April 10 (UPI) -- F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jazz Age masterpiece, The Great Gatsby, marks 100 years in publication Thursday -- and for nearly as long, fans of the novel have been working to bring the story of Nick, Jay and Daisy to the stage and big screen.
The novel was first introduced to audiences on April 10, 1925. Despite not garnering as much as attention as some of Fitzgerald's previous novels, it has since become a perennial favorite by high school English teachers across the country and often sits atop lists of the best novels of all time.
The story is told from the perspective of Nick Carraway as he's introduced to the decadence and partying ways of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire. The latter happens to be in love with Daisy Buchanan, Carraway's cousin.
The Great Gatsby has been the subject of several adaptations -- on the stage, the big and small screens, and even radio -- beginning just months after it was first published.
Here are six notable adaptations of the American classic:
1926 Broadway production by Owen Davis
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Owen Davis was the first to tackle an adaptation of The Great Gatsby, obtaining rights to the story just months after it was published. The play was directed by famed filmmaker George Cukor and opened on Broadway starring James Rennie as Gatsby and Florence Eldridge as Daisy.
Davis made many changes to the story, most notably completely omitting Carraway's character and suggesting more strongly that Gatsby is involved in organized crime.
The same year, filmmaker Herbert Brenon brought the play to the big screen, starring Warner Baxter, Lois Wilson and William Powell. Only the trailer of the silent film still exists.
While the story found success on Broadway, Davis' script sat untouched for decades until it was rediscovered in the archives at Colorado State University, according to The Guardian. Cambridge University Press republished the script in 2024.
1949 film directed by Elliott Nugent
The oldest surviving film adaptation of the book was directed by Elliott Nugent in 1949. It starred Alan Ladd as Gatsby, Betty Field as Daisy and Macdonald Carey as Nick.
Perhaps one of the most recognizable actors in the film was two-time Academy Award winner Shelley Winters. She played Myrtle Wilson, the mistress of Daisy's husband, Tom Buchanan, and wife of the man who would later kill Gatsby.
In a 1977 interview with UPI Hollywood reporter Vernon Scott, Winters said she often looked for roles in which she played the victim "because I was good at them and they made some social comment."
"God knows how many times I've been killed in dramatic parts," she quipped. "Ronald Colman strangled me in A Double Life. I was drowned in A Place in the Sun. In Lolita, James Mason ran over me with a car. I got hit by a car in Gatsby."
1974 film directed by Jack Clayton
Starring Robert Redford as Gatsby, Mia Farrow as Daisy and Sam Waterston as Nick, the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby was the first critically and commercially successful adaptation. It picked up two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Music, and three BAFTAs. Karen Black won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for her portrayal of Myrtle Wilson, while Waterston and Bruce Dern (who played Tom Buchanan) were nominated.
Despite these successes, the critics were lukewarm on the production -- it has a 41% on Rotten Tomatoes.
A UPI roundup of New York reviews of the film highlighted some of the more harsh remarks. Critic Bob Salmaggi said Redford wasn't a convincing Gatsby and Farrow was "uneven" and "fluttery." Kathleen Carroll of the New York Daily News said the film "doesn't live up to great billing" and while New York Times' Vincent Canby praised the film's dialogue, sets and costumes, he ultimately wasn't a fan.
"The movie itself is as lifeless as a body that's been too long at the bottom of a swimming pool. It's frivolous without being much fun," he wrote.
Still, it's a fan favorite and is consistently ranked highly among Redford's best films.
2000 TV movie
The Great Gatsby came to the small screen in a 2000 TV movie that aired on BBC and A&E. The film starred Toby Stephens as Gatsby, Mira Sorvino as Daisy and Paul Rudd as Nick.
This version of the book also suffered from terrible reviews, with Caryn James of The New York Times offering praise only for Rudd's turn as the narrator.
2013 film directed by Baz Luhrmann
The Great Gatsby burst into the public consciousness again in 2013, when Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, known for his colorful and musical approach to filmmaking, took on the story. He cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy and Tobey Maguire as Nick. Isla Fisher (Myrtle Wilson) and Joel Edgerton (Tom Buchanan) filled out the cast.
Armed with a whopping $105 million budget, a unique visual style and a flashy soundtrack, Luhrmann drew the audiences, with a worldwide box office total of more than $350 million. Again, critics weren't overly impressed, with a 48% Rotten Tomatoes score.
The film racked up numerous costume and production design awards --including at the Academy Awards -- and some Grammy nominations for the soundtrack, which featured Lana Del Rey and Beyoncé and was scored by Jay-Z.
DiCaprio, who won an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for his role, told reporters he felt connected to Gatsby because he, too, started out life without money.
"I think we can all relate to that dreamer in Gatsby. Each one of us gets excited by the prospect of somebody that has that much ambition," he said.
Gatsby: An American Myth, the 2024 musical by Martyna Majok
A musical penned by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Martyna Majok had its world premiere at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., in 2024. It was directed by Rachel Chavkin and featured music from Florence and the Machine singer Florence Welch and Thomas Barlett. Isaac Powell played Gatsby, Charlotte MacInnes was Daisy and Ben Levi Ross was Nick.
When the project was first announced in 2021, Welch said The Great Gatsby "has haunted me for a large part of my life."
"It contains some of my favorite lines in literature. Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald's broken romanticism."
Florence and the Machine was also featured on the 2013 film's soundtrack with the song "Over the Love."
