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Movies for the Rest of Us with Bill Newcott: The Great Gatsby in the Movies
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsy has been adapted for the big screen five times. Bill Newcott takes a look at all five films — the good, the bad, and the unseen.
Comments
Thanks for this in-depth look at ‘The Great Gatsby’ films. I’m very interested in seeing the 1949 version starring Alan Ladd. Howard Da Silva and Shelley Winters are always wonderful. I think one of the reasons ‘The Great Gatsby’ remains popular is because the 20’s themselves remain popular otherwise, to this day. Indeed, the mere mention of the 20’s still means the 1920’s unless otherwise specified, as it should be.
I still like the 1974 film, and it was great Howard was in it, giving it a connection to the ’49 film. He, Bruce Dern and the other actors in the film, helped fill the gap and disguise Robert Redford’s less than engaging performance. Now we know why. He was far more engaged with the Watergate hearings (most of us were trying to tune out) and it showed.