Tonight's Movie: The Great Gatsby (1949) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

One of my favorite actors, Alan Ladd, plays the title role in THE GREAT GATSBY (1949), now available on Blu-ray in the Kino Lorber Dark Side of Cinema XXVI Collection.

THE GREAT GATSBY is also available as an individual single-title Blu-ray release.

It's been a very long time coming for this Paramount Pictures film to be released on Blu-ray in the U.S. To my knowledge, it never had a U.S. VHS or DVD release; it was released on Blu-ray in Australia in the fairly recent past.

I first saw THE GREAT GATSBY at the 2012 Noir City Hollywood Festival with Alan Ladd's daughter Alana (who passed on just a couple years later), costar Macdonald Carey's son Steve, and screenwriter Richard Maibaum's son Paul in the audience. Needless to say, it was a special evening I have always remembered fondly.

Maibaum cowrote the brisk 91-minute screenplay with Cyril Hume, based on the Fitzgerald novel. I'll add that it's been long enough since I last read the novel that I'm responding to it strictly as a film, without comparisons to the book.

Ladd and Carey give the finest performances in this adaptation, which I like very much despite one key flaw, the stark miscasting of Betty Field as Daisy. As I wrote in 2012, nothing in Field's dimwitted performance gives a hint as to why she's Gatsby's dream girl.

Ladd, on the other hand, is utter perfection as the self-made Gatsby, equal parts powerful and vulnerable. This is one of his best performances.

Carey is also spot-on as Nick, who serves as the conscience of the movie, expressing the audience's thoughts on each of the other characters aloud. Carey's Nick is both honest and likeable.

I'm a fan of Barry Sullivan but there's a sense his Tom could have been more; he alternates pugnacious, possessive behavior with moments where he's more solicitous of Daisy...meanwhile he's goofing around with other women behind her back. I wanted to know more about his motivations, but perhaps he was simply a confused jerk!

Ruth Hussey is fine as Jordan, who's both direct and manipulative, while perhaps wanting to strive to be something better. Both Jordan and Tom are interesting characters but ultimately each one is something of an enigma.

Despite any flaws, I find this version of GATSBY quite a memorable film, including the shocking conclusion. Ladd's performance is both powerful and touching; the depth of his anxiety upon meeting Daisy for tea at Nick's is striking. The movie has stuck with me since my first viewing over a dozen years ago. I'm very glad it's now readily available for home viewing at long last.

The cast also includes Shelley Winters, Howard DaSilva, Elisha Cook Jr., Jack Lambert, Ed Begley (Sr.), Henry Hull, Carole Mathews, and Tito Vuolo.

The movie was directed by Elliott Nugent and filmed in black and white by John F. Seitz.

The Blu-ray print is from a new HD master from a 4K scan. It looks very good, if not quite perfect, and the soundtrack is strong.

Extras consist of a commentary track by Paul Talbot; the trailer; two additional Alan Ladd trailers; and a 2012 interview with David Ladd an Alan K. Rode, filmed at the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival in Palm Springs.

I've previously reviewed the other films in this set, DR. BROADWAY (1942) and SMOOTH AS SILK (1946). Both THE GREAT GATSBY and this Dark Side of Cinema set are very much recommended.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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