A Psychiatrist and his life with a patient he helped to recover.A Psychiatrist and his life with a patient he helped to recover.A Psychiatrist and his life with a patient he helped to recover.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
Jason Robards
- Dr. Richard 'Dick' Diver
- (as Jason Robards Jr.)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Divers are based on real-life couple Gerald and Sara Murphy, friends and patrons of the famous, including the author of this story, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Poet Archibald Macleish once said of the Murphys that "there was a shine to life wherever they were".
- GoofsThe American flag adorning the child's sand castle has its stars arranged in the staggered rows of 5 and 6 stars as in the current 50 stars arrangement. An American flag of the 1920's would have had its stars in the 6 rows of 8 arrangement.
- Quotes
Mr. Albert Charles McKisco: What's your place in the economy of life, Barban?
Tommy Barban: I shoot
Mr. Albert Charles McKisco: Just any old thing, huh?
Tommy Barban: Well, er... buffalo in Africa, tigers in India, Bolsheviks in Europe...
Mr. Albert Charles McKisco: Don't you ever get the urge to do anything?
Tommy Barban: Yes. I would like to restore the Holy Roman Empire.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)
- SoundtracksTender Is the Night
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Sung by an off-screen vocal group during the opening credits
Featured review
The great 20th century American novelists all created books that were difficult to transfer to the big screen successfully. Hollywood had better luck adapting the short stories of Faulkner and Hemingway to the motion picture medium than with their master works. Fitzgerald was no exception. None of his masterpieces was a total success when rewritten as screenplays, even when directed by such skilled artisans as Henry King. Only John Steinbeck's works were ready-made for media exchanges. But who would place him on the same creative sphere as Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald? "Tender is the Night" has its moments of greatness, in particular toward the end and who can fault the acting of such a stellar cast.
One distraction for this viewer was the failure of the director and cinematographer to capture on film the essence of The Jazz Age the way Fitzgerald did in his novel. This version of "Tender is the Night" has the 1960's written all over it from the clothes worn to a jet-set aura rather than the Lost Generation expatriate ambiance of the Fitzgerald masterpiece. Even the music is more 1930's swing than 1920's jazz. The only saving grace in the music department is the original score provided by virtuoso composer Bernard Herrmann.
All that remains of Fitzgerald is the bare bones story of the cosmopolitan Divers, focusing on Dr. Dick Diver, played with élan by Jason Robards Jr, a psychiatrist, married to Nicole (Jennifer Jones), who has suffered a mental breakdown. The good doctor becomes both a husband and an analyst to his mentally unbalanced spouse. On the French Riviera just before the stock market crash of 1929, Dr. Diver, near middle age, meets and falls for a rising starlet, Rosemary Hoyt (Jill St. John). As the plot thickens, Dr. Diver slides into a maelstrom of drunken escapades until he hits rock bottom. The story somewhat parallels Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda's own experiences, though Fitzgerald claimed it was based on friends Gerald and Sara Murphy's struggles.
By all means read the novel before watching this screen adaptation. I recommend the film only as a supplement to the book, perhaps Fitzgerald's best work.
One distraction for this viewer was the failure of the director and cinematographer to capture on film the essence of The Jazz Age the way Fitzgerald did in his novel. This version of "Tender is the Night" has the 1960's written all over it from the clothes worn to a jet-set aura rather than the Lost Generation expatriate ambiance of the Fitzgerald masterpiece. Even the music is more 1930's swing than 1920's jazz. The only saving grace in the music department is the original score provided by virtuoso composer Bernard Herrmann.
All that remains of Fitzgerald is the bare bones story of the cosmopolitan Divers, focusing on Dr. Dick Diver, played with élan by Jason Robards Jr, a psychiatrist, married to Nicole (Jennifer Jones), who has suffered a mental breakdown. The good doctor becomes both a husband and an analyst to his mentally unbalanced spouse. On the French Riviera just before the stock market crash of 1929, Dr. Diver, near middle age, meets and falls for a rising starlet, Rosemary Hoyt (Jill St. John). As the plot thickens, Dr. Diver slides into a maelstrom of drunken escapades until he hits rock bottom. The story somewhat parallels Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda's own experiences, though Fitzgerald claimed it was based on friends Gerald and Sara Murphy's struggles.
By all means read the novel before watching this screen adaptation. I recommend the film only as a supplement to the book, perhaps Fitzgerald's best work.
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,900,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 22 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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