F. Scott Fitzgerald had no luck with most of the adaptations to his novels on the screen. He was a man involved in the movies as a writer, and yet, the treatment of this, probably his most important work, didn't quite make it in this version, or the one in 1974, that we have seen. This Paramount feature was directed by Elliot Nugent and the script was by Owen Davis.
The main problem, in our humble opinion, is the flatness of the finished product. The rise of Jay Gatsby into the world of money and power, doesn't quite come across as being real. Then, there is no electricity between himself and Daisy Buchanan, a woman he desired with all his might. The whole atmosphere of wealth is not too evident, maybe because of budget problems, or who knows what. We have seen more splendid mansions than the ones we are taken to visit in this picture.
Although we know Tom Buchanan loves to stray from his wife, his involvement with the slutty Myrtle is not made too clear, as there is only one scene where he picks her on a highway. Buchanan wanted to keep Daisy as a trophy wife to show to the society circles in which he moved.
Alan Ladd does what he can with the material he is asked to play. There is no charisma on his part. The chemistry between Mr. Ladd and Betty Field is not there at all. Miss Field's Daisy doesn't give the viewer any indication of the love she felt for Jay. The best thing in the film are McDonald Carey as Nick Carraway, the narrator, and Ruth Hussey, a great actress that unfortunately doesn't have much to do. Shirley Winters is only seen briefly as Howard DaSilva's cheating wife.
This is a great American novel that deserves a better screen treatment.
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