No, this is not an adaptation, it is more of a 'loosely based on' approach to the novel. The rough outline of the story is there, but the characters are not the same while the tone and sentiment (very important.in the novel) are largely unrelated beyond their names. The one character that does survive from the novel is the man himself, Gatsby. While I can not rate the movie itself highly, I can say that Alan Ladd was a good Gatsby, and that you would have to watch his performance in this film, to really judge him as an actor. Elisha Cook Jr. Had a small but meaningful role here, and is a surprisingly underrated actor at present by the way. Beyond Ladd's performance, there is little of value in this film, and should be recommended only to Ladd fans, and those looking to compare and contrast the different films that the novel led to. It is really too bad, as this could have been a great movie for its day. It has been suggested that The Hays Code was a problem when adapting the novel at the time. That idea has some merit, but a poor movie is still a poor movie. Missed opportunity here.
Review of The Great Gatsby
