Ayn Rand Movies
Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand, founder of the philosophy of Objectivism, determined her own destiny to become a writer by the age of nine. Throughout her life, her philosophical and fictional works not only brought her career success, but left a mark amongst her writing and intellectual peers, which continued to influence those fields for decades after their inscription. Her concept of drama -- largely dependent on successfully demonstrating one's own beliefs within a literary context -- proved successful in the many plays, novels, and films accredited to the woman whose works attempted to refresh human faith in individualism and capitalism.After attending the University of Petrograd, and the State Institute for Cinema where she studied screenwriting, Rand moved to the U.S. in 1926 to start her Hollywood career under Cecil B. DeMille. Soon after, she appeared in The King of Kings (1927) as an extra. In addition to several scripts that were never produced, she wrote the play The Night of January 16th, which earned both critical and box-office success in 1934. Her other credits include several scripts in collaboration with Hal Wallis, a screenwriting credit on Love Letters adapted from the novel by Christopher Massie, and a re-writing credit on Robert Smith's You Came Along (the latter two both during 1945).
In 1929, Rand married actor Frank O'Connor, thus legally renewing her permission to reside in the United States. Their marriage remained intact until O'Connor's death (just a few years before her own), despite her long-term affair during the 1950s and 1960s with Nathaniel Branden -- who was also her intellectual partner in defining Objectivism. Relocating from Hollywood in the 1950s, Ayn Rand continued her writing career amongst the skyscrapers of her true love, New York City.
As a self-titled "Objectivist," Ayn Rand wrote several famous novels -- two of which were eventually converted into film versions -- to exemplify her ethical and intellectual arguments. In 1949, The Fountainhead was produced from a screenplay Rand adapted from her novel of the same name. Starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal, the individualistic drama unfolds through the story of an architect who refuses to compromise his integrity at any cost -- including the potential loss of romantic love. The Fountainhead, directed by King Vidor in 1949, has been acclaimed both for screen direction and dramatic values. Rand began crafting a script version of Atlas Shrugged -- her highly controversial 1957 novel of biblical proportions -- in the years preceding her death, but did not complete it herself. Produced by Albert Ruddy, the TNT miniseries Atlas Shrugged was delayed for some time, partially due to the knowledge of Rand's desire for ultimate control over the project. Long after her death on March 6, 1982, Atlas Shrugged was finally completed, and originally aired in 2001. ~ Sarah Sloboda, Rovi
- 2014
The third film in a sprawling adaptation of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged heads to theaters with Duncan Scott and Brian O'Toole providing the screenplay. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi
As an oppressive government attempts to seize control of a world on the brink of collapse, one woman makes a discovery that could put power back into the hands of the people in this sprawling adaptation of Ayn Rand's famous novel. As the economy buckles, unemployment skyrockets and the price of oil reaches an all-time high, the world's greatest minds all begin to disappear without a trace. But just when it seems as if all hope is lost, Taggart Transcontinental Vice President in Charge of Operations Dagny Taggart (Samantha Mathis) discovers a revolutionary motor that can harvest unlimited energy without the need for fossil fuels. But without the inventor to reveal all its secrets, the motor is useless. Now, as a tyrannical government rises, word of the radical new invention begins to spread and Taggart must race to find the one person who knows how to harness its power before it falls into the wrong hands, and all hope is lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
This adaptation of Ayn Rand's 1957 objectivist novel Atlas Shrugged tells the first installment in the story of a dystopian future in which a collectivist society has forced the great thinkers of the world to go on strike, leaving the functioning world without scientists, engineers, philosophers, or artists. Set against this stark backdrop, a railroad heiress named Dagny Taggart tries to bring her failing company back from the brink with the development of a new alloy to repair breaks in the lines, and hopefully calm the business' vital corporate partnership with an oil company. But with the endless bureaucracy of an evil and corrupt government fighting her at every turn, and her own inept brother battling her for control, Dagny soon finds that in order to set things right in her world, things must be set right in the world at large. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Taylor Schilling, Grant Bowler, (more)
The hero of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead is Howard Roark (Gary Cooper), a fiercely independent architect obviously patterned after Frank Lloyd Wright. Rather than compromise his ideals, Roark takes menial work as a quarryman to finance his projects. He falls in love with heiress Dominique (Patricia Neal), but ends the relationship when he has the opportunity to construct buildings according to his own wishes. Dominique marries a newspaper tycoon (Raymond Massey) who at first conducts a vitriolic campaign against the "radical" Roark, but eventually becomes his strongest supporter. Upon being given a public-housing contract on the proviso that his plans not be changed in any way, Roark is aghast to learn that his designs will be radically altered. Roark sneaks into the unfinished structure at night, makes certain no one else is around, and dynamites the project into oblivion. At his trial, Roark acts as his own defense, delivering an eloquent paean to individuality. He is acquitted, while the newspaper tycoon, upset that he could offer Roark no help during the trial, kills himself. This clears the way for a final clinch between Roark and Dominique on the skeleton of his latest building project. Ayn Rand's celebration of Objectivism didn't translate very well to film, with Gary Cooper coming off more selfish and petulant than anything else. The Fountainhead's saving graces are the solid direction by King Vidor, the rhapsodic musical score by Max Steiner, and the symbolism inherent in Cooper's manipulation of his power drill when he first lays eyes on Patricia Neal! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Patricia Neal, (more)
- 1945
Ayn Rand wrote this adaptation of Chris Massie's book Pity Mr. Simplicity, about a soldier who falls in love with a former comrade's wife -- an amnesiac who may have murdered her husband. The story begins in Italy when two soldiers, Allen Quinton (Joseph Cotten) and Roger Morland (Robert Sully), hatch a scheme concerning Singleton (Jennifer Jones), his girl back home. Allen agrees to write love letters to Singleton for his friend and, based on the heartfelt emotions evident in the letters, she falls in love with Roger. Returning home, Singleton and Roger marry, but Roger proves to be a drunken, abusive husband. One night, as Roger is beating Singleton, he is stabbed to death by her stepmother. Singleton goes in to shock, rendering her unable to recall the murder, while her stepmother has a stroke, making her unable to speak. Accused of murder, Singleton is sentenced to a year in jail. Allen, in the meantime, hears about the murder of his friend and comes to visit Singleton, and the two proceed to fall in love. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, (more)
- 1945
"You can live a long time in three days -- sometimes when you're in a tight spot, you can live a year in ten seconds." US Army Air Force Major Bob Collins (Robert Cummings), Captain "Shakespeare" Anders (Don Defore), and Lt. "Handsome" Janoshek (Charles Drake) are three happy-go-lucky combat pilots, decorated heroes who are on a tour promoting War Bonds. Their public relations representative from the Treasury Department, Ivy Hotchkiss (Lizabeth Scott), finds at first that can't do much more than tag along, picking up after them and observing their carousing, especially Collins, who seems to have a wide array of female acquaintances in every city they visit. Indeed, although she says little about it, their carousing is out-of-proportion to their circumstances -- yes, their current mission involves a lot of cramped traveling cross-country. shaking hands, endless speechifying, and even more endless listening to tributes to the heroism of the air corps, all of which gets boring and tiring very fast; but these men act like they're burning the candle at both ends, almost manic in their pursuit of women and laughs, and just as devoted to the three of them enjoying anything they do together, past the point of pilots' usual comraderie. They go so far as to sneak out ahead of one extremely important rally, but eventually Ivy gets them to straighten up and fly right, at least when they're supposed to, and the trio -- who has taken a liking to her for being such as good sport -- agrees to behave, at least when they're supposed to be meeting the public. After a few more misunderstandings, some of them comical, she actually gets to like the trio; the four of them become friends, and Ivy starts getting especially close to Bob, despite his womanizing ways -- but whenever she asks Handsome and Shakespeare about Bob's story, they get very close-mouthed and vague. She doesn't think too much of it, enjoying the time she's having with them, until the truth is accidentally dumped in her lap by a well-meaning medical officer (Rhys Williams) -- that Bob, for all of his freewheeling, happy-go-lucky outlook on life and love, is terminally ill. She suddenly understands their behavior and the true depth of the friendship that Handsome and Shakespeare share with him -- she's also nearly shattered, but she dares not let Bob know that she knows, for fear of destroying what little time he has left. The trio at last becomes a true foursome, bound together around Bob and Ivy. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Lizabeth Scott, (more)
- 1942
Based on the book by Ayn Rand, this Italian film follows the struggles of a young Russian woman, Kira Argounova (Alida Valli), who must become involved with a member of the Soviet secret police, even though she is repulsed by everything he stands for. The relationship she has with this man provides her with the money she needs to support her ill lover (Rossano Brazzi). This movie was originally released as two separate films, Noi Vivi and Addio Kira, and is in Italian with English subtitles. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alida Valli, Rossano Brazzi, (more)
- 1941
Ayn Rand's Broadway stage hit The Night of January 16th was distinguished by a clever gimmick, wherein members of the audience sat in the jury box while a fictional murder trial was conducted: the outcome of the play was thus totally in the hands of the spectators, and accordingly Rand penned two different endings, depending on whether the jury voted "guilty" or "not guilty". This marvelous theatrical device was unfortunately absent in the film version of Night of January 16th, which was also hampered by a B-grade budget. Even so, the story, concerning the murder trial of stenographer Kit Lane (Ellen Drew), moves along swiftly and entertainingly. Accused of killing her employer, financier Bjorn Faulkner (Nils Asther), Kit is championed by wisecracking sailor-on-leave Steve Van Ruyle (Robert Preston), who has a vested interest in the outcome of the trial. As was typical of the Paramount B product of the time, Night of January 16th spotlights several established contract players (Drew, Preston et.al.), along with a number of actors on the way up (Rod Cameron, Margaret Hayes) and the way down (Nils Asther, Alice White). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Preston, Ellen Drew, (more)
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