The Carpetbaggers (film)
Encyclopedia
The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film based upon the best selling novel The Carpetbaggers
by Harold Robbins
.
The film stars George Peppard
as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes
, and Alan Ladd
as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith
, played the following year in a prequel
starring Steve McQueen
in the part. Carroll Baker
portrayed an actress inspired by Jean Harlow
, who appeared in Hughes' film epic Hell's Angels
.
The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk
, filmed in 70mm, and was Alan Ladd's final film; Ladd died some months before its release.
In her 1978 autobiography Past Imperfect, Joan Collins
claims she had a firm offer to play Rina Marlowe but had to decline because of pregnancy.
Cord buys up the company stock held by Nevada Smith, who had practically raised Jonas in his real father's absence. He also pays off the gold-digging, nymphomaniacal Rina Marlowe, who had married his father strictly for money.
Cord becomes an aviation pioneer and his wealth grows. He ruins a business rival named Winthrop, then seduces and marries the man's daughter, Monica, only to immediately abandon her and demand a divorce.
Nevada finds work in western films. Rina also resurfaces to become a movie star for a studio owned by Bernard Norman, who refuses to sell out to Cord until he learns that the alcoholic Rina has died in a car crash. A public relations man, Dan Pierce, betrays his employer, Cord, resulting in Norman receiving more money than the studio is worth now that its main box-office draw is gone.
Cord goes on an alcoholic binge and disappears. Upon his return, he decides to actively run the studio, even directing films himself, and casts a call girl, Jennie Denton, to be the studio's new star. Cord coldly cuts ties with aviation partner Buzz and longtime lawyer Mac, then mistreats Jennie so terribly, he is challenged to a fistfight by old friend Nevada Smith and is badly beaten.
A contrite Cord returns to Monica, with whom he has a child. He has learned from Nevada that there was no insanity in his family after all, and that his daughter is a healthy, normal girl.
reported that this film was the #1 moneymaker of 1964, with domestic rentals of $
13,000,000. The second highest moneymaker of 1964 was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
at $
10,000,000; in third place was The Unsinkable Molly Brown at $
7,500,000.
was used as the title credits for the UK BBC2 TV finance and current affairs magazine programme, The Money Programme
, in a version by Jimmy Smith
arranged by Lalo Schiffrin.
In the Steve McQueen
western film Nevada Smith
, he stars as a young cowboy named Max Sand who makes up the name Nevada Smith when he infiltrates the gang of a man he intends to kill.
The Carpetbaggers
The Carpetbaggers is the title of a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title.The term "carpetbagger" refers to an outsider relocating to exploit locals . It derives from post-bellum South usage, where it referred specifically to opportunistic...
by Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins
Harold Robbins was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. During his career, he wrote over 25 best-sellers, selling over 750 million copies in 32 languages....
.
The film stars George Peppard
George Peppard
George Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, and Alan Ladd
Alan Ladd
-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E...
, played the following year in a prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
starring Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
in the part. Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker
Carroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
portrayed an actress inspired by Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow
Jean Harlow was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s. Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde" , Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute...
, who appeared in Hughes' film epic Hell's Angels
Hell's Angels (film)
Hell's Angels is a 1930 American war film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, Ben Lyon, and James Hall. The film, which was produced by Hughes and written by Harry Behn and Howard Estabrook, centers on the combat pilots of World War I...
.
The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk
Edward Dmytryk was an American film director who was amongst the Hollywood Ten, a group of blacklisted film industry professionals who served time in prison for being in contempt of Congress during the McCarthy-era 'red scare'.-Early life:Dmytryk was born in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada,...
, filmed in 70mm, and was Alan Ladd's final film; Ladd died some months before its release.
In her 1978 autobiography Past Imperfect, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
claims she had a firm offer to play Rina Marlowe but had to decline because of pregnancy.
Plot
Jonas Cord becomes one of America's richest men, inheriting a chemical company after his father's death. Cord resents his father bitterly and is psychologically scarred by the death of a twin brother. He believes there is insanity in the family's genes and does not want children of his own.Cord buys up the company stock held by Nevada Smith, who had practically raised Jonas in his real father's absence. He also pays off the gold-digging, nymphomaniacal Rina Marlowe, who had married his father strictly for money.
Cord becomes an aviation pioneer and his wealth grows. He ruins a business rival named Winthrop, then seduces and marries the man's daughter, Monica, only to immediately abandon her and demand a divorce.
Nevada finds work in western films. Rina also resurfaces to become a movie star for a studio owned by Bernard Norman, who refuses to sell out to Cord until he learns that the alcoholic Rina has died in a car crash. A public relations man, Dan Pierce, betrays his employer, Cord, resulting in Norman receiving more money than the studio is worth now that its main box-office draw is gone.
Cord goes on an alcoholic binge and disappears. Upon his return, he decides to actively run the studio, even directing films himself, and casts a call girl, Jennie Denton, to be the studio's new star. Cord coldly cuts ties with aviation partner Buzz and longtime lawyer Mac, then mistreats Jennie so terribly, he is challenged to a fistfight by old friend Nevada Smith and is badly beaten.
A contrite Cord returns to Monica, with whom he has a child. He has learned from Nevada that there was no insanity in his family after all, and that his daughter is a healthy, normal girl.
Cast
- George PeppardGeorge PeppardGeorge Peppard, Jr. was an American film and television actor.Peppard secured a major role when he starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's , portrayed a character based on Howard Hughes in The Carpetbaggers , and played the title role of the millionaire sleuth Thomas Banacek in...
... Jonas Cord - Alan LaddAlan Ladd-Early life:Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter...
... Nevada SmithNevada SmithNevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E... - Carroll BakerCarroll BakerCarroll Baker is a former American actress who has enjoyed popularity as both a serious dramatic actress and, particularly in the 1960s, as a movie sex symbol...
... Rina Marlowe Cord - Robert CummingsRobert CummingsCharles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings , mostly known professionally as Robert Cummings but sometimes as Bob Cummings, was an American film and television actor....
... Dan Pierce (billed as Bob Cummings) - Martha HyerMartha HyerMartha Hyer is an American actress.She attended Northwestern University and was a member of Pi Beta Phi fraternity. After completing her education, she next appeared in The Locket in 1946...
... Jennie Denton - Elizabeth AshleyElizabeth AshleyElizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:...
... Monica Winthrop - Lew AyresLew AyresLew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
... 'Mac' McAllister - Martin BalsamMartin BalsamMartin Henry Balsam was an American actor. He is known for his Oscar-winning role as "Arnold Burns" in A Thousand Clowns and his role as "Detective Milton Arbogast" in Psycho.- Early life :...
... Bernard B. Norman - Ralph TaegerRalph TaegerRalph Taeger is an American actor who starred in three television series during the 1960s.-Biography:Born in Queens, New York, USA,from German speaking parents Fredrich and Olga Siefert. Taeger's first career choice was professional baseball, and he did play briefly on a farm team for the Los...
... Buzz Dalton - Archie MooreArchie MooreArchie Moore, born Archibald Lee Wright , was light heavyweight world boxing champion who had one of the longest professional careers in the history of that sport....
... Jedediah
- Leif EricksonLeif EricksonLeif Erickson was an American film and television actor.-Background:Leif Erickson was born William Wycliffe Anderson in Alameda, California. His father was commander of a fleet of ships and his mother was a noted newspaperwoman and writer...
... Jonas Cord, Sr. - Arthur FranzArthur FranzArthur Franz was a B-movie actor whose most notable role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter, Jr. in The Caine Mutiny. He also appeared in Roseanna McCoy , Invaders from Mars , Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man and The Unholy Wife , among others...
... Morrissey - Tom TullyTom TullyTom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
... Amos Winthrop - Audrey TotterAudrey TotterAudrey Mary Totter is an American actress and former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract star of Austrian-Slovene and Swedish descent...
... Prostitute - Anthony WardeAnthony WardeAnthony Warde was a noted American actor who appeared in over 150 films between 1937 and 1964.-Career:A native of Pennsylvania, Warde started his Hollywood career in Escape by Night , appearing in a handful of undistinguished feature films before gaining popularity as one of the hardest working...
... Moroni - Charles LaneCharles Lane (actor)Charles Gerstle Levison , better known as Charles Lane, was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death may have been the oldest living professional American actor. Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including You Can't Take It With You , Mr...
... Denby - Tom Lowell ... David Woolf
- John ConteJohn Conte (actor)John Conte was a stage and film actor and television broadcaster.Conte was born in Palmer, Massachusetts. His Mother Maria migrated to the United States, from Calabria, with her lifelong friend Francesca Cuda, who moved to Los Angeles before the Conte family...
... Ed Ellis - Vaughn TaylorVaughn Taylor (actor)Vaughn Taylor was an American film and television actor. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts.His film credits include Jailhouse Rock, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Psycho and In Cold Blood....
... Doctor
Box office performance
VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that this film was the #1 moneymaker of 1964, with domestic rentals of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
13,000,000. The second highest moneymaker of 1964 was It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers...
at $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
10,000,000; in third place was The Unsinkable Molly Brown at $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
7,500,000.
Miscellaneous
The theme tune by Elmer BernsteinElmer Bernstein
Elmer Bernstein was an American composer and conductor best known for his many film scores. In a career which spanned fifty years, he composed music for hundreds of film and television productions...
was used as the title credits for the UK BBC2 TV finance and current affairs magazine programme, The Money Programme
The Money Programme
The Money Programme is a finance and business affairs television programme on BBC2.It was first broadcast on 5 April 1966 and presented by "commentators" William Davis, Erskine Childers and Joe Roeber. At this time David Attenborough was the controller of BBC2...
, in a version by Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
arranged by Lalo Schiffrin.
In the Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
western film Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith
Nevada Smith is a 1966 American Western film starring Steve McQueen and made by Embassy Pictures and Solar Productions, in association with and released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was produced and directed by Henry Hathaway with Joseph E...
, he stars as a young cowboy named Max Sand who makes up the name Nevada Smith when he infiltrates the gang of a man he intends to kill.