In 1964 The Carpetbaggers was given a lavish movie production under the direction of Edward Dmytryk. It stars George Peppard as Jonas Cord, Carroll Baker as Rina Marlowe, and Alan Ladd (in his last role) as Nevada Smith. The huge supporting cast features Bob Cummings, Martha Hyer, Elizabeth Ashley, Lew Ayres, and Martin Balsam.

Since The Carpetbaggers had been so recently published at the time and so widely read, the movie had to be reasonably faithful to the book, and despite the vast range of material, it is.

Although it has no special artistic distinction, it is clearly plotted and well paced. The cast is excellent and manages to be convincing even at the most melodramatic moments in the plot. The movie was a huge financial success.

In 1966 Henry Hathaway directed a movie western called Nevada Smith about the early life of this character and based on portions of...