I admit, I'm a sucker for movies that are all about the movies. From more idealistic ditties like The Wizard of Speed and Time to dark satires like The Player, I'm always intrigued to see what the products of the film industry have to say about the industry itself. Packing as much talent in front of and behind the camera as it does, 1976's The Last Tycoon, starring Robert De Niro, certainly looked as if it would join the ranks of the greatest films of its kind. But those hoping for an insider's look at the less magical side of the Dream Factory may be sorely disappointed, as The Last Tycoon is more of a reflective drama tinged with romance if anything; in the end, it has about as much to do with the movies as Psycho had to do with shower curtains.

Robert De Niro

 

Studio boss Monroe Stahr (De Niro) is Hollywood's golden boy. Even as the Great Depression takes its toll on the country, Stahr keeps cranking out hits that bring in audiences, a stone-cold natural at figuring out what can make or break a picture. But soon after an earthquake rocks the area, Stahr confronts something that threatens to sidetrack his almost unhealthy dedication to his job: love. Floating into frame on a giant prop is Kathleen (Ingrid Boulting), an enigmatic woman who instantly catches Stahr's eye. He becomes obsessed with tracking her down, as she reminds him of his previous wife, a starlet whose death sent him spiraling into his self-induced isolation in the first place.

In no time, Stahr's thoughts are almost completely clouded by this mystery woman, sidetracking him as he also tries to handle a demanding actress (Jeanne Moreau), console an insecure actor (Tony Curtis), and prepare for the arrival of a man who wants to unionize screenwriters.

Jeanne Moreau

The Last Tycoon was designed to be an ironic tragedy, which I'm more than up for watching. The idea of a man whose entire life has been dedicated to making movies, helping ticket buyers live vicariously and realize their dreams through the cinema, and who still can't save himself is a solid premise with tons of potential. But in bringing this story to life onscreen, the filmmakers seems to have mistaken pretension and having the characters stare into outer space as a substitution for casting an introspective light over the story. To put it frankly, The Last Tycoon is a boring movie made by people who should've been smart enough to realize that the gem of a film they had in their hands was quickly deteriorating into an artsy-fartsy mess.

The film comes blanketed by a somber atmosphere, a very cynical attitude that pretty much destroys any idea of Hollywood being a happy place, which works for a while. I especially liked two of the first scenes, one in which a guide (played by the one and only John Carradine) gives a wide-eyed group of sightseers a tour of the studio and the other, which provides an excellent contrast, a shot of Stahr in a screening room, barking out orders to cut a movie to make it "better." Also, the period production design here is nothing less than perfect.

But while The Last Tycoon does a fantastic job of establishing this atmosphere, of depicting the movie business as a massive, cold-hearted machine, it seriously falters in carrying it through the rest of the story. De Niro gives a solid performance as Stahr, a man so haunted by past memories that he bites onto the first chance of getting out of his self-induced funk and doesn't let go. He does a terrific job of conveying his character's sly knowledge of how the movie biz works, especially in a scene in which he spins an unfinished story that dazzles a jaded director (Donald Pleasance). But it's when Stahr throws himself into a torrential, on again/off again relationship with Kathleen that the film's gears start to painfully grind slowly.

The trouble lies almost solely with Boulting's character, who so often blows off Stahr, treats him like garbage, and acts so stubbornly in general that even with his emotional baggage, it's hard to believe he'd fall so hard for her. The time they do spend together is filled with sullen glances and pseudo-philosophical dialogue that just eats up the running time like Pac-Man on speed. And the supporting cast is filled with so many fantastic players, from Tony Curtis as a troubled movie star to Robert Mitchum as a hardened studio exec, but nary any of them get any substantial screen time; most are relegated to the sidelines so De Niro can be sad for another twenty agonizing minutes.

The Last Tycoon was apparently based upon an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I don't know for sure how much he managed to pen, but for his sake, I hope he didn't picture his work turning into the disappointing downer that this flick is.

Director: Elia Kazan

Writer: Harold Pinter, based upon an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Cast: Robert De Niro, Ingrid Boulting, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Donald Pleasance

Rating: PG (fine for high-schoolers)

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Run Time: 122 minutes

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Format: Color, widescreen

Photos © Paramount Pictures