The Carpetbaggers

Director: Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk

Overview

Set in the '20s and '30s and based on Harold Robbin's book, this drama chronicles the life of millionaire Jonas Cord, Jr. (George Peppard) who inherits his father's business and who has no scruples in romance nor business until his older friend, Nevada Smith (Alan Ladd--whose performance here was his last) knocks some sense into him. Robbins insists that his story was not based on the life of Howard Hughes.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2020
UPC:	0032429342911
Original Release:	1964
Rating:	NR
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Language:	English
Time:	2:30:00
Sales rank:	5,791

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

George Peppard	Jonas Cord Jr
Carroll Baker	Rina
Bob Cummings	Dan Piercé,Dan Pierce
Alan Ladd	Nevada Smith
Martha Hyer	Jennie Denton
Elizabeth Ashley	Monica Winthrop
Lew Ayres	McAllister
Martin Balsam	Bernard B. Norman
Ralph Taeger	Buzz Dalton
Archie Moore	Jedediah
Leif Erickson	Jonas Cord Sr.
Arthur Franz	Morrissey
Tom Tully	Amos Winthrop
Audrey Totter	Prostitute
Anthony Warde	Moroni
Charles Lane	Denby
Tom Lowell	David Woolf
John Conte	Ellis
Vaughn Taylor	Doctor
Francesca Bellini	Cynthia Randall
Gladys Holland	French Nurse
Lynn Borden	Starlet
Victoria Jean	Jo-Ann
Frankie Darro	Bellboy
Lisa Seagram	Moroni's Secretary
Ann Doran	Woman Reporter
Joseph Turkel	Reporter,Reporter
Don 'Red' Barry	Sound Man
Peter Duryea	Assistant Director
Walter Bacon	Actor
Ralph Brooks	Actor
Paul Baxley	Stuntman
George Calliga	Theatre Patron
Don Diamond	Gambler
Tony Regan	Theater Manager
Elmer Bernstein	Composer

Technical Credits

Harold Robbins

John Michael Hayes

Edward Dmytryk	Director
Paul K. Lerpae	Special Effects
Joseph E. Levine	Producer
Harold Robbins	Screenwriter
John Michael Hayes	Screenwriter
Farciot Edouart	Special Effects
John R. Carter	Sound Effects
Bill Wistrom	Sound Effects
Frank Caffey	Producer

Editorial Reviews

One of the most popular pulp novels of the early 1960s was Harold Robbins' The Carpetbaggers, a steamy mix of power, sex, business, and Hollywood. The 1964 movie version was directed by Edward Dmytryk and had an introduction by Joan Collins. Many consumers didn't realize that the playboy-tycoon protagonist played by George Peppard was a parody of Howard Hughes. In this telling, Peppard's friend is a silent film cowboy named Nevada Smith, played by Alan Ladd in his last film role. Carroll Baker has the lead female role. It's a glossy, pandering feast of Hollywood melodrama that succeeds brilliantly in its acerbic portrait of its principal character. Two years later, a prequel called Nevada Smith was released, with Steve McQueen taking Ladd's part; it bombed. But The Carpetbaggers remains a symbol of the heyday of the Hollywood blockbuster.