F. Scott Fitzgerald: The movies

Movies based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's works have been made since the early 1920s, i.e. since shortly after his first novel This Side of Paradise became a national bestseller. In fact, at that time producers had approached Scott and Zelda with a plan to have them themselves star in the movie adaptation (which, perhaps unfortunately, was never realized). While none of the silent movies based on Fitzgerald's works are available on DVD today, most of the later adaptations are.

The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) by Richard Brooks

In 1954 Fitzgerald's short story "Babylon revisited" was made into a star-studded Hollywood production featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Van Johnson and Roger Moore. Although the movie's script takes great liberties with the plot of Fitzgerald's story the movie manages to stick closer to the emotional core of the original than any other of the Fitzgerald movie adaptations. It was directed by Richard Brooks who also directed the Tennessee Williams adaptation The Cat on the Hot Tin Roof.

The Great Gatsby (1974) by Jack Clayton

The Great Gatsby was a big-budget Hollywood project with big names in front of and behind the camera: Robert Redford and Mia Farrow starred as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan, while Francis Ford Coppola wrote the script. Although the film is trying hard to translate Fitzgerald's words into moving pictures it's a failure in most respects: Since the movie doesn't manage to convey Nick Carraway's perspective in a convincing manner, the plot boils down to a boring, convoluted mess.

The Last Tycoon (1976) by Elia Kazan

The Last Tycoon was the last film directed by Elia Kazan. Kazan had achieved Hollywood fame with movies such as On the Waterfront and Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but he failed to do justice to Fitzgerald's final, unfinished novel. Based on a very literal screenplay by Harold Pinter, Kazan is unable to make the audience care about Monroe Stahr - despite Robert de Niro's moving performance. Even the impressive cast - including Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau and Jack Nicholson - ultimately doesn't save The Last Tycoon.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1982) by Joan Micklin Silver

The 45 minutes short-film Bernice Bobs Her Hair is an adaptation of Fitzgerald's early short story of the same name. It closely follows Fitzgerald's words, but still develops some quiet charm of its own. Helen Duval stars in the title role.

The Great Gatsby (2001) by Robert Markowitz

This TV-adaptation of The Great Gatsby stars Mira Sorvino as Daisy. The film relies on opulent art decoration and costumes - just like the 1974 movie - but fails to instill meaning into Fitzgerald's plot. Instead the director uses flashbacks to explain Gatsby's manic attempt to win back the love of his life.

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008) by David Fincher

Most likely few people who went to see the 2008 David Fincher movie starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett realized that it was based on the short story by one the most important American authors of the 20th century. This is hardly surprising, not only because the names of the lead actors nowadays carry greater weight than Fitzgerald's, but also because his short story of the same title was one of his lesser works.