A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story
Encyclopedia
A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story is a 1994 biographical
television film directed
by Larry Peerce
. The film is about the Pulitzer Prize
-winning novel writer Margaret Mitchell
, who landed to fame when she wrote Gone with the Wind
.
The film was panned by critics, with them especially criticizing Shannen Doherty
's Old Southern accent.
They fall in love, but their relationship is cut short when Clifford is sent to World War I
. Margaret is sent to Smith College
by her mother, where she studies medicine. She loathes it, though, and only thinks about getting back to Clifford. When she receives a phone call that he has died in a German bombing, she is crushed. When her mother dies of the Spanish flu, she quits college and returns home.
She works her way up in Atlanta society and desperately wants a membership at the Piedmont Club. She is refused, however, when she shocks everybody with a sensual dance. Red Upshaw and John Marsh notice Margaret and are immediately drawn to her. At first she is not too impressed with the womanizer Red, knowing he earns his money by bootlegging
. However, their dislike soon turns into love, and together they enjoy the wild life of the Jazz Age
.
When their engagement is announced, Margaret's family make clear they are against it. The pair still decide to marry, but their marriage is troubled from the start. Red decides to quit his job, so Margaret applies to a newspaper to earn money. She is hired as an interviewer, but does not impress her boss. After gaining more experience, she turns out to be a highly respected reporter.
When Red leaves for Texas, Margaret decides to stay to focus on her career. He returns seven months later and thinks she is having an affair with John. They fight, and Red eventually beats Margaret up severely. The next day, John gives Red money to leave town and never come back. He provides Margaret with a gun to defend herself if Red returns. Margaret and John soon start a relationship and are married in 1925.
By this time, Margaret is working on her first novel, "Gone with the Wind." When it is published, it becomes a huge success. Her fame and money do not do much for her marriage and she soon is estranged from John. When she least expects it, Red visits her, regaining peace after their fight. Red announces he is getting married soon. The end credits say that Red committed suicide not much later, and that Margaret died in 1949, after being struck by a reckless driver.
(1939). The film was shot on location in Wilmington NC between August and September 1994. The film was released a few days before the premiere of Scarlett
, the sequel of Gone with the Wind.
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
television film directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Larry Peerce
Larry Peerce
Larry Peerce is an American film and TV director whose work includes the theatrical feature Goodbye, Columbus, the early rock and roll concert film The Big T.N.T. Show, and One Potato, Two Potato , the first U.S...
. The film is about the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning novel writer Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, who landed to fame when she wrote Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
.
The film was panned by critics, with them especially criticizing Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty
Shannen Maria Doherty is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers , as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed .-Early life and career:Doherty was born in Memphis,...
's Old Southern accent.
Plot
Margaret grows up to become a respectable lady in the South, just like her mother May Belle. She wants to become a writer, but her feminist mother insists on her becoming a female doctor. May Belle puts a lot of pressure on her daughter, forcing her to be the best in everything. This results in Margaret never being able to satisfy her mother. When she has become a young lady, all the boys want to be with her, but Margaret only has eyes for Clifford.They fall in love, but their relationship is cut short when Clifford is sent to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Margaret is sent to Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
by her mother, where she studies medicine. She loathes it, though, and only thinks about getting back to Clifford. When she receives a phone call that he has died in a German bombing, she is crushed. When her mother dies of the Spanish flu, she quits college and returns home.
She works her way up in Atlanta society and desperately wants a membership at the Piedmont Club. She is refused, however, when she shocks everybody with a sensual dance. Red Upshaw and John Marsh notice Margaret and are immediately drawn to her. At first she is not too impressed with the womanizer Red, knowing he earns his money by bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
. However, their dislike soon turns into love, and together they enjoy the wild life of the Jazz Age
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
.
When their engagement is announced, Margaret's family make clear they are against it. The pair still decide to marry, but their marriage is troubled from the start. Red decides to quit his job, so Margaret applies to a newspaper to earn money. She is hired as an interviewer, but does not impress her boss. After gaining more experience, she turns out to be a highly respected reporter.
When Red leaves for Texas, Margaret decides to stay to focus on her career. He returns seven months later and thinks she is having an affair with John. They fight, and Red eventually beats Margaret up severely. The next day, John gives Red money to leave town and never come back. He provides Margaret with a gun to defend herself if Red returns. Margaret and John soon start a relationship and are married in 1925.
By this time, Margaret is working on her first novel, "Gone with the Wind." When it is published, it becomes a huge success. Her fame and money do not do much for her marriage and she soon is estranged from John. When she least expects it, Red visits her, regaining peace after their fight. Red announces he is getting married soon. The end credits say that Red committed suicide not much later, and that Margaret died in 1949, after being struck by a reckless driver.
Cast
- Shannen DohertyShannen DohertyShannen Maria Doherty is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers , as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed .-Early life and career:Doherty was born in Memphis,...
as Margaret MitchellMargaret MitchellMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,... - Dale MidkiffDale MidkiffDale Alan Midkiff is an American actor.-Early life:Midkiff was born in Chance, Maryland, the son of Joyce and Thomas Midkiff. He attended Edgewood High School near Baltimore. His first acting experience came playing Jack in a production of Jack and the Beanstalk for a local children's theater. His...
as Red Upshaw - Matt MulhernMatt MulhernMatt Mulhern is an American actor who has starred in such films as One Crazy Summer and Biloxi Blues, and such television series such as Major Dad, JAG, and Rescue Me....
as John Marsh - Ann WedgeworthAnn WedgeworthAnn Wedgeworth is a Tony award winning American actress, best known for her role as Lahoma Vane Lucas on the daytime dramas Another World and Somerset .-Early life:...
as Mrs. O'Flaherty - Morgan WeisserMorgan WeisserMorgan Weisser is an American actor and the son of German born actor Norbert Weisser.-Movie career:He is probably best known for his role as Lt...
as Clifford - John Clark Gable as Army Officer Terry
Production
Doherty was cast in the lead and title role. To play the role as realistic as possible, she read every book about the writer and saw the film Gone with the WindGone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
(1939). The film was shot on location in Wilmington NC between August and September 1994. The film was released a few days before the premiere of Scarlett
Scarlett (TV miniseries)
Scarlett is a 1994 six hour miniseries loosely based on the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, written by Alexandra Ripley...
, the sequel of Gone with the Wind.