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 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.