The Great Gatsby (1949)
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 7
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 3
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 89
My Rating
Movie Info
This second film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's definitive jazz-age novel The Great Gatsby stars Alan Ladd in the title role. Jay Gatsby, formerly Jake Gatz, is a successful bootlegger with aspirations of being accepted in the highest social circles of Long Island. Once he's done this, Gatsby devotes his time to winning back the love of his former lady friend Daisy (Betty Field), now married to boorish "old-money" millionaire Tom Buchanan (Barry Sullivan). Gatsby's obsession with rekindling
Jul 13, 1949 Wide
May 26, 1998
Cast
-
Alan Ladd
Jay Gatsby -
Betty Field
Daisy Buchanan -
Macdonald Carey
Nick Carraway -
Ruth Hussey
Jordan Baker -
Barry Sullivan
Tom Buchanan -
Shelley Winters
Myrtle Wilson -
Howard Da Silva
Wilson -
Henry Hull
Dan Cody -
Ed Begley Sr.
Myron Lupus -
Elisha Cook Jr.
Klipsringer -
Nicholas Joy
Guest -
Walter Greaza
Kinsella -
Tito Vuolo
Mavromichaelis -
Jack Gargan
Gold Pro -
Jack Lambert
Reba -
Carole Mathews
Ella Cody -
Diane Nance
Pamela -
Jeanne Romer
Twin -
Lynn Romer
Twin -
Ray Walker
Real Estate Man
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (7) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (2) | Rotten (5)
Unfortunately, the movie version misses many of its opportunities.
Top CriticElliott Nugent's direction skips along the surface of the era depicted. The script doesn't give him much substance to work with.
Cyril Hume and Richard Maibaum have achieved a dutiful plotting of the novel without the substance of life that made it stick.
This scores over Jack Clayton's lavish and longer 1974 version by the casting of Alan Ladd as Gatsby, so much more convincing as a man with a dark and mysterious past than one-dimensional glamour-puss Robert Redford.
Top CriticElliott Nugent directs with some atmospheric touches, but can't counter screenwriter Richard Maibaum's verbosity.
A large part of what makes this version work is the glacial central presence of Alan Ladd, who's quite convincing as a man with a mysterious past.
Not much is made of the 20s Long Island setting and, like the other film versions, it fails to capture the elusive style of the novel.
Audience Reviews for The Great Gatsby
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for The Great Gatsby yet.
Latest News on The Great Gatsby
December 18, 2008:
Luhrmann Sets Sights on The Great GatsbyHis long-awaited epic "Australia" has prompted some of the most polarized critical responses of the...
What's Hot On RT
Movies Directed by Tyler Perry
Blockbuster news and reviews
Ellen Page in an intriguing new thriller
A gallery of classic books on film
Featured on RT
- Total Recall: Movies Directed by Tyler Perry 49
- Parental Guidance: The Great Gatsby, Jack Reacher, and Safe Haven 6
- Video Interview: Aftershock Producer Eli Roth 3
- Ray Harryhausen: 1920-2013 33
- Digital Multiplex: Cloud Atlas, Pulp Fiction and more 4
- RT on DVD and Blu-Ray: Jack Reacher, Mama, and Upstream Color 34
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Iron Man 3 Soars Above the Rest 64
Top Headlines
-
Baz Luhrmann Wants DiCaprio for Hamlet
1
-
Bryan Singer Shooting X-Men: Days of Future Past in 3D and Simul-Cam
0
-
Avatar Sequels Shooting in 2014
3
-
Shane Black Confirmed for Doc Savage
0
-
Warner Bros. Plans New Dungeons & Dragons Movie
6
-
Adam Scott in Talks for Hot Tub Time Machine 2
0
-
Summit Already Thinking About Divergent Sequel
2
Fresh Links
Featured
10 Best Movie Trilogies
Pretty self-explanatory here; HitFix offers up their favorite trilogies of all time.
10 Jilted Movie Grooms
Feeling a little sappy? Here are 10 movie grooms who were left at the altar.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
50 Youth-Gone-Wild Movies
TimeOut lists the best movies about youth and rebellion.
30 Greatest Rock & Roll Movie Moments
Rolling Stone boldly proclaims the rockin'-est moments in cinema.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- The Great Gatsby (1949) (DE)
- The Great Gatsby (1949) (UK)
