occasionally, maybe. When you aren't acting like a scoundrel.
HAN: (Taking her hand and massaging it) Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that.
LEIA: Stop that.
HAN: Stop what?
LEIA: Stop that! My hands are dirty.
HAN: My hands are dirty too. What are you afraid of?
LEIA: Afraid?
HAN: You're trembling.
LEIA: I'm not trembling.
HAN: You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
LEIA: I happen to like nice men.
HAN: I'm a nice man.
Damn. I am dumbfounded.
This page noted the same parallel, and also has photos of the two movie posters looking similar. Oy. Nothing is sacred out there.