NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS MOVIE

In conversation with a young woman who is going to be in a performance of a local college production of The Great Gatsby, I asked, "Have you ever watched any of the movie adaptations?" She asked, "What movies?"  I answered, "The Great Gatsby;  Alan Ladd was in the first, Redford in the second, and Leonardo was in the last one."  She said that the Director had said not to watch anything but just to read the book and the play.

I screaked, "ALAN LADD--can you believe that Alan Ladd played Jay Gatsby?"

Of course I was not surprised when she said she had never heard of Alan Ladd.  I asked, "Ever heard of Shane?"  I then went into my imitation of Brandon de Wilde crying out, "Shane, Shane...." but she didn't know that movie!

I told her that I thought none of the movies captured the essence of Jay or Daisy and that I was a great fan of Fitzgerald, having read everything by him, and about him, and also Zelda.  I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that she did not know who Zelda was.  I told her how much I disliked Hemingway and his treatment of Fitzgerald.

When I told her about the new movie about Maxwell Perkins, I saw her eyes glazed over and I realized I was probably boring her.