The Great Gatsby (1926 film)
Encyclopedia
The Great Gatsby is a silent film
adaptation of the novel of the same name
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon, produced by Adolph Zukor
and Jesse L. Lasky
at Famous Players-Lasky
, and released by Paramount Pictures
. The film is a famous example of a lost film
.
and 1974
, and a television adaptation, in 2000, were to follow.
This version was based on the stage play by Owen Davis
, adapted from the novel, which was directed by George Cukor
and opened on Broadway
at the Ambassador Theatre
on Feb. 2, 1926. F. Scott Fitzgerald received US $45,000 for the film rights. The film was entrusted to a contract Paramount director, Herbert Brenon, and the screenplay to Becky Gardiner and Elizabeth Meehan, who supplied the adaptation.
The cast featured Warner Baxter
as Jay Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy Buchanan, Neil Hamilton as Nick Carraway, Georgia Hale
as Myrtle Wilson, and William Powell
as George Wilson.
The film had a running time of 80 minutes, or 7,296 feet, and was designed as lightweight, popular entertainment, playing up the party scenes at Gatsby's mansion and emphasizing their scandalous elements.
No copies of the film are known to survive.
, James Ryan Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, made extensive but unsuccessful attempts to find a copy. Dixon noted that there were rumors that a copy survived in an unknown archive in Moscow but dismissed these rumors as unfounded.
It appears, however, that the trailer has survived and is one of the 50 films in the 3-disk boxed DVD set called More Treasures from American Film Archives, 1894-1931 (2004), compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation
from five American film archives. It is preserved by the Library of Congress
(AFI/Jack Tillmany collection) and has a running time of one minute.
unbilled
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
adaptation of the novel of the same name
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon, produced by Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor , born Adolph Cukor, was a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.-Early life:...
and Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse Louis Lasky, Sr. was a pioneer Hollywood film producer. He was a key founder of Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor, and father of screenwriter Jesse L...
at Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
, and released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. The film is a famous example of a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Background and production
This was the first filmed version of the novel. Two more films, in 1949The Great Gatsby (1949 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1949 film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Elliott Nugent and produced by Richard Maibaum, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume based on the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the play by Owen Davis. The music score was by Robert...
and 1974
The Great Gatsby (1974 film)
The Great Gatsby is a 1974 romantic drama film distributed by Newdon Productions and Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Jack Clayton and produced by David Merrick, from a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola based on F...
, and a television adaptation, in 2000, were to follow.
This version was based on the stage play by Owen Davis
Owen Davis
Owen Gould Davis, Sr. was an American dramatist. He received the 1923 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his 1923 play Icebound, and penned hundreds of plays and scripts for radio and film. Before the First World War, he also wrote racy sketches of New York high jinks and low life for the Police Gazette...
, adapted from the novel, which was directed by George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
and opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the Ambassador Theatre
Ambassador Theatre (New York)
The Ambassador Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 219 West 49th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp for the Shuberts, the structure is unusual in that it is situated diagonally on its site to fit the maximum number of...
on Feb. 2, 1926. F. Scott Fitzgerald received US $45,000 for the film rights. The film was entrusted to a contract Paramount director, Herbert Brenon, and the screenplay to Becky Gardiner and Elizabeth Meehan, who supplied the adaptation.
The cast featured Warner Baxter
Warner Baxter
Warner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
as Jay Gatsby, Lois Wilson as Daisy Buchanan, Neil Hamilton as Nick Carraway, Georgia Hale
Georgia Hale
Georgia Hale was an actress of the silent movie era.-Career:Georgia Theodora Hale was Miss Chicago 1922 and competed in the Miss America Pageant...
as Myrtle Wilson, and William Powell
William Powell
William Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
as George Wilson.
The film had a running time of 80 minutes, or 7,296 feet, and was designed as lightweight, popular entertainment, playing up the party scenes at Gatsby's mansion and emphasizing their scandalous elements.
No copies of the film are known to survive.
Lost film
Professor Wheeler Winston DixonWheeler Winston Dixon
Wheeler Winston Dixon is best known as a writer of film history, theory and criticism. He is the author of numerous books on film, as well as a professor who has taught at Rutgers University, New Brunswick; The New School in New York; and the University of Amsterdam, Holland. He received his Ph.D....
, James Ryan Professor of Film Studies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, made extensive but unsuccessful attempts to find a copy. Dixon noted that there were rumors that a copy survived in an unknown archive in Moscow but dismissed these rumors as unfounded.
It appears, however, that the trailer has survived and is one of the 50 films in the 3-disk boxed DVD set called More Treasures from American Film Archives, 1894-1931 (2004), compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation
National Film Preservation Foundation
The National Film Preservation Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization created by the U.S. Congress to help save America’s film heritage. Growing from a national planning effort led by the Library of Congress, the NFPF began operations in 1997. It supports activities nationwide that...
from five American film archives. It is preserved by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
(AFI/Jack Tillmany collection) and has a running time of one minute.
Cast
- Warner BaxterWarner BaxterWarner Leroy Baxter was an American actor, known for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona , for which he won the second Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1928–1929 Academy Awards. Warner Baxter started his movie career in silent movies...
- Jay Gatsby - Lois Wilson - Daisy Buchanan
- Neil Hamilton - Nick Carraway
- Georgia HaleGeorgia HaleGeorgia Hale was an actress of the silent movie era.-Career:Georgia Theodora Hale was Miss Chicago 1922 and competed in the Miss America Pageant...
- Myrtle Wilson - William PowellWilliam PowellWilliam Horatio Powell was an American actor.A major star at MGM, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the popular Thin Man series in which Powell and Loy played Nick and Nora Charles...
- George Wilson - Hale Hamilton - Tom Buchanan
- George Nash - Charles Wolf
- Carmelita GeraghtyCarmelita GeraghtyCarmelita Geraghty was an American silent-film actress.-Early life:Her father was screenwriter Tom Geraghty. She was the sister of writers Maurice Geraghty and Gerard Geraghty....
- Jordan Baker - Eric BloreEric BloreEric Blore was an English comic actor. Blore was born in Finchley , England.Aged eighteeen, he worked as an insurance agent for two years. He gained theatre experience while touring Australia. Originally enlisting into the Artists Rifles he was commissioned in the South Wales Borderers in World...
- Lord Digby - Gunboat SmithGunboat SmithEdward "Gunboat" Smith was an Irish American boxer and later a boxing referee.- Boxing career :Smith was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent much of his youth in orphanages, working on farms and on the railroads. He joined the U.S...
- Bert - Claire WhitneyClaire WhitneyClaire Whitney was an American stage and film actress. She appeared in 111 films between 1912 and 1949. She made her first film in 1913 for Solax and continued making films until 1921, mainly for Fox Film Corporation. Whitney came back to films in 1926 with a role in The Great Gatsby which would...
- Catherine
unbilled
- Nancy KellyNancy KellyNancy Kelly was an American actress, who was a movie leading lady in the 1930s, making 36 movies between 1926 and 1977, including portraying Tyrone Power's love interest in the classic Jesse James , which also featured Henry Fonda, and playing opposite Spencer Tracy in Stanley and Livingstone...
- ? child
