The Catcher in the Rye - The greatest movie adaptation never made!

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(Edited)

The more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has—I’m not kidding.


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The book I'd most like to see become a movie is that classic piece of contemporary fiction, 'The Catcher in the Rye' which was first published as a novel in 1951 after previously being published in part as a serial between 1945 and 1946 by celebrated author, J.D. Salinger, who died in 2010.

Game, my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it’s a game, all right—I’ll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren’t any hot-shots, then what’s a game about it? Nothing. No game.

Now before I examine what it would bring to the big screen, I'll run through a brief synopsis, in case there are some people who haven't come across it before. There are no huge plot spoilers in this piece but it will explain a little of what the story is about.

The book details two days in the life of a young man, Holden Caulfield, who has been expelled from school and appears to be desperately searching for meaning and explanation in the confusing and seemingly fake world in which he resides.

What I find both interesting and appealing about the book is that it is written in the first person with Holden serving as both the protagonist and the narrator of the story. Obviously then, the views and events described within the story that Salinger expertly gets over to the reader using dialogue, are often biased and confused perspectives of Holden himself and this often leads the reader into questioning their own thoughts whilst sometimes relating to and making sense of the situation Holden has found himself in.

I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.

The book starts and finishes in real-time so to speak but most of the rest is written in past tenses as Holden recounts his thoughts and experiences of the previous two days and shares anecdotes from his earlier life that often give clues to the possible reasons of his current state of mind.

I thought what I’d do was, I’d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes....If anybody wanted to tell me something, they’d have to write it on a piece of paper and shove it over to me. They’d get bored as hell doing that after a while, and then I’d be through with having conversations for the rest of my life.

I should point out that I am not a reader of fiction. This is one of only three 'grown-up' books in the world of fiction I have read as an adult, and to be truthful, this is really young adult fiction, and like many others, I became aware of this book when it came to prominence as one of the reasons that Mark Chapman gave for his derangement before assassinating John Lennon. The other reason I'd heard of it was that it had been banned on and off in American schools over a number of years on the grounds of its use of profanity and vulgar sexual expressions, and let's be honest, that alone is enough to whet the inquisitive nature of any young man!

That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. They can drive you crazy. They really can.

Now I have to mention at this point, that my own copy of this book is littered with notes and highlighter as many years ago, I sat in front of my computer, fired up 'Final Draft' and made an attempt to write a score and script of the book. It wasn't good!

Musical?

Yes, I know, not my finest notion but at the time, I was a fan of musicals and many had been based on novels and not all of them reduced into twee, foot-tapping jolly sing-alongs! Think Les Miserable for example. I had then stopped writing lyrics and turned to the script itself and I am sure I will still have the floppy disk on which said file is stored somewhere in my archive in the loft of my Mum's home! And Why? Because at that time, I was slightly involved in the world of entertainment, acting and scriptwriting and I imagined myself playing the part of Holden on stage! If you know the story, you could possibly understand the attraction after hearing of my very own Caulfieldesque delusions!

As a further aside, I'd love to write a piece examining the parallels between Holden Caulfield and Billy Fisher, another suitably delusional young man from the Keith Waterhouse novel, 'Billy Liar' and a lead role I have played on stage as an amateur in my distant past.

The guy I like best in the Bible, next to Jesus, was that lunatic and all, that lived in the tombs and kept cutting himself with stones. I like him ten times as much as the disciples.

So why has it never been made into a film already?

Good question with a very simple answer. Salinger would never sell the film rights! It is alleged that many have tried to buy them. All the major studios and directors but the enigmatic Salinger was a very private man who rarely gave interviews and if you have the notion, a quick read through his Wikipedia entry provides a fascinating insight into his life. AS Salinger died in 2010, we only have until 2080 to wait until it's out of copyright and free to use by anyone at will! Sadly, I'll be 114 years old and probably not up to popping down the local multiplex!

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The fascination with Salinger was further enhanced by him not publishing any further works after 1965 and disappearing from public life, but in doing so, this has conversely kept him, and his seminal work firmly rooted in the public psyche!

So why would it make a great movie?

Because it's a real 'story'. It tells of struggle and torment and isn't formulaic like the majority of modern movie fayre. In the hands of the right director and cinematographer, it could be a stunning piece of art. Put Coppola or Scorsese in charge and the streets of New York City, where most of the scenes are set would allow the movie to become a perfect period piece, taking the viewer back in time to a bygone age. Perhaps NYC's most famous movie fan, Woody Allen (sexual allegations aside) could have offered us a perfectly directed lead, created by his own apathy towards the character and the setting?
There would be classic dialogue from the book (some of which I've liberally scattered throughout this post) and no need for fancy special effects or stunts to cover up a lack of substance which seems to be the hallmark of many modern movies. It would be unusual in so much as there is a story, but its a part story. A snapshot of someone's life without a definite beginning or conclusive finale!

'The Catcher in the Rye' - the best movie adaptation that's never been made!

So that's my entry for @ocd Community Boost Contest #4: Highlighting Hive Book Club and I'd just like to add a few words of thanks to @acidyo and his crew. They are responsible for developing communities and encouraging writers here to improve their work more than anyone else on the whole chain and more impressively as far as I'm concerned, they do it without glory or fanfare, just going about their business, doing their own thing quietly in the background. Thank you, guys.

And the final word from Holden himself which rather prophetically sums up many peoples thoughts towards Salinger.......

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn’t happen much, though.

GODDAM PHONIES!

References taken from :-

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catcher
https://www.cbr.com/why-catcher-in-the-rye-never-adapted-on-film/
https://bookroo.com/quotes/the-catcher-in-the-rye



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