S.H. Cinema w/ Canio’s Books: The Great Gatsby (1949) / Alan Ladd / Film, 5.28 | Marathon Reading, 5.30th

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Betty Field and Alan Ladd

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THE GREAT GATSBY (1949)

AT SAG HARBOR CINEMA

Thursday, May 28th, 2026 at 6pm

Elliott Nugent’s 1949 rarely seen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, starring Alan Ladd screens on 35mm

A co-presentation with Canio’s Books.

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On Thursday, May 28th, 2026 at 6pm, Sag Harbor Cinema will celebrate Canio’s Books’ annual marathon reading — this year focused on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby — with a rare 35mm presentation of Elliott Nugent’s 1949 adaptation. The screening, preceded by a brief introduction by SHC’s Founding Artistic Director Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, leads into The Great Gatsby Marathon to be held on Saturday, May 30th, 2026.

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“We cherish that the Cinema has become an active part in the great tradition of Sag Harbor marathon readings organized by Canio’s. I literally discovered the existence of the 35mm of this early adaptation of Fitzgerald’s novel only a few weeks ago, as I was researching our Summer Noir program. Its tone is starker, drier, very different from both the Jack Clayton 1974 The Great Gatsby, with Robert Redford, and Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film, with Leonardo DiCaprio. I am thrilled to share this rarely seen film with our audience,” says D’Agnolo Vallan.

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“We’re thrilled to partner again with the Sag Harbor Cinema for Canio’s community read of this classic novel set on Long Island. It’s as vital today as when first published in 1925; exposing the country’s struggle with class divisions, nihilism, and racism post World War I. Fitzgerald’s lyrical prose makes the book ideally suited for a read-aloud,” says Kathryn Szoka, co-owner of Canio’s Books.

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Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1925, The Great Gatsby is one of the most enduring works of American literature and one of the most persistently reinterpreted for the screen. The first adaptation, a now-lost silent film from 1926, was directed by Herbert Brenon (Beau Geste, which screened at SHC’s 2025 Festival of Preservation) and starred Warner Baxter (In Old Arizona).

In 1949, Paramount mounted a sound remake, directed by Elliott Nugent (The Cat and the Canary, The Male Animal) and starring Alan Ladd. Ladd had broken through with Frank Tuttle’s This Gun for Hire in 1942 as a cold, taciturn hitman opposite Veronica Lake — a performance that solidified him as a cornerstone of early film noir. He followed with The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942) and The Blue Dahlia (George Marshall, 1946), establishing a screen persona marked by a quiet intensity and emotional restraint. That same coiled presence shapes Ladd’s Gatsby: less a glittering myth, and more of a fragile, inward figure. Long difficult to see, Nugent’s Gatsby was restored to circulation in 2012, when Universal made a new 35mm print in collaboration with the Film Noir Foundation.

Fitzgerald’s novel has continued to inspire filmmakers across generations. In 1974, Jack Clayton directed a lavish adaptation with a screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. Most recently, Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 adaptation reintroduced Gatsby to a new generation with the director’s quintessential kinetic, hyper-stylized vision, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Gatsby’s reach has extended beyond the screen. Across nearly a century, the mysterious, romantic, and ultimately tragic Gatsby figure continues to resonate as a symbol of reinvention, excess, and the elusive promise of the American dream.

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Tickets to ‘The Great Gatsby’ screening are available at the box office or www.sagharborcinema.org.

For more information about Canio’s 2026 Gatsby Marathon, please go to www.caniosculturalcafe.org.

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THE GREAT GATSBY (35mm)

Directed by Elliott Nugent

USA | 1949 | 91 mins | English

Scott Fitzgerald’s Great American Novel may seem peculiar source material for film noir, but the greed, alienation, and false identity, not to mention racketeering and murder, imbue The Great Gatsby with sufficient noir rewards for fans of the cycle. Directed by the virtually unknown Elliott Nugent, who replaced John Farrow, The Great Gatsby is still a fast-paced, dynamic adaptation of the Jazz Age novel that benefits from the finely layered performance of Alan Ladd in the title role.

Known only as the new baron in town who throws opulent parties in his Long Island mansion, his background as a gangster concealed, Gatsby is attempting to remake himself largely to get back together with Daisy Buchanan (Betty Field), the one who got away. Daisy is now married to Tom Buchanan (Barry Sullivan) and lives across the water, so Gatsby befriends her cousin Nick Carraway (Macdonald Carey) to arrange for an encounter. The spark between them will ignite resentments, rivalries, and accidents, not to mention two homicides (the final shooting by the pool is unusually explicit for 1949, a bloody bullet puncture instantly visible). One of the victims, Tom Buchanan’s mistress Myrtle Wilson, is played by Shelley Winters, who must hold the title of most murdered actress in all of noir.

A tragic takedown of American ambition and greed, the film had been hard to find until in 2012, a new 35mm print was made by Universal, with the collaboration of the Film Noir Foundation.

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Sag Harbor Cinema

As a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) community-based organization, Sag Harbor Cinema is dedicated to presenting the past, present, and future of the movies and to preserving and educating about films, filmmaking, and the film-going experience in its three state-of-the-art theaters. The Cinema engages its audiences and the community year-round through dialogue, discovery, and appreciation of the moving image – from blockbusters to student shorts and everything in between. Revitalized and reimagined through unprecedented community efforts to rebuild the iconic Main Street structure after a fire nearly destroyed it in 2016, SHC continues a long historic tradition of entertainment in the heart of Sag Harbor Village.

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Canio’s Cultural Cafe’s The Great Gatsby Marathon

Nick, Jay, Daisy, Jordan … we can’t wait to bring these unforgettable characters to life with a reading of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s American classic The Great Gatsby on Saturday, May 30. As vital today as when first published one hundred years ago, this searing novel, set on Long Island, exposes the country’s struggle with class divisions, nihilism, and racism post World War I. The enigmatic Gatsby returns from combat to find financial success. His attempts to capture the magic of early love lead to tragedy. First-time readers and swellegant veterans are invited to step into the pages of this great American work of literature. Actor Paul Hecht will start our journey. Pulitzer-prize winning playwright, Robert Schenkkan, will read the grand finale. Actor Matthew Conlan has assembled a troupe of actors to dramatize the hotel scene on the porch of Readers, sign up HERE for your reading slot (10 minutes or less.)

The Marathon is a fundraiser for our educational non-profit, Canio’s Cultural Cafe (501c3). Select a sponsorship level, and your name will be listed in our program and on our website, with our great thanks.

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