The Great Gatsby (1949 film)

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 historical romance 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 returned 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 on making a new film adaptation, and he envisioned Alan Ladd, with whom he previously collaborated on O.S.S. (1946), in the role of 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 screenplay due to its perceived immorality.

The screenplay underwent multiple rewrites to appease the censors, including adding moralizing elements that deviated from Fitzgerald's 1925 novel. Maibaum reluctantly made these changes in his determination to see the film produced. Disagreements next arose between the original director John Farrow and Maibaum over the role of Daisy, 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.