The Great Gatsby (1949 film)

1950 film directed by Elliott Nugent

The Great Gatsby

Original film poster

Directed by| Elliott Nugent
Screenplay by|

* Richard Maibaum
* Cyril Hume

Based on| The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Produced by| Richard Maibaum
Starring|

* Alan Ladd
* Betty Field
* Macdonald Carey
* Ruth Hussey
* Barry Sullivan
* Shelley Winters
* Howard Da Silva

Cinematography| John F. Seitz
Edited by| Ellsworth Hoagland
Music by| Robert Emmett Dolan

Production
company

Paramount Pictures

Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release date

* July 13, 1949 (1949-07-13)

Running time

| 91 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Box office| $2 million[1]

The Great Gatsby is a 1949 American drama film directed by Elliott Nugent, and produced by Richard Maibaum, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume. The film stars Alan Ladd, Betty Field, Macdonald Carey, Ruth Hussey, and Barry Sullivan, and features Shelley Winters and Howard Da Silva, the latter of whom later appeared in the 1974 version. It is based on the 1925 novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set during the raucous Jazz Age on Long Island near New York City, the plot follows the exploits of enigmatic millionaire and bootlegger Jay Gatsby who attempts to win back the affections of his former lover Daisy Buchanan with the aid of her second cousin Nick Carraway.

In the 1940s, Paramount Pictures still held the rights to Fitzgerald's novel, having previously made the now-lost 1926 version. Producer Richard Maibaum became intent making a new film adaptation, and he envisioned Alan Ladd, with whom he had previously collaborated on O.S.S. (1946), in the role of Jay Gatsby. Although Maibaum and Ladd were eager to make the film, Paramount executives hesitated as the novel had not yet attained widespread popularity. Despite studio objections, Maibaum and Ladd persisted, and by 1946, Paramount announced plans for the film. However, production obstacles arose when Production Code Administration head Joseph Breen rejected the film's screenplay due to its perceived immorality.

The film's script underwent multiple rewrites to appease the censors, including adding moralizing elements that deviated from Fitzgerald's original work. These changes were made reluctantly by Maibaum in his determination to see the film produced. Disagreements next arose between the original director John Farrow and Maibaum over the role of Daisy Buchanan, with Farrow favoring Gene Tierney and Maibaum preferring Betty Field. This conflict led to Farrow's departure and his replacement by Elliott Nugent. Farrow's daughter, Mia Farrow, later starred as Daisy in the 1974 adaptation. The film's release garnered mixed reviews, with some praising the performances while others criticized the film for its deviations from the novel.

## Plot[edit]

During the tumultuous period of Prohibition in the United States, the enigmatic Jay Gatsby hosts extravagant parties at his Long Island Sound estate. He approaches his neighbor, Nick Carraway, to organize a private tea with Nick's cousin, Daisy Buchanan. As it is revealed, Gatsby had been in love with Daisy before he left to serve in World War I.

Now a wealthy millionaire, Gatsby yearns to reunite with Daisy. However, she is now married to the far wealthier Tom Buchanan, and they have a daughter. Despite her marriage, Daisy is discontented. She is aware of her husband's extramarital affair with Myrtle Wilson, who is married to George Wilson, the owner of a gas station.

Daisy appears to appreciate Gatsby's advances. Together with her friend, Jordan Baker, and Nick, they spend time in the city. Later, while Daisy is driving Gatsby's car, she accidentally strikes Myrtle in the street, leading to her death. Initially, Wilson suspects that Tom Buchanan intentionally killed his wife. However, Gatsby assumes responsibility for the accident. Tragically, Wilson shoots Gatsby while he's in his mansion's pool. Only Nick and Jordan attend Gatsby's funeral.

## Cast[edit]

* Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby
* Betty Field as Daisy Buchanan
* Macdonald Carey as Nick Carraway
* Ruth Hussey as Jordan Baker
* Barry Sullivan as Tom Buchanan
* Shelley Winters as Myrtle Wilson
* Howard Da Silva as George Wilson
* Elisha Cook, Jr. as Klipspringer
* Ed Begley as Myron Lupus
* Henry Hull as Dan Cody
* Walter Greaza as Kinsella
* Tito Vuolo as Mavromichaelis
* Jack Lambert as Reba
* Ray Teal as Cop (uncredited)

## Production[edit]

### Development[edit]

When producer Richard Maibaum attempted to make the film in the 1940s, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel had not yet attained cultural salience.

In 1926, Paramount Pictures produced the first film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's critically acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful 1925 novel starring Warner Baxter, Lois Wilson and William Powell.[2] Two decades later, the studio still held the film rights to the novel.[3]

Paramount writer and producer Richard Maibaum—who had met F. Scott Fitzgerald during the author's brief sojourn in Hollywood[4]—became fixated on the idea of a new adaptation starring Oklahoma actor Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby.[3] He had previously collaborated with Ladd on the 1946 film O.S.S., and the two had become close friends.[5] Maibaum presented the idea to Ladd and his wife, Sue.[6] While they initially had reservations, Maibaum recalled, "they liked it; they were a bit hesitant, but I persuaded them."[7] The role of Jay Gatsby intrigued Ladd since the character offered a departure from Ladd's typical action roles and allowed him a chance to demonstrate a broader acting range.[8]

Although Maibaum and Ladd wanted to make the film, Paramount executives proved hesitant to make this second film adaptation as Fitzgerald's beloved novel had not yet attained widespread popularity.[3] "This was in late 1946," Maibaum recalled. "Scott Fitzgerald had been dead since 1940. So it seemed, except in the hearts of a few devotees, were his out-of-print novels. His reputation was at its lowest ebb. The Jazz Age he celebrated was regarded as an aberration. But I saw a similarity between what was happening in 1946 to what had happened to the country in 1920 and, with Alan and Sue's help, kept badgering the studio until it agreed to let us prepare a script."[3]

Maibaum and Ladd persisted until Paramount executives relented and commissioned a screenplay.[3] Paramount publicly announced its plans to make the film in 1946, with the script to be written by Maibaum and Cyril Hume.[9] However, the mere idea of remaking The Great Gatsby soon ran afoul of the censors, in particular Production Code Administration head Joseph Breen.[3]

### Screenplay[edit]

Censor Joseph Breen rejected the first script draft by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume for having "a low moral tone."[3] Breen lambasted the screenplay for violating the Motion Picture Production Code "because it dealt with adultery, unpunished manslaughter, glamorized a gangster, depicted excessive use of liquor, undermined the institutions of marriage and the home, lowered moral standards, presented impure love as attractive and beautiful, etc."[3] Breen insisted the screenplay be rewritten to avoid glamorizing or accurately evoking the libertine atmosphere of the Jazz Age.[3] Breen further demanded that the screenplay include an obvious voice of morality and a lengthy preamble which outright condemned Gatsby's behavior as immoral.[3] Desperate to make the film, Maibaum repeatedly capitulated to Breen's ingravescent demands, although he later regretted doing so.[10]

Screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume eventually appeased the censors by altering plot details and by adding a scene at the beginning of the script where Nick Carraway, now married to Jordan Baker, quotes from Proverbs 14:12 that "there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."[10] Having been forced to make these changes against his will, Maibaum felt such additions were "all wrong and very un-Fitzgerald-like. To moralize like that was something he never did; he was always indirect. It was the price I paid to get the film done."[11]

Despite rewrites by Maibaum and Hume, the censors still refused to greenlight the film.[12] After Breen's retirement, his successor Eric Johnston likewise proved reluctant to approve the film.[12] "The Johnston office seems to be afraid of starting a new jazz cycle," Maibaum told the press in 1946.[12] Due to the constant meddling by censors, critics later noted that film's script contained very little of "the flavor of the Prohibition era".[13] When censor Eric Johnston finally approved the bowdlerized script, Paramount greenlit the project in October 1947.[14] However, Maibaum claimed that Paramount delayed the film's production.[4] "They used the script as a carrot to make Alan do several other [lower quality] films, each time promising that his next would be Gatsby", wrote the producer. "Finally after two long years of this he rebelled and threatened to go on suspension. That did it."[4]

### Casting[edit]

The original director John Farrow and producer Richard Maibaum disagreed over the casting of Daisy Buchanan. Farrow wanted Gene Tierney (left) for the role, while Maibaum favored Betty Field (right). Unable to agree, Farrow quit the production.

Paramount Pictures originally hired Australian émigré John Farrow, the husband of actress Maureen O'Sullivan, to direct the film.[6] Farrow had made a number of successful films with Ladd, as well as The Big Clock with Maibaum.[6] However, Farrow and Maibaum soon disagreed over the casting of Daisy Buchanan.[6] Maibaum recalled their intense disagreement in detail:

> We were agreed that the character... was a beautiful, glamorous, unstable girl. Farrow however placed more importance on the glamour and beauty than I did. Hollywood was full of beautiful girls. I wanted more, an actress who could handle what has been called 'the disharmonic chatter of the '20s', the authentic sound of the feckless, disillusioned lost generation... What we needed was a fine actress who could make believable the obsessive love she evoked from him.[6]

Farrow wanted Gene Tierney, but Maibaum pushed for Betty Field.[6] Tiring of their impasse, studio production head Henry Ginsberg gave final say to Maibaum.[6] As a result, Farrow quit the film and told Maibaum: "I don't direct pictures under conditions like that. Find yourself another boy."[6][15] Farrow's daughter, Mia Farrow, later played Daisy Buchanan in the 1974 film adaptation.[6] With production imminent, Elliott Nugent replaced Farrow as director.[16][6] Although enthusiastic about casting Betty Field as Daisy Buchanan, Nugent had reservations about Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby, although he kept these opinions from Maibaum.[6]

### Filming[edit]

Richard Maibaum believed that Alan Ladd's origins as an "Okie", a poor Oklahoma migrant, made him ideal for the role of Jay Gatsby.

Director Elliott Nugent suffered from mental illness during the shoot.[8] According to Maibaum, Nugent had once once went up onto the roof of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and almost jumped off.[5] Throughout the shoot, Nugent proved to be indecisive which Maibaum attributed to his mental health difficulties.[3]

Filming went smoothly, although Ladd refused to remove his wedding ring and also initially refused to kiss Field.[17] Ladd said that many of his fans were children and that he did not want to play a character who kissed a married woman.[18] Maibaum tried to argue him out of it but failed.[18] However, Ladd's Gatsby does kiss Field's Daisy on screen in a scene in the final film.[8] Maibaum later commented that Ladd was perfect for the role of Gatsby:

> I never saw another actor who moved as gracefully as Alan [Ladd], who had that kind of coordination. A beautiful, deep voice. Everybody said he was a non-actor but they were wrong. He knew what he was doing. He was overly modest, shy, an introvert. But once you won his confidence you could do no wrong. Paramount had Alan Ladd pegged as a dubious actor, but I didn't believe them. I was in his house and he took me up to the second floor, where he had a wardrobe about as long as this room. He opened it up and there must have been hundreds of suits, sport jackets, slacks and suits. He looked at me and said, "Not bad for an Okie kid, eh?" I got goose pimples because I remembered when Gatsby took Daisy to show her his mansion, he also showed her his wardrobe and said, "I've got a man in England who buys me clothes. He sends over a selection of things at the beginning of each season, spring and fall." I said to myself, "My God, he is the Great Gatsby!" And he was in a way the Great Gatsby. Success had settled on him as it had on Gatsby. Being a movie star, he had the same kind of aura of success, but he didn't know how to handle it. He had the same precise, careful speech, the controlled manner, the carefully modulated voice.[7]

## Reception[edit]

The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther lamented that censorship undermined the film's depiction of the 1920s.

According to Variety, the film ranked 45th among popular movies in the U.S. and Canada in 1949.[1] Maibaum claimed the film "did well financially although reviews were mixed. Critics differed as much as John Farrow and myself about Betty Field's Daisy. Some thought she was perfect, others that she was subtly wrong. Alan, for the most part, received surprisingly good personal notices. My own satisfaction stemmed from what Charles Brackett of sainted memory to all screenwriters said to me: 'You've personally started an F. Scott Fitzgerald revival'."[8]

The New York Times' contemporary review by Bosley Crowther dismissed the film as "a limp, sentimental romance, involving a bootlegger and an old sweetheart, based on Scott Fitzgerald's classic story, but lacking the novel's bite."[19] Crowther lamented that "the period of the Nineteen Twenties is briefly and inadequately sketched with a jumble of gay Long Island parties, old clothes, old songs and old cars. The baneful influence of prohibition and the disillusionment of post-World War I" were conspicuously absent despite the Jazz Age setting.[13] Crowther criticized Alan Ladd's performance as Gatsby.[13] He felt that Ladd was overly solemn in the title role and gave the impression of "a patient and saturnine fellow who is plagued by a desperate love".[13]

Critics expressed conflicted opinions about Betty Field's performance as Daisy.[8] Critic Lew Sheaffer wrote in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Field performed "the difficult feat of making a strong impact" as Gatsby's "vague, shilly-shallying sweetheart."[20] Boyd Martin of The Courier-Journal opined that Field was "convincing in showing the shallowness of Daisy's character",[21] whereas Wanda Hale of The New York Daily News complained that Field gave "such a restrained, delicate performance that you have to use some imagination to understand her weakness."[22]

Critic Lew Sheaffer wrote in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Macdonald Carey acquitted himself well as Nick Carraway, Gatsby's only friend.[20] Boyd Martin of The Courier-Journal opined that Carey gave a quiet and reserved performance.[21]

## Restoration[edit]

In 2012, Paramount Pictures released a new print of the 1949 film.[23]

## References[edit]

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ a b Variety 1950, p. 59.
2. ^ Dixon 2003; Howell 2013; Hischak 2012, pp. 85–86.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Maibaum 1973, p. 39.
4. ^ a b c Maibaum 1973, p. 41.
5. ^ a b Maibaum 1973, p. 38.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Maibaum 1973, p. 14.
7. ^ a b McGalligan 1986, p. 280.
8. ^ a b c d e Maibaum 1973, pp. 14, 38.
9. ^ The New York Times 1946, p. 31.
10. ^ a b Maibaum 1973, pp. 39, 41.
11. ^ McGalligan 1986, pp. 281–282.
12. ^ a b c Brady 1946, pp. 65, 67.
13. ^ a b c d Crowther 1949, p. 20.
14. ^ Weiler 1947, p. X5.
15. ^ The Mail 1948, p. 2.
16. ^ Brady 1948, p. 26.
17. ^ Maibaum 1973, pp. 39, 42.
18. ^ a b Maibaum 1973, p. 42.
19. ^ The New York Times 1949, p. 188.
20. ^ a b Sheaffer 1949, p. 4.
21. ^ a b Martin 1949, p. 36.
22. ^ Hale 1949, p. 38.
23. ^ Music Box Theatre 2012, p. 29.

### Works cited[edit]

* Brady, Thomas F. (October 13, 1946). "Alarum in Hollywood". The New York Times (Sunday ed.). New York City. pp. 65, 67. Retrieved October 31, 2023. "The Production Code Administration has strongly urged complete abandonment of the story because of its 'low moral tone.' [...] 'The Johnston office', Maibaum says, 'seems to be afraid of starting a new jazz cycle.'"
* Brady, Thomas F. (February 13, 1948). "Nugent Replaces Farrow On Movie: Named by Paramount to Direct 'The Great Gatsby,' Remake of Fitzgerald Novel". The New York Times (Friday ed.). New York City. p. 26. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
* Crowther, Bosley (July 14, 1949). "The Screen In Review: 'The Great Gatsby,' Based on Novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Opens at the Paramount". The New York Times (Thursday ed.). New York City. p. 20. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
* Dixon, Wheeler Winston (2003). "The Three Film Versions of The Great Gatsby: A Vision Deferred". Literature-Film Quarterly. Salisbury, Maryland. 31 (4): 287–294. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
* Hale, Wanda (July 14, 1949). "Smooth Cast Joins Ladd in 'Great Gatsby'". New York Daily News (Thursday ed.). New York City. p. 38. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
* Hischak, Thomas S. (2012). American Literature on Stage and Screen: 525 Works and Their Adaptations. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-7864-6842-3. Archived from the original on March 10, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2023 - via Google Books.
* Howell, Peter (May 5, 2013). "Five Things You Didn't Know About The Great Gatsby". The Star. Toronto, Canada. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
* Maibaum, Richard (July 15, 1973). "'Great Gatsby' Employs Two Generations of Farrows: 'Gatsby' Employs Farrow Family". Los Angeles Times (Sunday ed.). Los Angeles, California. pp. 14, 38–39, 41–42. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
* Martin, Boyd (July 29, 1949). "Alan Ladd, as 'Great Gatsby,' Finds That Money is a False God". The Courier-Journal (Friday ed.). Louisville, Kentucky. p. 36. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
* "Mary Armitage's Film Close-Ups". The Mail (Saturday ed.). Adelaide, Australia. March 27, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via National Library of Australia.
* McGalligan, Pat, ed. (1986). "Richard Maibaum: A Pretense of Seriousness". Backstory: Interviews with Screenwriters of Hollywood's Golden Age. Los Angeles: University of California Press. pp. 266–289. ISBN 0-520-05666-3 - via Internet Archive.
* "Music Box Calendar" (PDF). Music Box Theatre. Chicago. August 2012. p. 29\. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
* "Pat O'Brien to Star In 'The Big Angle': Crime Drama Was Written by Author of 'Bombardier' — 'Gatsby' to Be Remade". The New York Times (Tuesday ed.). New York City. February 26, 1946. p. 31. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
* "Review in Brief". The New York Times (Sunday ed.). New York City. July 17, 1949. p. 188. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
* Sheaffer, Lew (July 14, 1949). "'Great Gatsby' Expertly Catches Restless Spirit of the Jazz Age". The Brooklyn Eagle (Thursday ed.). Brooklyn, New York. p. 4. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
* "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety (Wednesday ed.). New York. January 4, 1950. p. 59. Retrieved October 31, 2023 - via Internet Archive.
* Weiler, A. H. (October 26, 1947). "Notes About Pictures and People: New York to Get Another Film Unit — Ticket Tax Cut Asked". The New York Times (Sunday ed.). New York City. p. X5. Retrieved October 31, 2023.

## External links[edit]

* The Great Gatsby at IMDb
* The Great Gatsby at the TCM Movie Database
* Review of film at Variety

* v
* t
* e

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

Characters|

* Jay Gatsby
* Nick Carraway
* Daisy Buchanan

Adaptations|

| Film|

* The Great Gatsby (1926)
* The Great Gatsby (1949)
* The Great Gatsby (1974)
* The Great Gatsby (2013)

|

Television|

* The Great Gatsby (1958)
* The Great Gatsby (2000)

Theatre / Stage|

* The Great Gatsby (opera)
* The Great Gatsby (musical)
* Gatsby (musical)

Music|

* The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film

Other|

* Max Gerlach
* Ginevra King
* Edith Cummings
* Francis Cugat
* G
* "The Great Phatsby"
* Nick (novel)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Elliott Nugent

* The Mouthpiece (1932)
* Life Begins (1932)
* Whistling in the Dark (1933)
* Three Cornered Moon (1933)
* If I Were Free (1933)
* She Loves Me Not (1934)
* Two Alone (1934)
* Strictly Dynamite (1934)
* Enter Madame (1935)
* Love in Bloom (1935)
* College Scandal (1935)
* Splendor (1935)
* Wives Never Know (1936)
* It's All Yours (1937)
* Give Me a Sailor (1938)
* Professor Beware (1938)
* Never Say Die (1939)
* The Cat and the Canary (1939)
* Nothing but the Truth (1941)
* The Male Animal (1942)
* The Crystal Ball (1943)
* Up in Arms (1944)
* My Favorite Brunette (1947)
* Welcome Stranger (1947)
* My Girl Tisa (1948)
* Mr. Belvedere Goes to College (1949)
* The Great Gatsby (1949)
* The Skipper Surprised His Wife (1950)
* My Outlaw Brother (1951)
* Just for You (1952)

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