Books Helped Robert Redford’s Film Career Shine

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A screen shot from The Natural movie starring a man who hit a home run in life.

Like many other performers, Robert Redford appeared in a number of films inspired by books. I’ll discuss several of those screen adaptations in this post, which appears five days after the sad news of the iconic star’s September 16 death at age 89.

The first movie that came to mind was The Natural (1984), based on Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel of the same name. Redford starred as baseball player Roy Hobbs, who returns to the game in midlife after being shot as a young man. (The Hobbs name is an amalgam of real-life baseball legends Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby.) Quite a compelling and affecting motion picture, which — as is often the case with Hollywood — has a happier ending than the one in the more nuanced book.

A decade earlier, another major role for Redford was in the 1974 movie version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic The Great Gatsby. Redford was Jay Gatsby to Mia Farrow’s Daisy Buchanan.

I didn’t realize until researching this post that 1973’s The Way We Were movie — in which Redford co-starred with Barbra Streisand — was based on Arthur Laurents’ 1972 novel rather than on a totally original screenplay.

Redford was not only an actor but a director, producer, longtime champion of independent films, and laudable activist for the environment and other causes. Several of those multiple talents came together for the 1988 movie version of John Nichols’ 1974 novel The Milagro Beanfield War. The film — whose cast included Ruben Blades and Sonia Braga — didn’t do well at the box office, but Redford received praise for his direction of it.

I’ve read Nichols’ and Malamud’s books, but not Judith Guest’s 1976 novel Ordinary People, for which Redford won the directing Oscar for the 1980 movie version starring Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland, and Timothy Hutton. I’ve seen the film, which is excellent.

Redford of course also acted in movies based on notable nonfiction books — including 1937’s Out of Africa memoir by Isak Dinesen (Redford co-starred with Meryl Streep in the 1985 film) and 1974’s Watergate-scandal-focused All the President’s Men by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (Redford played Woodward opposite Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein in the 1976 movie). I’ve read both books, and the films did each of them justice even as their main characters were more glamorous than their written-page counterparts.

A great late-career role for Redford was in the 2017 screen adaptation of Kent Haruf’s very poignant 2015 novel Our Souls at Night, about an older couple’s twilight-years romance. He co-starred with Jane Fonda, repeating a charismatic pairing from several earlier films.

I’ll close with this: Redford lived a life that we’ll remember with affection and admiration for his talent, his kindness, and his social conscience. People such as the cruel Trump and his dreadful toadies will be remembered quite differently when they’re gone.

Any thoughts on Redford, the films and books mentioned in this post, or any book-inspired Redford movies I might have missed? (My post included only titles for which I read the book or saw the film or both.)

Misty the LGBTQ-friendly cat says: “I have two mums, and I’m fine with that.”

My comedic 2024 book — the part-factual/part-fictional/not-a-children’s-work Misty the Cat…Unleashed — is described and can be purchased on Amazon in paperback or on Kindle. It’s feline-narrated! (And Misty says Amazon reviews are welcome. 🙂 )

This 90-second promo video for the book features a talking cat: 🙂

I’m also the author of a 2017 literary-trivia book…

…and a 2012 memoir that focuses on cartooning and more, and includes many encounters with celebrities. (But not Robert Redford. 🙂 )

In addition to this weekly blog, I write the 2003-started/award-winning “Montclairvoyant” topical-humor column every Thursday for Montclair Local. The latest piece — about an exploding school budget deficit and a Township Council member’s sudden resignation — is here.

106 thoughts on “Books Helped Robert Redford’s Film Career Shine”

  1. Such a wonderful tribute, Dave. Redford truly left an incredible legacy—not just on screen, but through his dedication to storytelling and the causes he cared about. I love how you highlighted the book-to-film connections; it’s fascinating to see how his roles brought literary characters to life in such memorable ways. 😃💕

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  4. Hi Dave! Such a lovely tribute, to the late icon Robert Redford! I was saddened to learn of his death. He made some great films. Two of my favourites you mentioned here are: The Way We Were and Ordinary People! However, what I admired about Robert Redford the most was that he didn’t court or embrace celebrity, the way others have done. He was a true artist!

    Hope all is well. Have a great week. Sharon

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    • Thank you, Chris! I appreciate the addition of “Sneakers”! Not one of Redford’s better-known films, but it sounds good and does have a stellar cast. (Just read a description of the movie.) Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, etc.!

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  9. I wasn’t aware, Dave, that there are so many films with and by Robert Redford I havn’t seen yet or read the books which they are based on! Anyway, when I saw your post yesterday evening we had just switched off our TV after having watched again the impressive “The Horese Wisperer”. The film touched us very much by the perseverance and courage several characters in the film showed, Pirmin the horse included! Thank you very much:)

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  10. Can’t have too many tributes to Robert Redford. MLB had a discussion of “The Natural” which seems to be a favorite among those in the baseball world. It was interesting to get that perspective. Redford was actually a high school player, so he knew the game.

    And I’ve enjoyed reading the comments which point out many films I haven’t seen. Your posts always result in many interesting suggestions. (K)

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    • Thank you, Kerfe, for the kind words about my posts and the always-excellent comments!

      “The Natural” is definitely a baseball movie favorite (with some non-baseball drama in it, too) and its success led to a run of really interesting baseball movies during the next few years: “Bull Durham,” “Eight Men Out,” “Field of Dreams,” “A League of Their Own”… You’re right that Redford did play baseball when he was younger — helping him to be a convincing athlete in the movie.

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        • That IS interesting, Kerfe. “The Natural” wasn’t exactly realistic, either, but I suppose more realistic than “Field of Dreams” with its supernatural aspects.

          I liked all those films in different ways, but I agree that “A League of Their Own” — which was of course about the pro women’s baseball league that started in the 1940s — was particularly special. I would think of that film when my younger daughter became a travel and high school softball player years later. 🙂

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    • I agree, Liz! Maybe too good-looking for the role, but excellent acting.

      As for “Ordinary People,” one couldn’t imagine a better directing debut, but, yes, that was a painful movie. Impressive the way Mary Tyler Moore acted against type — more repressed than bubbly.

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  12. In addition to a Twilight Zone episode staring Robert Redford, I watched Tree Days of the Condor. I saw the movie first. I checked out the book, but I never finished it. It was Six Days of the Condor by James Grady and I think he wrote at least one sequel.

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    • Thank you, Dan! I had never seen the “Twilight Zone” episode with the young Redford playing “Death” until I watched a clip from it on YouTube yesterday. Very compelling. A number of performers definitely cut their teeth in TV shows (guest roles and/or regular series roles) before going on to movie stardom — Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Robin Williams, Sally Field, etc.

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  13. I loved “Barefoot In The Park” with Redford and Fonda. It was all about young love and it was hilarious. And I loved Redford, he was the Brad Pit of the 60s, what a hunk! I cried like a baby after watching “The Way We Were”. It was really bittersweet and you hoped that things would have worked out differently. I must say you can tell how people will be remembered by the life they live or you’re missing the plot of a great many novels. Not every denouement is a matter of Deus Ex Machina like Dicken’s Scrooge. Great post Dave. Susi

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    • Thank you, Susi! I agree with what you said about “Barefoot in the Park,” and that Redford was quite a handsome guy. 🙂 And so true about the way people live…if they want to be remembered fondly, be a good person. I think Trump and those like him need the kind of ghostly visits experienced by Scrooge. 🙂

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  15. Your usual excellence, Dave, and worthy of Robert Redford. I enjoyed pretty much everything he appeared in, and I hadn’t realised that he directed ‘Ordinary People’, which I still remember after only one viewing of many years ago. We’ve always loved ‘Out of Africa’ in this household, and rewatched it on the evening of he sad news of the actor’s demise. I studied the book at university and, as you say, the character Mr Redford created on-screen was so much more colourful than the real person portrayed in the book. Incidentally, as it’s your post you’re allowed to include whatever you like, including the exercise of your free speech in your opinions of certain individuals, which tally with those of Redford, who noed that that person “doesn’t understand [democracy]. So it’s easy for him to destroy it. It’s easy to destroy something you don’t understand. You can claim it doesn’t exist.” Thank you for remaining true to your principles. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  16. Terrific tribute to Redford, Dave, thank you!

    I have read the book &/or seen the film of all you have mentioned.

    I have a copy of All the President’s Men, which I have watched several times recently. (Wonder why? 🤔)

    The Hot Rock is a book and a film. I’ve seen the film a few times. It’s great!

    The Company You Keep is another film based on a book, that I really like.

    There are more books and films, but I will leave my 2 here and say, I adore his body of work, whether he acted, directed, produced or simply gave back to the artistic side of the filmmaking community through his work via his Sundance Film Festival!

    Terrific post!

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  17. Dave and friends, you make me want to see a lot of movies I haven’t seen in years. “The Sting,” by contrast, I’ve seen many times–it’s such a great movie.

    The movie “Ordinary People” is excellent, but I also recommend the book by Judith Guest to you. It’s very powerful and, despite being published in 1976.

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    • Thank you, Kim! Another great thing about “The Sting” was the way it helped make Scott Joplin’s ragtime music popular, more than a half-century after his death.

      I really should read “Ordinary People” one of these days; the movie was certainly fantastic.

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    • Thank you for the comment, Dawn. I hear you. I did think twice about adding that line about Trump and his high-level supporters, but the contrast between them and Redford seemed worth mentioning in this year 2025. I’ll add that my “personal hostility” pales in comparison to that displayed by Trump, JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, Kristi Noem, Kash Patel, etc. Also, they have power and us bloggers/authors/writers have virtually none.

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  19. Dave, thanks for highlighting the work of Robert Redford. A fan since my adolescent years, I’ve seen many of his movies. His 2017 movie Our Souls at Night with Jane Fonda was an unexpected treat. The award-winning film, The Sting (1973), in which he was paired with Paul Newman, is based on a true-life story written by David Maurer in his 1940 book The Big Con: The Story of the Confidence Man.

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    • Thank you, Rosaliene! I share your many-year fandom of Robert Redford. 🙂 I haven’t seen the “Our Souls at Night” movie, but thought the novel was wonderful and heartbreaking. I didn’t know “The Sting” was at least partly based on a book! Glad you mentioned that!

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  20. For a college class back in the days,I compared the film The Natural to the book, I don’t specifically remember what I wrote except the book was better I think Redford although in his prime may have been older for role. First film I remember of Redford, may he rest in peace, was Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid,he, Newman and Katherine Ross were memorable. A private who cared about the environment, helping independent films more than anyone else.

    A personal account worth reading that humanizes Redford is by Maureen Dowd of the NYT posted this week if you have interest to share link or readers can find if interest.

    Michele

    E@P way back

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    • Thank you, Michele! Great college-assignment topic! “The Natural” novel was definitely better than the movie, but so darn depressing that this was rare instance where I liked the film better than the book. Sometimes, happy endings are needed even if not realistic. Redford, in his late 40s at the time, was indeed a bit old for the Roy Hobbs role but he was athletic enough to be believable.

      I’ve actually never seen “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” I’m embarrassed. 🙂

      I saw Maureen Dowd’s New York Times column on Redford. It was excellent.

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  21. I linked to this Robert Redford piece on Facebook, which I’ve done every week for my literature posts for years, and FB deleted it because of alleged objectionable content. I appealed, because I believe there’s nothing about this piece that’s objectionable. I also link to my blog each week on Bluesky, which did not delete today’s piece.

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    • Hi Dave,

      I’ve never linked to your blog before, but I tried to this week out of curiosity. It was rejected due to a misleading link or content to trick people to stay on their website. No clue if that would happen every week, or just to this link in particular. I might try again in a few weeks just to see what happens. I can’t make sense out of some of those filters.

      Great blog as always.

      Sue

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      • Thank you, Sue! I appreciate you trying that! I still have no idea why FB rejected this blog post. If I knew, I would avoid the alleged problem in the future. FB denied my appeal; I assume that denial was some automatic thing with no human involved. This was only the second time in the blog’s 11 years that FB deleted a link to a post, and I hope it won’t happen again. 🙂

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        • Well censorship is the word of the month. Or the administration. It would definitely be automated stuff. I see people using all sorts of creative spelling to avoid setting off red flags with certain words. In this case I’d guess that a specific word flagged something, and a robot has said unacceptable. Only once have I reported a fake profile and was told that Facebook wouldn’t do anything as there was nothing wrong. It was obvious no human eyes had looked at it.

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          • Yes, censorship is the word of the month…and the year…and hopefully not the entire rest of the century. And you’re right that there’s almost never a human involved — as when you reported that fake profile. Fake profiles stay up, real posts go down. Maybe that Facebook bot had a grudge against Robert Redford for not doing the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Bot.”

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  23. Dave, thank you for this moving tribute to Robert Redford. He truly was a man of integrity, and I’ve always admired the quiet strength and thoughtfulness he brought to his roles and to his life. I was reminded that he had polio as a young boy, something that shaped his resilience in later years.

    Alongside the films you mentioned, I always think of Inside Daisy Clover (1965), where he starred opposite Natalie Wood. The film was based on Gavin Lambert’s 1963 novel of the same name, directed by Robert Mulligan. It tells the story of a tomboy who becomes a Hollywood actress and singer — a fascinating glimpse into both the glamour and the shadows of that world. While perhaps not as celebrated as some of Redford’s later films, it showcased the charisma that would carry him through decades of memorable performances.

    Your words capture so well the affection and admiration so many of us feel for him. He leaves behind not only a remarkable body of work but also a legacy of kindness and social conscience.

    As Redford himself once said:
    “Problems can become opportunities when the right people come together.”

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    • Thank you very much, Rebecca! Your comment was a wonderful tribute to Redford. A person of integrity is so appreciated, especially in today’s demoralizing political climate. And, yes, though Redford certainly had some advantages, there were challenges and tragedies in his life, too.

      Happy that you mentioned and skillfully described “Inside Daisy Clover,” which I never read or saw. Redford certainly had some memorable co-stars, including Natalie Wood in that case. And of course Paul Newman, who I didn’t mention in my post.

      You ended your comment with a superb Redford quote!

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  28. You forgot that Robert Redford was one of the featured cast members in Sir Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far (1977), the last true war epic in the style of 1962’s The Longest Day. Not coincidentally, both of these movies were adaptations of non-fiction books by Cornelius Ryan, a former war correspondent and journalist who became a noted popular historian.

    In A Bridge Too Far, Redford portrays Major Julian Cook of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division (All-American).

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      • The film was adapted from Ryan’s 1974 book by none other than William Goldman, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who gave us Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride. It’s a good movie, really, even though it’s about an Allied defeat instead of a victory; it is more appreciated in the UK and The Netherlands than here in the U.S. because Operation Market-Garden (its topic) is closer to British and Dutch souls than to Americans.

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