The Carpetbaggers

The Carpetbaggers is a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title. The prequel Nevada Smith was also based on a character in the novel. The term "carpetbagger" refers to an outsider relocating to exploit locals. It derives from postbellum South usage, where it referred specifically to opportunistic Northerners who flocked to pillage the occupied southern states. In Robbins' novel, the exploited territory is the movie industry, and the newcomer is a wealthy heir to an industrial fortune who, like Howard Hughes, simultaneously pursued aviation and moviemaking avocations.