The Great Gatsby (partially found silent film; 1926)
Original film poster.
Status: Partially Found
The Great Gatsby is a lost silent film based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald book of the same name and is also its first movie adaptation. Being released on November 21st, 1926, it was produced by the Famous Players-Lasky and released by Paramount Pictures as part of their 15th Anniversary.[1]
Production
The screenplay was written by Becky Gardiner and Elizabeth Meehan and was based on Owen Davis' stage play treatment of The Great Gatsby. The play, directed by George Cukor, opened on Broadway at the Ambassador Theatre on February 2, 1926. Shortly after the play opened, Famous Players-Lasky and Paramount Pictures purchased the film rights for $45,000.[2]
The film's director Herbert Brenon designed The Great Gatsby as lightweight, popular entertainment, playing up the party scenes at Gatsby's mansion and emphasizing their scandalous elements. The film had a running time of 80 minutes, or 7,296 feet.[1][3]
Availability
All that has survived from the film is a one-minute trailer. Extensive efforts by Professor Wheeler Winston Dixon have been made to recover an original print of the film but to no avail so far. Rumors say a surviving copy is in an "unknown film archive in Moscow" but Dixon dismissed those rumors as unfounded.[3]
Gallery
References
External Link
- Wikipedia article on The Great Gatsby (1926 version). Retrieved 19 Mar '16.