THE CARPETBAGGERS (1964)

The opening defines "carpetbaggers" as men who leave their mark on the world, good or bad. (Hmm, that’s a pretty broad definition, in addition to assuming that women can't do such a thing, but we proceed). This is the story of one such man, Jonas Cord (George Peppard), a rich man's wastrel son whom we first meet (in the 1920s) buzzing his biplane dangerously low over his family's chemical plant. His father bawls him out for the stunt and for his latest headline scandal, the attempted suicide of his latest girlfriend. Jonas replies by calling Dad a "greedy, insensitive drunk" (which he almost certainly is); Dad responds by dropping dead of a stroke. Jonas takes over the company but Dad leaves everything else to Jonas's young stepmother Rina (Carroll Baker) who, get this, was Jonas's lover years ago. She invites him into her bed for a roll in the hay, but he demurs and she calls him a "scared little boy." The rest of the movie follows Jonas's business successes in plastics, airplanes, and eventually Hollywood, and his failures in personal relationships. Over the years, he can't quite get Rina in the sack, but he does make her a movie star in a string of westerns starring his old buddy Nevada Smith (Alan Ladd). He marries Monica, the daughter of a business rival, but when she expresses her desire for a family life, he leaves her and takes up with good-hearted hooker Jennie. But over the years, his insensitive behavior drives everyone away, including his faithful lawyer, an old-time business partner, and even Nevada Smith. Is there a path to redemption for this shell of a man?

There were quite a few movies from the 50s into the 1970s, often based on bestselling novels by authors like Harold Robbins (who wrote the novel this is based on) and Sidney Sheldon, that focused on the rise and fall of a central male figure, sometimes a nice guy, sometimes not, including Parrish, The Young Philadelphians, Elmer Gantry, and Giant. But this reminded me most of The Oscar, in which the main character is a total bastard, out only for himself, hurting (and eventually being left by) everyone around him. The very handsome Peppard (pictured) is good at being a bastard while retaining just enough charm that we can see how people get sucked into his circle. The character is based on Howard Hughes, who got rich in aviation and movies, and who jump-started the career of Jean Harlow, but the Rina character here is, except for being blond and sexy and having a tragic end, nothing like Harlow. This episodic film is entertaining, though never quite as sleazy as it wants to be, perhaps because of the constraints of the Production Code, which would collapse a year or two after this came out. For the most part, the supporting cast is solid: Martha Hyer as the hooker, Elizabeth Ashley as the long-suffering wife, Lew Ayers as the lawyer, Robert Cummings as an agent, Ralph Taeger as the airplane buddy, Martin Balsam as a studio head and Audrey Totter as a kindly prostitute who helps Jonas recover from a multi-day drinking binge. The only real casting misstep is Alan Ladd who is too old and tired and charmless for the part of Nevada. The movie is cinematic fast-food, probably not good for you but fun to indulge in. [DVD]