The F. Scott Fitzgerald novel "The Last Tycoon" was published posthumously in 1941. It is about a Hollywood producer from the 1930s, Monroe Stahr, a man modeled closely after the real life producer, Irving Thalberg. In this teleplay, Stahr is played by Jack Palance...a man who looks very little like Thalberg. Thalberg was a skinny, sickly man and Palance was a big, powerfully built man. To make up for this, Palance gives a surprisingly 'soft' sort of performance...speaking softly and being less 'Jack Palancy' than usual! And, I think he's quite good in it.
The story is about the latter part of a widely respected producer's life. It seems that Monroe Stahr is suffering from some serious ailment and he only has a short time to live. But instead of slacking off at work and traveling the world, he continues doing what he loves best....working.
This is a very good version of the story. I've seen a couple others and this one compares favorably except for one problem. The story is set in the 1930s and is about Thalberg. Making it a contemporary story set about 1957 changes all this...and really is a story that is too late, as by 1957 most of the big-time Hollywood moguls are gone or on their way out with the disintegration of the studio system.