Was there a 1920's Revival In the 1970s?

[jazzzbaby]

I have often thought there must have been because over the years...(many years in fact)...I noticed there were many films that were made during the early 1970s that have subject matter that refer to the 1920s. Topics such as silent film stars, books that were popular *The Great Gatsby* and the decadence of that era.

I use to get excited when I saw a film advertised on the tele, however I would often be disappointed in the cheesy-ness of it all. They hardly ever got it right...except for The Great Gatsby of course.

I was a toddler & young kid in the seventies so I wouldn't have noticed if there was a revival of this kind going on...maybe someone here knows?

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I have often thought there must have been because over the years...(many years in fact)...I noticed there were many films that were made during the early 1970s that have subject matter that refer to the 1920s. Topics such as silent film stars, books that were popular *The Great Gatsby* and the decadence of that era.

I use to get excited when I saw a film advertised on the tele, however I would often be disappointed in the cheesy-ness of it all. They hardly ever got it right...except for The Great Gatsby of course.

I was a toddler & young kid in the seventies so I wouldn't have noticed if there was a revival of this kind going on...maybe someone here knows?

You're quite correct. Robert Evans, Head of Prodcution at Paramount Studios greenlit a whole slew of period pieces set in the 20s and 30s - such classics as Chinatown, The Godfather I and II as well as The Great Gatsby (of which Evans himself was compared to the titular character, Jay Gatsby!).

The box office success of these and other related films set the stage for a short-lived fashion revival of 20s and 30s style clothing during the 1970s.

 

[Harp]

Gatsby

I think Redford-once he'd made his bones-had the muscle and script
smarts to green light adaptable literature, so Gatsby thankfully
was produced.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I think Redford-once he'd made his bones-had the muscle and script
smarts to green light adaptable literature, so Gatsby thankfully
was produced.

Yes, you're right: his was a major voice that helped the production get made. However, I've never been happy with that adaptation (in spite of John Box's brilliant production design) for a number of reasons that I won't detail here because it will derail this thread.

 

[Harp]

You're quite correct. Robert Evans, Head of Prodcution at Paramount Studios greenlit a whole slew of period pieces set in the 20s and 30s - such classics as Chinatown, The Godfather I and II as well as The Great Gatsby (of which Evans himself was compared to the titular character, Jay Gatsby!).

The box office success of these and other related films set the stage for a short-lived fashion revival of 20s and 30s style clothing during the 1970s.

I stand corrected. Here I was thinking Redford was the muscle behind
the scene.

 

[Harp]

Yes, you're right: his was a major voice that helped the production get made. However, I've never been happy with that adaptation (in spite of John Box's brilliant prodcution design) for a number of reasons that I won't detail here because I feel it will derail this thread.

...I recall the scene where Gatsby and Daisy were dancing in a candlelit
room.... I'm an incurable romantic and just loved that movie!

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

I stand corrected. Here I was thinking Redford was the muscle behind
the scene.

Well, ultimately, in the final analysis it's always more complex than that. But by and large Robert Evans was the main power broker who got the production rolling. Remember, he was on a roll at Paramount: Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, Chinatown and The Godfather were his babies. To put it mildly, he was Charles Bludhorn's and Gulf and Western's Fair-Haired Boy.

Hollywood had been trying to adapt Gatsby for decades and the common wisdom in the industry at the time was that Fitzgerald was unadaptable. (Look at the long string of failed Fitzgerald adaptations made up until that time or, worse yet, their most recent box office flop, The Last Tycoon in 1974 - incidentally, a film for which Evans was responsible for.)

 

[Harp]

Well, ultimately, in the final analysis it's always more complex than that. But by and large Robert Evans was the main power broker who got the production rolling. Remember, he was on a roll at Paramount: Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, Chinatown and The Godfather were his babies. To put it mildly, he was Charles Bludhorn's and Gulf and Western's Fair-Haired Boy.

Hollywood had been trying to adapt Gatsby for decades and the common wisdom in the industry at the time was that Fitzgerald was unadaptable. (Look at the long string of failed Fitzgerald adaptations made up until that time or, worse yet, their most recent box office flop, The Tycoon in 1974 - incidentally, a film for which Evans was responsible for.)

Evans is owed a debt of thanks for the jewels in his crown; excepting,
in my view, Rosemary's Baby and Tycoon. I recall DeNiro as being
somewhat lost in T.

 

[Dapper Dan]

Just for the record, "The Godfather" is set after WWII.

Starting in the late '60s, there was a big '30s nostalgia movement in American cinema. Titles include Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" in '67, Sydney Pollack's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" in '69, Bob Fosse's "Cabaret" in '72, Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" in '73, George Roy Hill's "The Sting" in '73, and the aforementioned "Great Gatsby" and "Chinatown."

Also, for the record, "The Great Gatsby" came out in '74, predating "The Last Tycoon" by two years.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

...I recall the scene where Gatsby and Daisy were dancing in a candlelit
room.... I'm an incurable romantic and just loved that movie!

That scene and others like it were brilliantly staged. However, in my opinion (and this is merely just another opinion floating out there in cyberspace!) other elements were handled with far less artistry and sensitivity. (Like Nelson Riddle's hamfisted score, for instance. Couldn't they have contracted Jerry Goldsmith who worked miracles on a absurdly abbreviated 10 day scoring/recording schedule for Chinatown?)

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Just for the record, "The Godfather" is set after WWII.

Starting in the late '60s, there was a big '30s nostalgia movement in American cinema. Titles include Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde" in '67, Sydney Pollack's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" in '69, Bob Fosse's "Cabaret" in '72, Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon" in '73, George Roy Hill's "The Sting" in '73, and the aforementioned "Great Gatsby" and "Chinatown."

Also, for the record, "The Great Gatsby" came out in '74, predating "The Last Tycoon" by two years.

Although the first film of the trilogy was indeed set in post-World War II America, The Godfather was envisioned from the onset as a 3 part epic. The films that Robert Evans was responsible for producing during the early 1970s (and thus the original subject of this thread because of its influence on the revival of vintage fashion) were Parts I and II and they were shot back-to-back, covering a period from the early 1900s to the late 1950s, and geographically from Sicily to America to Cuba.

Yes, I am mistaken for the release dates of The Last Tycoon.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

Evans is owed a debt of thanks for the jewels in his crown; excepting,
in my view, Rosemary's Baby and Tycoon. I recall DeNiro as being
somewhat lost in T.

Yes, I agree! Evans worked miracles at a studio that - at the time of his arrival - was in 9th place amongst all the rival companies. A masterpiece like Chinatown forgives many sins, even a lackluster effort like The Last Tycoon!

 

[dr greg]

movies within movies

This is a great film that's probably germane to the discussion
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303353/

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

one 70's revival period film I've always enjoyed was Bugsy Malone (1976), a musical about gangsters of the 20's, starring a young Scott Baio and Jodie Foster, and the entire cast were all kids 16 years old and under.

 

[Curt Chiarelli]

This is a great film that's probably germane to the discussion
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303353/

Hi Dr. Greg:

Thanks for the recommendation! I read Evans' autobiography of the same name (as well as Peter Bart's insightful Shoot Out), but I've never heard of the documentary version until you brought it to our attention.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Don't forget Paper Moon and The Great Waldo Pepper.

 

[patrick1987]

A story within a story within a story

The Boy Friend. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066858/ Teens and ladies' fashions enjoyed a 20s influence. Not that I read old issues of Seventeen Magazine or anything.