Films!

(note to reader: the following was written by Mr. Carraway sometime in 1950)


Ah! So, my dear reader, I believe I told you about my time meeting Mr. F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author, yes? It was in my post, "If the Shoe Fitz..." Well, guess what? When I told you that Mr. Fitzgerald was going away to Paris to write a novel, well, that novel - The Great Gatsby - has been made into two movies since its publication!

The first of these Great Gatsby films was made in the year 1926, directed by Herbert Brenon, I believe. It was produced by the Famous Players-Lastky Corporation, and starred Warner Baxter (Jay Gatsby), Lois Wilson (Daisy Buchanan), and Neil Hamilton (as myself!). It was a silent black-and-white film, running a relatively short 80 minutes and quite well-made, in my opinion, but it is now a lost film. Only a 1-minute trailer of the 1926 version exists, preserved by the Library of Congress.

The second version of Fitzgerald's novel was made just last year, in 1949, and it was directed by Elliot Nugent. In that movie, Gatsby was played by Alan Ladd, Daisy was played by Betty Field, and I was played by MacDonald Carey. Its run time was longer than the 1926, version at 92 minutes and it was made by Paramount Pictures.


(Note to the reader: Mr. Carraway did not live to see the 2 most recent versions of the The Great Gatsby. So, we here at Blogger decided it was only appropriate to complete his post by providing information on the rest of the film versions)



The Great Gatsby was made as a feature film for the third time in 1974. This time it was directed by Jack Clayton, though it was still produced by Paramount Pictures. Its screenplay was written by the great Francis Ford Coppola, and it won two Oscars: Best Costume Design and Best Music. Robert Redford starred as Jay Gatsby, Mia Farrow as Daisy Buchanan, and Sam Waterston as Nick Carraway. An interesting note: Jack Nicholson was approached to play Jay Gatsby, but he declined the offer. This version is the most famous to date.

Finally, the most recent version of The Great Gatsby was filmed in the year 2000. It was a made-for-TV movie, directed by Robert Markowitz. Paramount Pictures did not produce this version. Rather, it was made in a collaboration between the A&E Cable Network (in the U.S.) and Granada Entertainment (in Great Britain). Its run time is 120 minutes. In this latest undertaking of Fitzgerald's novel, Toby Stephens was cast as Jay Gatsby, Mira Sorvino played the role of Daisy Buchanan, and Paul Rudd starred as Nick Carraway.


(Sources: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016938/, http://www.answers.com/topic/the-great-gatsby-1949-film, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071577/, and http://www.answers.com/topic/the-great-gatsby-2000-film)

You, but not me? Jealousy!

Jealousy in people is something I do not pass up lightly. I don't know whether it's the unsatisfaction that one strives to fill or the ignorance where others may not recognize what they already have, but I've always tried very hard to hide any feelings of jealousy that may dwell within me. However, while I apply this to myself, it seems as though not Tom, but Daisy Buchanan comes to mind on the subject of jealousy.

Tom is having an affair on her with Myrtle Wilson and, as Jordan Baker told me, everyone knew about it. Now Daisy discovered that Gatsby was back into her life, living right next door to me, her cousin. Wouldn't this be the greatest opportunity to exact revenge on all that Tom has done to her? I think so. I think that Daisy is publically flirting with Gatsby and taking Tom to Gatsby's parties because she wants him to figure out and get jealous over her because of her jealousy already due to Tom's attention to Myrtle. It makes perfect sense and there's so much evidence to back it up. But if this were true, then Daisy would have been planning this up until the encounter with Gatsby and Tom at the hotel. Could this mean that her refusal to fully blow off Tom and leave him for Gatsby is due, in part, to her overall plan to get Tom to love her, and only her, again? You tell me...

(source: http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=27130)

You, too, Ladies...

Just as I recently posted about the men I've met here on the East Coast, I would now like to set aside a blog post for the women I've come across as well.

Let me begin with Daisy Buchanan, Tom's wife and my cousin. Well, I suppose that if you wish for me to be specific, I will confirm that she is my second cousin, once removed. As I did in my last post, I have to now set aside my usually non-judgmental nature in order to truthfully address my feelings toward Daisy. I've come to see that she is very dramatic, what with her frequent exclamations typically being over-the-top and inappropriate. She has the capability for sarcasm, and often plays the fool, especially with respect to Tom's affair. In fact, she tries to remain superficially placid about it, though it is evident to almost all of us that it troubles her. She grew up in Louisville, where she was courted by many excited officers from the local Camp Taylor, though eventually she exclusively visited with my neighbor Gatsby. She would not marry him, however, because he was penniless, but she simply could not wait for him; once he left for the war, she married Tom. To this day Gatsby remains madly enamored - obsessed, even - with Daisy.

Now on to the lovely Jordan Baker. I admit that this summer I have developed a bit of an infatuation for her, and she for me. She has a very hard and jaunty body; in fact, I think she embodies pretty closely those women that are increasingly being referred to as "flappers." She is a golfer, and a competitive one at that, so much so that she cheated in her first tournament in order to emerge with victory. Actually, I've come to see that she is habitually dishonest. She just cannot stand being at a disadvantage, which is why I suspect that she has been "dealing in subterfuges" from a very young age in order to satisfy her desire for superiority (58).

Finally, I would like to say a few words concerning Myrtle Wilson. It's no secret that she is Tom's mistress; the two have even gone as far as acquiring an apartment in New York City in order to possess a haven for their adulterous escapades. Myrtle was portly, though only slightly, but she "carried her surplus flesh sensuously as some women can" (25). And though I did not find her face to be very pretty, she possessed a certain vitality about her. She is married to George Wilson, who owns an auto garage in the valley of ashes. I have come to understand that she lost any love for George long ago, but nevertheless I must say that I disapprove of her immoral affair with Tom.



(Source: "The Great Gatsby" novel, http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gatsby/characters.html)