The Great Gatsby (1974) Information

The Great Gatsby is a 1974 romantic drama film distributed by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name.

The film stars Robert Redford in the title role of Jay Gatsby, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, Bruce Dern, Karen Black, Scott Wilson, and Lois Chiles with Howard Da Silva, Roberts Blossom, and Edward Herrmann.

Cast

• Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby
• Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan
• Bruce Dern as Tom Buchanan
• Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway
• Karen Black as Myrtle Wilson
• Scott Wilson as George Wilson
• Lois Chiles as Jordan Baker
• Edward Herrmann as Ewing Klipspringer
• Howard Da Silva as Meyer Wolfsheim
• Kathryn Leigh Scott as Catherine
• Regina Baff as Miss Baedecker
• Vincent Schiavelli as Thin Man
• Roberts Blossom as Mr. Gatz
• Beth Porter as Mrs. McKee
• Patsy Kensit as Pammy Buchanan; Kensit, aged 6, appears in her second film role (her first being in For the Love of Ada in 1972).

Tom Ewell had a minor role as a mourner but it was ultimately edited out of the cinematic release.

Production

The film is the third filmed version of the novel. The previous two, also made by Paramount, were:

• The Great Gatsby (1926), a silent film, directed by Herbert Brenon and starring Warner Baxter as Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy, and William Powell. This film is considered "lost."
• The Great Gatsby (1949), directed by Elliott Nugent and starring Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Betty Field as Daisy, Shelley Winters, Macdonald Carey, Barry Sullivan, and Howard Da Silva.

The rights to the novel were purchased in 1971 by Robert Evans so that his wife Ali MacGraw could play Daisy. After MacGraw left Evans for Steve McQueen, he considered other actresses for the role, including Faye Dunaway, Candice Bergen, Natalie Wood, Katharine Ross, Lois Chiles, Cybill Shepherd, and Mia Farrow. Eventually Farrow was cast as Daisy and Chiles got the role of Jordan. Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson and Steve McQueen were considered for the role of Gatsby but they were rejected or declined the offer. Beatty wanted to direct producer Evans as Gatsby and Nicholson didn't think that MacGraw was right for the role of Daisy, who was still attached when he was approached. Farrow was pregnant during the shooting and the film was filmed with her wearing loose, flowing dresses and in tight close-ups.

Truman Capote was the original screenwriter but he was replaced by Francis Ford Coppola. On his commentary track for the DVD release of The Godfather, Coppola makes reference to writing the Gatsby script at the time, though he comments: "Not that the director paid any attention to it. The script that I wrote did not get made."

The Rosecliff and Marble House mansions in Newport, Rhode Island were used for Gatsby's house while scenes at the Buchanans' home were filmed at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. One driving scene was shot in Windsor Great Park, UK. Other scenes were filmed in New York City and Uxbridge, Massachusetts.

Reception

After being released, the film received average to slightly negative reviews. The film was praised for its interpretation and staying true to the novel, but was criticized for lacking any true emotion or feelings towards the Jazz Age. Based on 25 total reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an overall approval rating from critics of 38%, with an average score of 4.9/10. Despite this, the film was a financial success, making $26,533,200 against a $6.5 million budget.

Tennessee Williams, in his book 'Memoirs' (p. 178), wrote: "It seems to me that quite a few of my stories, as well as my one acts, would provide interesting and profitable material for the contemporary cinema, if commited to ... such cinematic masters of direction as Jack Clayton, who made of The Great Gatsby a film that even surpassed, I think, the novel by Scott Fitzgerald."

Vincent Canby's 1974 review in The New York Times typifies the critical ambivalence: "The sets and costumes and most of the performances are exceptionally good, but the movie itself is as lifeless as a body that's been too long at the bottom of a swimming pool," Canby wrote at the time. "As Fitzgerald wrote it, "The Great Gatsby" is a good deal more than an ill-fated love story about the cruelties of the idle rich.... The movie can't see this through all its giant closeups of pretty knees and dancing feet. It's frivolous without being much fun."

Variety's review was likewise split: "Paramount's third pass at The Great Gatsby is by far the most concerted attempt to probe the peculiar ethos of the Beautiful People of the 1920s. The fascinating physical beauty of the $6 million-plus film complements the utter shallowness of most principal characters from the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Robert Redford is excellent in the title role, the mysterious gentleman of humble origins and bootlegging connections.... The Francis Ford Coppola script and Jack Clayton's direction paint a savagely genteel portrait of an upper class generation that deserved in spades what it received circa 1929 and after."

Awards and nominations

The film won two Academy Awards, for Best Costume Design (Theoni V. Aldredge) and Best Music (Nelson Riddle). It also won three BAFTA Awards for Best Art Direction (John Box), Best Cinematography (Douglas Slocombe), and Best Costume Design (Theoni V. Aldredge). It won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress (Karen Black) and received three further nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Bruce Dern and Sam Waterston) and Most Promising Newcomer (Sam Waterston).