Love, Wealth, and Illusions Collide

Read Time:5 Minute, 24 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
The Great Gatsby (Blu-ray)
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Genre: Film Noir, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Year Released: 1949, Kino Lorber Blu-ray 2025
Runtime: 1h 31m
Director(s): Elliott Nugent
Writer(s): F. Scott Fitzgerald (novel), Owen Davis, Cyril Hume
Cast: Alan Ladd, Betty Field, Macdonald Carey, Ruth Hussey, Barry Sullivan, Howard Da Silva, Shelley Winters, Henry Hull, Ed Begley, Elisha Cook Jr.
Where to Watch: available now, order your copy here: www.kinolorber.com or www.amazon.com

RAVING REVIEW: Long before Baz Luhrmann’s visual fireworks or Robert Redford’s sun-drenched elegance, Elliott Nugent’s 1949 take on THE GREAT GATSBY brought F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age novel to life, filtered through the sensibilities of postwar Hollywood. With the Production Code still in force, this adaptation inevitably softens some of the source material’s sharper edges. Yet, it remains a compelling, character-focused take on one of America’s most enduring stories — and now, restored from a new scan for Kino Lorber’s 2025 Blu-ray release, it’s easier than ever to appreciate its strengths.

Alan Ladd, better known in the era for stoic tough-guy roles, insisted on playing Jay Gatsby — a personal passion project that he convinced Paramount to produce. His performance here is surprising in its vulnerability. Ladd gives Gatsby a measured charm tinged with melancholy, portraying a man who has climbed from obscurity to opulence not for the sake of wealth, but for the singular dream of winning back Daisy Buchanan (Betty Field). Where later interpretations sometimes lean into Gatsby’s charisma or mysterious allure, Ladd plays him as both driven and haunted, aware on some level that his dream may already be lost.

Field’s Daisy is a departure from the airy, self-absorbed version found in other adaptations. She brings a grounded intelligence that shifts the dynamic — from a shimmering ideal to a woman torn between comfort and memory. While this makes her eventual collapse more believable, it also strips away some of the character’s mythic quality, which may divide purists. Macdonald Carey’s Nick Carraway is serviceable but muted, functioning more as an observer than a moral anchor. In contrast, Ruth Hussey’s Jordan Baker injects a subtle wit into the proceedings, though the role is underwritten compared to the novel.

As with many adaptations from the era, the constraints of the Hays Code reshape the narrative. Affairs are downplayed, criminal activities are downplayed, and the overall moral tone is tilted toward a more explicit resolution. Notably, Nick and Jordan are married here, and the story begins with a prologue that frames the events with a moral lens. The costuming also reflects the 1940s more than the 1920s, a quirk of the time that makes the setting feel slightly anachronistic.

What’s most striking about this version, especially in the restored print, is how Nugent leans into noir aesthetics. Shadows and sharp contrasts dominate, giving Gatsby’s mansion and its infamous parties an undercurrent of secrecy and unease. The camera lingers on faces in moments of doubt or realization, using stillness rather than spectacle to convey tension. Even the Long Island soundscape feels muted, as if the glamour is always one step away from collapse. This approach makes the inevitable tragedies more intimate — less about the shattering of an era, more about the breaking of a man.

Shelley Winters, though underused as Myrtle Wilson, makes the most of her limited screen time, delivering a brash enthusiasm that briefly disrupts the film’s controlled tone. Howard Da Silva’s George Wilson is suitably pitiable and quietly menacing when the story demands it, while Henry Hull’s turn as Gatsby’s mentor Dan Cody adds a sly, devilish presence. Ed Begley and Elisha Cook Jr. round out the ensemble with small but memorable roles.

In the years following its release, the 1949 GATSBY quietly faded from view — in part because Paramount pulled it from circulation ahead of the 1974 Redford version, and in part because existing prints deteriorated or vanished. For decades, it was considered lost, surviving only in low-quality bootleg copies. Its rediscovery in 2012 and subsequent preservation by the Film Noir Foundation gave it a second life, and Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release finally offers a viewing experience that matches its historical value.

From a modern perspective, this GATSBY sits in a unique position among the various adaptations. It’s less flamboyant than Luhrmann’s, less sluggish than Clayton’s 1974 version, and less literal than some television takes. Instead, it’s a product of its time: a mid-century morality play wearing the clothes of a romantic tragedy, filtered through noir shadows. For viewers willing to accept its compromises, it offers a portrait of Gatsby that’s affecting — a man undone not just by the impossibility of his dream, but by the moral frameworks of the world around him.

It’s not definitive, but as an artifact of both Hollywood history and Fitzgerald interpretation, it’s invaluable. In Ladd’s hands, Gatsby becomes less of a grand symbol and more of a fragile, stubborn man who believed, against reason, that love could be reclaimed.

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