The Last Tycoon

The Last Tycoon is strictly one of my favorite films because of the performance of Robert DeNiro. The scene where he performs an idea for a film script is one of the best scenes ever. Also, because it is a scene about "making movies" is simply profound. Brilliant!

At one time a film that had Robert Mitchum, Ray Milland, Tony Curtis, and Dana Andrews all in the same cast would have blown some studio's budget. But all of these guys who were leading men in the past are in support of a young Robert DeNiro in F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished, The Last Tycoon. This film was one of the few failures of Robert DeNiro's career. I don't think he was able to get inside his character mainly because I don't think F. Scott Fitzgerald ever really fleshed him out in the first place. In fact as legend has it, Monroe Stahr is based on Fitzgerald's friend, movie executive Irving Thalberg. But I think there's just as much on that other boy genius over at MGM, David O. Selznick. There's no way Irving Thalberg would have ever gotten drunk and try to duke it out with the bargaining agent for the newly formed Writer's Guild. But Selznick was perfectly capable of that. Selznick was also the guy who did marry the boss's daughter, Louis B. Mayer's daughter Irene was his first wife whom he left for Jennifer Jones. This was Elia Kazan's last film and sad that he went out on a career note of middle C. Theresa Russell made a nice debut as the Irene Selznick character here. The real Irene was not quite the naive school girl that we meet in The Last Tycoon. I liked also what Tony Curtis and Jeanne Moreau did as a pair of neurotic married stars. Best in the film however is Jack Nicholson who is the agent from New York organizing the Writer's Guild. Remember Elia Kazan's background as a friendly witness at the House Un-American Activities Committee. Believe it or not, there really were Communist party members trying to organize in the labor movement back in the day. This was Kazan's last attempt at explaining his actions. Anyway Nicholson who only comes in for the last 10 minutes of the film, makes his brief scenes with DeNiro really count. The Last Tycoon did get an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design and the film certainly did look like the Thirties in Hollywood. Maybe if Fitzgerald had ever finished his story, The Last Tycoon might have been better.

This film is best forgotten. I doubt if there is anyone who is a greater fan of Kazan than I, and it pains me to write this, but this film is simply horrible. I don't blame just Kazan; the story and characters are illogical and very boring. The sub-plot of Curtis, Andrews and Moreau adds nothing, in fact, is a negative. The point of DeNiro's role is never made. The important theme evident in Kazan's films (Pinky, Gentleman's Agreement, Waterfront, Panic in the Streets, etc.) is completely missing in this film. The greatest fault lies with Fitzgerald, one of most overrated American authors and with Pinter, also overrated. These two, loved by critics, have given this film a halo. If the screenplay was written by John Smith based on a book by Fred Jones, the movie would be rated 2 stars out of ten, if the raters were generous. DeNiro and Russel are good (Although Russel's character is very annoying.) and Nicholson is Nicholson. The rest of the cast is mediocre. Boulting is not good at all, and in fact, she never went anywhere in her career after this film. Kazan didn't do a bad job, considering with what he was given to work.

How can a film starring Robert De Niro, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Jean Moreau, Donald Pleasance, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, and Jack Nicholson. adapted by Harold Pinter from an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, and directed by Elia Kazan not be good? Well watch this and you will see a perfect example of how not to make a film. As hard as the actors work, they could never overcome such an achingly dull and banal script. Add to that Kazan's flat and uninspiring, pedestrian direction and a dreadful score from Maurice Jarre you have possibly one of the worst "quality" movies I have ever watched. I just had to ask the question "why", and I think you can perhaps argue that Kazan hadn't really done much since the early sixties, and the movie business had changed. The New Hollwood of Coppola, Scorcese, Polanski, Spielberg et al was making inroads; Movies like Chinatown, The Godfather, Taxi Driver and Jaws were taking movie making in a new direction. The story, script, direction and soundtrack of The Last Tychoon were old Hollywood. Definitely one to miss. Even though, as I read somewhere, this is a mess of a movie with a classic struggling to get out, it really isn't worth investing the time to find out where that classic has gone.