Sunday, May 26, 1957
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Nine
Scott Fitzgerald
WHERE HE DOESN'T BELONG AND WHERE HE DOES
By DONALD A. YATFS JI
A YEAR AGO almost to the dasy! al eiwrwoetefl
lowing commentary on a Robert' In to 3I
Montgornery Presents telev ision
production of F. Scott Fit7gerald'
novel, The Grea t Gatsby: Colic,
"Scott Fitzgerald's admiiabie
novel shout the bootleggcr in lovelikdtaneaowbrdUdr
with the past reached TV sets ~dt neanvbi ne
5Mondas night in the long- atd the accumulating layeis at the
tull-hoiui pioduction offeired by pat= and aucceeded in inaking his
Rlobeit Montomery. The essence probleni seem honest and vital
of he atsy 'or wa ',,hr-? bu j o n audience at siucceding con-
ahoens li-ons She scene wa s the cr in.
r07Ic ilte lou Is aofauthoi Site-
geraTOW, this is worth cal ing-one
gerldcharacder. a symbol, aiid a tess
"The people ad events in Viest snatches of "gratted" dialsguec.
Egg seemed to hasve been sifted, 'i eiwbi~ au lal
trequheaentslwich ow sie r a n ad succinctly aproblemisthat
fresesivi ts cr his ispeiossmedthe Fitzgerald readers lhaseeseen macie
htceus l assdion is ia's tsii 'and TV isriteira stiuggle witiii'
habisi i 'silirscs s isse a lis ssseeesfslly -tincee 1940 swhen c
isa~~~~~~~~ thsi ei ilsisit Filece'eslcalesp ndeal but prousd
srikisi sis-us- secpssses'sed iaid stisllideicepivsearistdiedin
Isis ~ ~ wite novsels sCulsii u a lte' tecember i's Holl'swsosd. The
w tcc Is(clto bus s ik1,ii, ithut g
iii } lii 's c i Is i ' ss s c e - -so tIo n ' ss i n
tllg ''s ii! sst slls isS s c t Ii cs
V
1'
i,
,j
IFr, chanced tram Fitzgerald's version,
/ Ork W on' Tran latehad commercial touches applied,
starred Van Johnson and Eliza-
beth Taylor, and was called The
viesor T , Bit HeHasLast Time I Saw Paris.
Here we have a beginning: the
age A ud eti e A walstory had to be changed t make
ii it suitable tar the movies. Now
things begin to tall into place.
proablem is' Why can't Fitzgerald Malcolm Coowtry recalls that an Now, we see the significance of
sic "snonfeised eftectisely fram his excellent scensario was written far tho folloswing observation that
novels and short sories to a dra- Fitzgerald's finest story, Babylon Fitzgerald wrote into his note-
matic medium? Prsof at the fast Revisited. It had managed to get books-a piece at advice to be-
that this problem is tar from its into a tarmu digestible by the movie giinning writers
solutioin was rendered onlyniontlb5camuera the msood and the tensions "Reporting th,, extreme things
ago when, an March 15th, Play- of that story about a man's return as it they swere tlse ac'rage things
hooe 90 attcempted a TV veision tc. the scenes of his earlier dissi- wsill start you on t*e art of fic-
of Fitzgerald's unflins hd isovel, pations. The scenario never reach- tion."
The Last Tycoon. It neaily tailed ed the point of being filmed. It was If you take the author seriously
at being good drama, and cam-siwcteci, under contract, by Scott! in this, we are led to the conchi-
pletely tailed at caspturigwhat Fitzgerald himself. sian that swhat Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald put into it. put into his work that swas good
Why. w-e ask, is there 'lie as ;PERHAPS we're getting closer to; and sras Iis, Hollywocd and TV
tlsis diitiulty ? WVhat is goosdiswlit? the answer so our qtusstion if ;don't scant. The latter are by cia-
is best in Fitzeralcie inhi cw recall that this stary. Babylon tuse thoroughly dramatic nmedia,
lines, Saomehowe c ci t is hi Revisited, sass rewriittens and Iss'sd ' ad Fitzgeriald iin his bssst scenes
slated osut ' ssad distributed recesirly. It ws See FITZGERALD, Pate 18
.... .. -- ---- ----
0ii1 S i sso ' I 1 k ' i uasilks
"'tLies roles of Tao's aid Diiss
Mchant n cciis Johns Nessan Isi'ad
Phlslis Isisrk) swure sirl executed
iii the TV layi' Thse tivoa '', aa
s'sdy-sca pic tur of l a is I s toescc
etise t b sitily Vin't ilu' t,.e
sits 'ito tih end t vis silscitsel
i ter the,
tiai ~ s' srI over E.
longs a's lice ms't DaisyI
'Five ye's 'iga last. Noveimber.s
"Acid then this formal relihage
betwceen Gat'sbs 'ad Dais's at the
I coniclusion of Nitcks te's whrie the
fo~rie had becin rcunited:
"Daisy 'Well, thcank you. I'll
cce you "'ain somsetime.'
"Gastsby: When'
"Only onS a tess occasions stich
athese slid thce tia' flavor of Fitz-'
'erald's art rise into the con-
scissisness of the dirass,
"TIhe final pinst to be mrade
l'sre is a paii't af pestss'. Suriev-
ors at the 'Cwrnts v-ill pieesaps
sndrstaind Montgomsery's pens-
dcionisc swas suiccssful ii' th'is
lessen'stiaslly c.xtea-Fitzrcs sldias's
espect: it misicaed to take 'an
oustdlated ps'atcaasist irevocibly
71s a teachsng fueliss iii /tis
S'iaishiii/ desou mis st, s afi reu st
s-ssstssisssto to bath the Ataga'ine
ass1 T/is Gaily's eds/srial page
s/siizing ini hor ciis of
one of has favorite hsbhes-d -
tesl s ve storis.
tt .: ;r
:< ua
f.
It fir 12
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