User Reviews

The public's response to the recent remake of The Great Gatsby was unexpectedly strong—and for several weeks it led at the box office. Now this does not mean that it was a huge financial success—but it was a success. Although it made well over $140,000,000 in the US, it cost $100,000,000 to make—but it was well-attended and the critical reviews were mostly positive. However, I did some research and found that there are at least three prior theatrical versions—and they all met different levels of success. There was a 1922 version that is considered lost— and no one has seen this film in decades. There also is the famous 1974 Robert Redford and Mia Farrow film that earned four times its cost to make (wow!). However, there is one other version—one that was thought to be lost up until 2012 and I have had this near the top of my must-see list for years. In 1949, Alan Ladd made the first talking version of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel—and I had the fortune to see this film over the weekend at the TCM Film Festival. And, I assume that it will soon be available on DVD or will be shown on TCM (so far, it has not). So keep an eye out for it.

This 1949 film does have one strike against it from the outset. The Production Code was still strictly being enforced by the Hays Office. Because of that, some elements of the novel needed to be altered slightly to get it past censors. However, I was thrilled that for the most part the story does follow the book rather closely. It's not perfect in this regard, but is much closer than I'd ever expected.

The story is about a man who suddenly bursts onto the social scene on Long Island during the 1920s. Who he is exactly is unknown to most of his new 'friends', but they know that he sure throws great parties at his enormous mansion. But the viewer is left wondering why…why would Gatsby go to so much trouble and expense to buy this old mansion and redecorate it from top to bottom and then use it to throw lavish parties? Who was he trying to impress and how, exactly, did he come by so much money? Through the course of the film you learn the answers to all these things. And, what I appreciated it that although the man is very flawed and in some ways a villain, he is also a tragic character— one you cannot help but like and feel sorry for by the end of the picture.

The direction was quite competent as was the acting. However, the star was clearly the Fitzgerald novel—and it's hard imagining ANY version of the story being anything other than excellent. It really is a nice story and offers a lot of great twists. Plus, most importantly, it is so unique. I was also surprised at what a nice job Ladd did in the film —especially since he generally showed limited range in his films. He tended to be very stoic and non-emotional and generally played the same sort of tough guys in nearly all his films. Here, however, he shows more range and vulnerability than a typical Ladd film. So why did Alan Ladd make such a film? Was he forced to do it by the studio? Well, the truth is quite different. According to Ladd's son, David (who talked about the film before this special screening on Sunday night), it was a project Ladd forced his studio, Paramount, to make. They LOVED having him play gangsters, cowboys and the like but Ladd himself was impressed by the story and insisted he get a chance to do it. Sadly, the film did NOT do very well at the box office and was soon lost—and Ladd returned to making the sorts of films he'd been making--- enjoyable, yes, but also limited in style. It makes you wonder what might have happened to his career had the film been a success.

Overall, this film was a real treat. It's an intelligent film for folks who are looking for something with great depth of feeling and human frailty.

This is the second film version of the novel. I have not viewed the 1926 version, but since it is a silent film, and the novel is so chatty, I can hardly think it captures Fitzgerald's vision. The 1974 (3rd) version suffers from two or three problems that overwhelm the lovely props and costumes - an abysmal score, the debatable effect of Redford's grin, and casting mousy Mia Farrow as money-voiced Daisy - a role she cannot fill. Sam Waterson and Bruce Dern are well cast but then mostly have to stand around rather than play off their contrasting physical types. Karen Black perfectly embodies the excess vitality that motivates Tom's adultery. The 2000 A&E/Granada (4th) version comes closer with a more believable Daisy (Mira Sorvino) and an equally everyman Nick (Paul Rudd), but not a better Jay, and then focuses too much on the furniture of Gatsby's criminal activities. It boasts a real Owl Eyes, too. The 1949 version is not perfect either; we can only hope the 2012-oops!-2013 version finally nails it. The '49 version casts Nick as a bit of a dull boy, and fails most by insisting on "squaring" everything, losing in the process the essential melancholy, unfulfilled longing, and insulted morality of the novel. Perhaps it's an artifact of the period, America embracing a sanitized Freudian relativism, putting the Second WW behind it like the First, but this time too sober to try anything like the Roaring 20s. Betty Field is a convincing Daisy, though she falls pretty far from a Louisville débutante. Jordan is not nearly arch enough, Tom not nearly imposing enough. And Dr. TJ Eckleburg...well Gatsby's henchman can't resist explicating a symbol the audience should be allowed to figure out for itself. After an unsteady start, the pace of the film proceeds very well through most of the scenes of the novel, sadly failing to give Shelley Winters the screen time to better develop her Myrtle Wilson. And here's Howard da Silva suitably muted as Wilson, Ed Begley too muted as "Lupus"(Wolfsheim), and Elisha Cook, Jr in an expanded Klipspringer role. In fact, it's almost as if the film makers wanted to write Nick out and replace him with Klipsringer, but didn't dare. They should have, because Cook brings more to the screen than Macdonald Carey. All in all, a very workmanlike adaptation, making use of much of the novel's narration by transforming it into passable dialog, and though the shot composition is a bit straight-on, the camera-work is strong and the editing spot on.

Sad film about the sad lives of the ultra rich and the even sadder lives of the ultra poor. Ladd made a good go of it as the strange Gatsby with his hidden desires and odd ways. Barry Sullivan played the part of the vain and 'old money' snob to perfection. Shelly Winters was possibly the best yet at portraying the worthless, yet pitiful, Myrtle. Thumbs up to a very good drama.

This is a pretty good movie that seems to be lost. It contains possible Alan Ladd's fine performance, and is far better than the vapid 1974 remake with Redford.

ALAN LADD was the perfect actor for THE GREAT GATSBY, and his performance in this film captures F. Scott Fitzgerald's tragic hero with every nuance, every movement, every hidden torment. Ladd wanted to do this role, although he had his anxieties (as was noted by my friend Geraldine Fitzgerald). Nonetheless, he succeeds splendidly as Gatsby - a definitive characterization that should be seen. Redford had the right stuff, to a large extent, but the Redford-Farrow version is far too overblown with far too many missing, and important, elements in the plot. As for the Ladd version, it is true that Betty Field, a superb actress, was not right for Daisy -- there is far too much intelligence in her interpretation. Nor are Barry Sullivan, Ruth Hussey, and Macdonald Carey altogether satisfactory either. BUT the adaptation is closest to Fitzgerald, and the Ladd, of the later scenes in particular, is a tragic figure - truly reaching the heights of one of America's finest novels. And one that is ageless...

No, this is not an adaptation, it is more of a 'loosely based on' approach to the novel. The rough outline of the story is there, but the characters are not the same while the tone and sentiment (very important.in the novel) are largely unrelated beyond their names. The one character that does survive from the novel is the man himself, Gatsby. While I can not rate the movie itself highly, I can say that Alan Ladd was a good Gatsby, and that you would have to watch his performance in this film, to really judge him as an actor. Elisha Cook Jr. Had a small but meaningful role here, and is a surprisingly underrated actor at present by the way. Beyond Ladd's performance, there is little of value in this film, and should be recommended only to Ladd fans, and those looking to compare and contrast the different films that the novel led to. It is really too bad, as this could have been a great movie for its day. It has been suggested that The Hays Code was a problem when adapting the novel at the time. That idea has some merit, but a poor movie is still a poor movie. Missed opportunity here.

It is very difficult to tell which is better between the 1974 and 1949 versions, both have their good merits but both suffer from major problems. The 1974 film has the better production values and better supporting cast, and it is more faithful in detail to the book. The 1949 film though is closer in spirit, has the better Gatsby and there is more depth. The book is a sentimental favourite and is a great book, though maybe not one of the all-time great literary classics. This film is not great really, but it is not bad either. There are things that do work in its favour, Alan Ladd may not be the best of actors but still brings an enigmatic and mysterious presence while not being too restrained, there is even room for him to play to his strengths. The script can over-explain itself sometimes but there is more of a feeling of Fitzgerald's prose especially in the first third, and the story has a much brisker pace(the 1974 film was dull and overlong) and is generally much closer in spirit and depth, if not the details, to the later version, which came across as too dry and too faithful. The music in both films captures the spirit of the music of the 20s beautifully. Shelley Winters nails it as Myrtle, Ruth Hussey is entrancing while never too bland, Howard Da Silva is a touching George(though the character is more tormented in the later version) and MacDonald Carey's Nick is dignified as the character who kind of is the glue of the narrative.

There are some misfires in the casting though, the biggest problem being Betty Field's vacuous and almost too sympathetic Daisy, thankfully she doesn't play her too stridently like Mia Farrow did but it was a bland performance that dilutes the character. Barry Robinson is more ideal physically than Bruce Dern but the oily and brutish attitudes and mannerisms are not there(which Dern nailed), he comes across as too suave. The film doesn't look too bad, it is nicely shot and the costumes and sets are very 20s but there is also too much of a film-noir element, if you aren't familiar with the story and book beforehand you'd be convinced that it was like a mystery thriller instead. Visually there is a sense of period but the attitudes not so much, stripping away at the danger, excitement and fun of the Jazz Age(that would be true actually on reflection of both versions). Most of the story is fine, but the ending is a cop-out and it would have been wiser to keep Gatsby a mysterious figure rather than saying off the bat who and what he is and where he came from, which misses the point really of what makes the story itself so alluring, that the character is essentially an enigma. The final third disappoints, reading too much of run-of-the-mill 40s melodrama. Overall, not really a good film but it is also not a bad one, in a way it's a mixed bag. Now onto seeing the TV and Baz Luhrmann versions, Lurhmann's looks as though it could go either way but the TV version looks really promising. 5/10 Bethany Cox

~~~6.5/10~~~

It has been a while since I read the novel, so I was able to detach myself from the source material enough to watch the film from that vantage point. And I have to say, I believe this greatly aided in my enjoyment of the picture. I'm not saying it is a perfect film by far, but as a stand alone film, it is better than the average B melodrama of the period.

However, once I finished the film I began to make comparisons to the novel, which is definitely in my personal all-time top 10 books, and that's where the film went from an 8 to a 7 or 6. Like many of the previous posters mentioned, the film does drastically diminish Gatsby's mystery by laying out his background early on in the story. And this does detract from what most people love about the book. Also, the script does not take enough advantage of it's source material and the wonderful prose of Fitzgerald.

I personally did not find the film extremely miscast and the leads were not a problem for me. Granted they are not what I envisioned Gatsby and Daisy being like when I read Fitzgerald's work, but in my opinion they are able to make the roles work. I thought the secondary leads and the character parts were for the most part well cast and that the actors each made the roles their own.

The problem with the film is that it IS based on the novel. And contrary as to how I was able to watch the film, one should be able to critique this film based on the vantage of comparing it to the novel. If this weren't the case, then the film should never have been titled "The Great Gatsby". So, if one is able to watch the film without constant comparisons to the novel, I think they will better enjoy the viewing experience, but that doesn't excuse the film's shortcomings when it comes to living up to its source material.

This version of Scott Fitzgerald's short novel is remarkably faithful to the original and infinitely more successful as a film than the big budget version which appeared two decades later, starring Robert Redford. Alan Ladd puts in an excellent performance in the title role simply by playing the usual Ladd persona. The character of Gatsby in the novel is not fully fleshed out, nor did the author intend him to be more than an illusive figure fired by an obsession. Ladd, who was not an actor of any great talent, seems to be particularly suited to the part. Redford, a much greater actor, added a dimension, the aura of the 'glamorous' leading male star, which the reader does not associate with the Gatsby of the novel and as a consequence, is not convincing. The 1949 version, in monochrome, captures much of the atmosphere of the 'jazz age' which strangely does not come over in the lavish period detail of the later version. The gallery of supporting players contributes significantly to the success of the film. There are a few minor faults, such as the montage shots in the opening sequences which border on cliché. Nick Carraway is less prominent than the author might have intended. But the essence of the novel is there.

It's important to remember that this 2nd adaptation (after a lost silent version) was made after Fitzgerald died but before he--and in particular this novel--entered the American literary canon. Ergo it plays havoc with the book, immediately de-mystifying Gatsby's roots and otherwise inserting lots of crude "explanatory" flashbacks. In the fashion of the era it was made in, there's practically no attempt at period-correct fashions and decor, as it was thought then that any evocation at a just-prior period's style would be taken by audiences as "old-fashioned."

The most obvious problem is Betty Field's charisma-free Daisy. Daisy should indeed be shallow, but also so enchanting that we understand why Gatsby tracked her down. (Mia Farrow might have been miscast in the 1974 remake, but at least she understood/tried to evoke exactly those qualities.) Field just doesn't have the stuff--she's generic and vacuous in a Hollywood ingénue way. (It's no surprise that she immediately went into TV work after this role--presumably no one was shouting for her to take another big-screen lead.)

Alan Ladd is an interesting choice for Gatsby, though the film just isn't intelligent enough to effectively push him outside his usual acting comfort zone. Still, he gives a respectable performance in this flawed context. Future TV star Macdonald Carey brings zilch to Nick Carraway, unlike the excellent later Sam Waterston or Paul Rudd.

A fair amount of dialogue and the basic narrative arc remain from the novel, but there are also numerous instances where the movie vulgarizes Fitzgerald by needing to "explain" every last story/character nuance rather than letting us intuit them. It might appear a fairly interesting if misfired vehicle for Ladd if it weren't such a huge betrayal of a novel we've since come to hold sacrosanct. Of course, at the time, Hollywood was only looking for cheap sources of storytelling melodrama--and "The Great Gatsby" must have come very cheap.

This 1949 version of The Great Gatsby is infinitely better than either of its successors; the 1974 Redford version and the 2013 DiCaprio attempt. One of the primary problems of the newer versions is that it was more difficult to capture the authenticity of the time period the further away you got from it. That is a universal problem of several period films, like WW 2 movies. This original version, starring Alan Ladd, who is perfectly cast here, and Betty Field as Daisy (who is only outdone by Mia Farrow version of Daisy) who is very good, nevertheless. Barry Sullivan as Tom Buchanan is excellent in his role, as MacDonald Carey as F. Scott Fitzgerald (I mean Nick Carraway in the film).. This timeless story of careless, shallow people on Long Island hits the mark (as I know a few who live there myself). Don't miss this 1949 version; it is the best of the three.

Everyone who knows me knows I'm partial to the 1974 film adaptation of The Great Gatsby. In my opinion, it's even more perfect than F. Scott Fitzgerald's original novel. I've tried watching other versions and have never made it through all the way. In the 1949 version, the set designs and Robert Emmett Dolan's musical score are very pretty, but I wasn't in love with the cast. The screenplay also took many liberties from the original novel, which is the right of the screenwriter. However, unlike Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume didn't add to the symbolism of the story.

Alan Ladd played Gatsby, Betty Field was Daisy, Macdonald Carey was Nick, and Barry Sullivan was Tom. If you've studied the characters even half as thoroughly as I have, you can tell that the casting wasn't ideal. Alan Ladd may have been handsome, but he didn't appear to be hiding anything, which is essential to his character. He didn't have a desperate edge, and he didn't have very much energy behind his lines. Betty Field played Daisy as written in the novel, with a Southern accent, but I've never liked that interpretation. To me, Mia Farrow's affected accent makes her character that much more convincing . . . and my little joke is that F. Scott Fitzgerald is unaware of it. Ironically, the original director for the 1949 version was John Farrow, but since he didn't like the choice of Betty Field, he dropped out! Betty had no star power, no irresistible quality to show the audience the motivation behind Gatsby's character. Barry Sullivan wasn't tough enough, and Macdonald Carey was too whiny.

Shelley Winters was aptly cast as Myrtle, and her husband was played by Howard Da Silva, who made a return appearance in a different role in the 1974 version! Seeing them in this earlier version was pretty cute. My advice is to just watch maybe a scene or two if you like collecting versions, and then just listen to the music.

Fitzgerald's fine novel was horribly butchered, dumbed down, and sanitized in this adaptation. I don't have anything to back this up, but I blame it more on the Studio than the screenplay writers: This version decided to spell out the unspoken mysteries of how Jay Gatsby made money at the very beginning and made Klipspringer a faithful protege from Jay's army days. Tom Buchanan's affair with his mistress was treated as lightly as possible, and he even tried to save Jay Gatsby at the end - not once but twice! Jordan Baker did not marry Nick Carraway or finagle a fancy yellow car from Jay Gatsby. Some may argue that alteration of the original story is a necessary evil, but none of the changes they made kept the spirit of the story. The only good they served was to make the story palatable to the purported audience whom the Studio assumed morally righteous and had no brain power to handle any ambiguity in the film.

I read that some thought Betty Field was not classy enough as Daisy Buchanan, but I thought she did a fine job. Much better than neurotic Mia Farrow in the 1974 version or too sweet and innocent Carey Mulligan in the 2013 version.