A&E ORIGINAL MOVIE: THE GREAT GATSBY (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television drama film, based on the classic 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of the wealthy and mysterious Jay Gatsby and his passionate love affair with socialite Daisy Buchanan. The story begins as narrator Nick Carraway reflects on his friend Gatsby and the dangers that "preyed on him," and an unseen figure shoots Gatsby as he floats in his pool. In the summer of 1922, Nick moves east and rents a house in West Egg, twenty miles outside New York City, and spends time with his cousin Daisy and her "hulking" husband Tom. Daisy introduces Nick to her friend Jordan Baker, a golf pro, who casually mentions the lavish parties thrown by their neighbor Gatsby, which catches Daisy's attention. Tom offers some of his racist world views before receiving a phone call from his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, embarrassing Daisy. Later, Tom invites Nick to accompany him into the city, and they drive through "the valley of ashes" and stop at a gas station, where he picks up Myrtle right in front of her oblivious husband. They drive to New York and have a party, at which Nick talks to Myrtle's sister Catherine, who also mentions Gatsby. Tom shows his temper and strikes Myrtle when she taunts him with Daisy's name, but acts immediately contrite.
At home, Nick finds a party invitation from Gatsby, and Daisy stands on her dock with its green light, remembering when she first met young Army lieutenant "Jay Gatz" five years earlier. Nick attends the party, noting that people tend to show up uninvited and treat his home like an "amusement park." He runs into Jordan and overhears some wild rumors about Gatsby's past and then finally meets the man himself, who keeps largely out of sight during his soirees. Later, Gatsby picks Nick up at home and takes him to lunch in Manhattan, telling him "God's truth" about his thrilling adventures during the war and time spent gallivanting around Europe. They run into a shady "friend" of Gatsby, Meyer Wolfshiem, whom Gatsby says is a gambler who fixed the 1919 World Series. Jordan and Nick begin seeing one another, and Jordan explains that Daisy and Gatsby knew one another years ago and that Gatsby moved nearby and throws lavish parties for the sole purpose of reconnecting with Daisy. She adds that Gatsby was in fact penniless when he met her and that she married the wealthy Tom when Gatsby left for the war, though appeared to regret her actions. Nick agrees to invite Daisy to his home so that Gatsby might see her, and Gatsby carefully arranges the "spontaneous" meeting and fills Nick's house with flowers. He recalls Daisy's efforts to help him fit in with her rich society, and he is overcome with nervousness when she finally arrives, but they soon settle into their old affectionate ways.
Nick tags along as an awkward third wheel as Gatsby gives Daisy a tour of his home, clearly "consumed with wonder" at her renewed presence in his life. Tom attends one of Gatsby's parties with Daisy and is suspicious of Gatsby's past, and Nick is forced to cover for the couple when Daisy and Gatsby sneak off to be alone. Gatsby confides to Nick that he wants Daisy to leave Tom, dismissing Nick's suggestion that he "can't repeat the past." Nick, Jordan and Gatsby attend lunch at the Buchanan home, where Gatsby is startled to meet Daisy's young daughter, Pammy. Despite the tension, Tom suggests they drive into the city to escape the oppressive heat, and when they stop by Wilson's garage for gas, Tom is angry to hear that he intends to leave town with Myrtle. They head for the Biltmore Hotel, where Tom questions Gatsby about his alleged Oxford background and then finally calls him out on his affair with Daisy, and Gatsby calmly tells Tom that his wife has never loved him and is leaving him. Daisy, however, tearfully admits that she in fact loves both of them, and Tom adds that he knows that Gatsby made his money from bootlegging and other illegal endeavors. Gatsby and Daisy head back to West Egg in Gatsby's car, and a highly uncomfortable Nick realizes that it is his thirtieth birthday. Later, they head home and spot a disturbance at Wilson's, and discover that Myrtle has been killed by a car: Gatsby's. When they arrive at the Buchanan's, Gatsby is hiding outside and admits to Nick that Daisy was the one driving and ran Myrtle over without stopping when she ran out to meet the car, thinking it was Tom. He vows to cover for her and wait at the house to see if Tom confronts Daisy violently about the affair, but the two appear to make up in the night. Nick tells Gatsby that he must leave town before he is accused of Myrtle's death, but he refuses to leave Daisy.
Gatsby anxiously waits for Daisy to call, and Nick tells him that he is "worth the whole damn bunch put together" as he departs his home. Gatsby goes for a swim, and Wilson arrives and fatally shoots him and then himself, believing Gatsby to be Myrtle's lover and killer. Nick is greatly saddened by his friend's death and reflects that Daisy and Tom are "careless people" who do not care about others' wellbeing. The police search Gatsby's home, and Gatsby's father arrives, explaining how "Jimmy Gatz" carefully cultivated his upper-class image and then ran away from home to remake himself. Nick finally realizes that Gatsby forged bonds to make his "fortune" and prove himself to Daisy, and none of Gatsby's party guests and so-called friends, including Daisy, attend his funeral. Jordan gets engaged to someone else, and Nick confronts Tom and accuses him of arranging Gatsby's death by telling Wilson who owned the fatal car, but Tom argues that he deserved his fate for killing Myrtle. Nick decides that the east is "haunted for him now" and burns the evidence of Gatsby's criminal activity. He thinks about his friend and his hopeless dream, symbolized by the green light on Daisy's dock, and heads back to the Midwest. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: A&E
- DATE: January 14, 2001 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:73344
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Romance; American literature
- SERIES RUN: A&E - TV, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Tom Thayer … Executive Producer
- Delia Fine … Executive Producer
- Jane Tranter … Executive Producer
- Antony Root … Executive Producer
- David Roessell … Producer
- Craig McNeil … Producer
- Manon Bougie … Line Producer
- Robert Markowitz … Director
- John McLaughlin … Writer
- F. Scott Fitzgerald … Based on the book by
- Carl Davis … Music by
- Mira Sorvino … Cast, Daisy Buchanan
- Toby Stephens … Cast, Jay Gatsby
- Paul Rudd … Cast, Nick Carraway
- Martin Donovan … Cast, Tom Buchanan
- Francie Swift … Cast, Jordan Baker
- Heather Goldenhersh … Cast, Myrtle Wilson
- Matt Malloy … Cast, Klipspringer
- William Camp … Cast, Wilson
- Alexander Bisping … Cast, Buchanan's Butler
- Janine Theriault … Cast, Catherine
- Martin Kevan … Cast, Gatsby's Butler
- Claudia Besso … Cast, Lucille
- Gillian Ferrabee … Cast, Lil
- Richard Jutras … Cast, Owl Eyes
- Jerry Grayson … Cast, Wolfshiem
- Tim Rozon … Cast, Dandy Man
- Tony Calabretta … Cast, Gatsby's Domestic
- Megan Broadman … Cast, Pammy
- Andrea Sadler … Cast, Miss Baedecker
- Jason Conyers … Cast, Witness at Accident
- Allen Altman … Cast, Policeman at Accident
- Ernie Jackson … Cast, Gatsby's Gardener
- Dean Fleming … Cast, Policeman
- Paul Hopkins … Cast, Policeman Detective
- Burt Harris … Cast, Henry C. Gatz