https://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/2022/12/gatsby-to-screen-then-disappears-from-it.html

John spends a good bit of time dissecting the 1949 version of Fitzgerald's celebrated novel, the one starring Alan Ladd as Gatsby.

Alas, there is no YouTube version of the '49 film...so, for extra context, we offer the following:




A look at the history of Harbor Hill, the mansion that was Fitzgerald's inspiration for the Gatsby mansion.




Clip of Foster Hirsch introducing the film at Noir City Chicago in summer of 2012. Foster suggests that a director like William Wyler or George Stevens would likely have been more suitable for the film in 1949.




Eddie Muller doing the same (with some variations in the introductory details) at Noir City Seattle a few months earlier (February 2012). As Foster also notes, Eddie explains that Alan Ladd was the reason why the film got made--but that the folks at Paramount were reluctant to commit sufficient resources to make the film in a way that reflected key aspects of Fitzgerald's vision.

In the comments section of John's essay, there is commentary that references an article written in 1973 by the 1949 film's producer Richard Maibaum, in which there are many interesting (and, in some cases, self-interested) recollections about the making of the film.