Amid that sort of critique is Hecht's incredulous fury at the other two guys' insensitivity to the race/slavery issue. Like Selznick, he's a Jew in a time of both blatant American discrimination against them and even bigger problems in Europe. Unlike Selznick, he identifies with it personally, and he rails vehemently on his boss for being more concerned with his career and selling tickets.
After all the spite Hecht spews at its racial outrages, after Fleming's repeated characterization of it as "piffle," and after Selznick's own concession that the film is pure melodrama, what to make of the obvious dramatic irony here — that Gone With the Wind will go on to become one of the most seen and most iconic American movies of all time? Moonlight and Magnolias is itself too light to do a whole lot with that question, but Fleming does offer a nice jab at what success in the film industry might really be all about. Consider the Oscar statuette: "I always thought they made it look like a golden pecker, " he says. "Probably not by accident."
Megan Grumbling can be reached at mgrumbling@hotmail.com.
MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS | by Ron Hutchinson | Directed by Brian P. Allen | Produced by Good Theater, at the St. Lawrence Arts Center | through February 27 | 207.885.5883
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