The Carpetbaggers
| Company type | Novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Founder | Harold Robbins |
| Products | Novel |
The Carpetbaggers is a bestselling novel released in 1961 by Harold Robbins, which was later adapted into a film bearing the same name in 1964. Additionally, the 1966 prequel Nevada Smith was derived from a character originating in this novel.
In American usage, the term "carpetbagger" describes outsiders who capitalize on local opportunities, a concept that emerged from the Southern states during the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. Within Robbins' narrative, the sector being exploited is the motion picture industry, with the protagonist depicted as a wealthy heir engaged in both aviation and filmmaking, drawing parallels to Howard Hughes.
Roman à clef
Ian Parker characterized the novel as a roman à clef, widely interpreted as drawing inspiration from Howard Hughes’ life. While Robbins asserted that the character of the airplane manufacturer was modeled after Bill Lear, not Hughes, TV Guide Online suggests that Robbins likely used Hughes as a template for Jonas Cord.
Similarities between Cord and Hughes include:
- Cord inherits the Cord Explosives Company; Hughes inherited the Hughes Tool Company.
- Both men set records in aviation.
- Cord expands into film production; Hughes produced twenty-six films.
- Cord owns an airline named ICA; Hughes owned TWA.
- Cord pilots a large flying boat called the Centurion to win a naval contract; Hughes piloted the H-4 Hercules ("Spruce Goose") to demonstrate its flight capability amidst Congressional scrutiny.
The character Rina Marlowe is reminiscent of Jean Harlow, who was under contract with Hughes and rumored—though without strong evidence—to have had an affair with him. Marlowe’s husband in the novel, director Claude Dunbar, commits suicide similarly to Harlow’s second spouse, producer Paul Bern. Marlowe dies of encephalitis around 1934; Jean Harlow passed away from kidney failure in 1937. Actress Carroll Baker, who portrayed Rina in the film adaptation, later played Harlow herself in a biographical film.
Certain fictional elements diverge from historical facts. Jonas Cord’s debut movie, The Renegade (1930), starring Rina Marlowe, echoes Hughes’ films Hell's Angels (1930) and The Outlaw (1943). However, Jean Harlow was not featured as a lead in Hell's Angels, and her physical attributes were not notably emphasized. The specially designed brassiere worn by Marlowe closely resembles one created for Jane Russell, Hughes’ subsequent discovery and star of The Outlaw.
Robbins weaves subtle real-world references into his story: following Marlowe’s death, a studio executive mentions negotiations with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over Jean Harlow; meanwhile, Charles Standhurst, a media magnate within the novel, is portrayed as a rival to William Randolph Hearst.
The figure Nevada Smith is depicted as a cowboy turned film star and proprietor of a Wild West show, loosely inspired by Western icons such as Tom Mix, William Boyd, or Ken Maynard. The 1966 film Nevada Smith, featuring Steve McQueen, is based on this character. In contrast, Jack Buetel—who played Billy the Kid in Hughes’ The Outlaw—was formerly an insurance clerk rather than an actual outlaw or cowboy.
Reviews
In his 1961 critique for The New York Times, Murray Schumach condemned The Carpetbaggers for using its storyline merely as "a pretext for a series of repetitive episodes involving both conventional and unconventional sexual content—and violence ranging from minor assaults to brutal murders." Nonetheless, the book entered the New York Times bestseller list at number nine upon release and became Robbins' most commercially successful title, selling over eight million copies by 2004. According to Gale's Contemporary Authors Online, it ranks as the fourth most widely read book historically.
Artifact of the sexual revolution
Released amid the early stages of the sexual revolution, The Carpetbaggers took advantage of evolving attitudes toward censorship. Merely two years earlier, the U.S. Postmaster General had declared D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover obscene and prohibited its distribution. However, by 1960, Grove Press successfully challenged such restrictions in the Supreme Court. Although Robbins' book remained contentious, it managed to avoid legal challenges while featuring daring material, including a bold portrayal of an explosives factory compared to a "girl on white sheets" with a "dark pubic patch," phrasing that was considered highly provocative in 1961. It is worth noting that some recent editions published in the UK exclude the phrase "pubic patch."
By 1963, even though The Carpetbaggers was permitted in the United States, it was among 188 titles banned from being imported into Australia. This list included works such as Nabokov's Lolita, Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, and several books by Henry Miller.
In popular culture
In the 1966 motion picture The Fortune Cookie, the character Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) is seen carrying a hardcover edition of The Carpetbaggers. The novel is also mentioned in S.E. Hinton's 1967 book The Outsiders, where Ponyboy Curtis remarks that his brother Darry owns a copy and that he himself has read it despite Darry’s reservations about his age.
External links
- Peccadillos of the Rich and Infamous—Dick Lochte’s reflections on Harold Robbins
- TV Guide Online—overview of the film adaptation
- Making Advances—Ian Parker’s profile of Harold Robbins