Alice's Playhouse
In Alice's Playhouse you will discover an exceptional collection of feature films adapted from some of the most celebrated plays ever written. Often featuring towering performances, outstanding direction and exceptional writing, this collection is a superb archive of contemporary drama masterfully transferred to the silver screen.
Filmizations of The Bard's work may be scrolled via the 'Shakespeare' sub-feature in green on the left, along with other notable playwrights who have been adapted for celluloid.
For adaptations of novels and short stories, check the 'Special Interest' link and click on 'Based on...'
Right: Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh relax during the filming of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece, 'A Streetcar Named Desire'.
The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1969)
6.5/10
Director: Irving Lerner
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Michael Craig, Nigel Davenport, Robert Shaw
Setting off to find a fortune in the legendary Kingdom of Gold, prejudiced adventurer Robert Shaw encounters an admirable people and civilisation he w... Read more
The Seagull (2018)
5.9/10
Director: Michael Mayer
Starring: Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Corey Stoll, Elisabeth Moss, Mare Winningham, Jon...
An ageing actress named Irina Arkadina pays summer visits to her brother Pjotr Nikolayevich Sorin and her son Konstantin on a country estate. On one o... Read more
The Seven Year Itch (1955)
7.2/10
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: Tom Ewell, Marilyn Monroe
While Hollywood censors carefully watched the filming of this notoriously racy production, Marilyn was pure perfection as a sexy, yet innocent, starle... Read more
The Shakespeare Collection: Series 1 (BBC) (1978)
8.5/10
Starring: Helen Mirren, John Gielgud, Claire Bloom, Alan Rickman
In 1978, the BBC set itself the task of filming all of William Shakespeare's plays for television. The resulting productions, renowned for their loyal... Read more
The Skin Game (1931)
5.8/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Helen Haye, C V France, Edmund Gwenn, John Longden
Early Hitchcock drama, based on John Galsworthy's popular stage play, that was decidedly atypical of the Master's subsequent suspensers. The aristocra... Read more
The Sunset Limited (2011)
7.4/10
Director: Tommy Lee Jones
Starring: Samuel L Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones
Adapted by Cormac McCarthy from his stage play, this philosophical made-for-cable drama finds characters named Black (Samuel L. Jackson) and White (To... Read more
The Taming Of The Shrew (1967)
7.2/10
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Cyril Cusack, Michael Hordern, Alfred Lynch, A...
An exquisite mounting of Shakespeare's comic look at male-female relationships stars Richard Burton as Petruchio, the wily gentleman from Verona who t... Read more
The Taming of the Shrew (BBC) (1988)
7.2/10
Director: Jonathan Miller
Starring: John Cleese, Sarah Badel
Jonathan Miller's sympathetic, vibrant and hilarious adaptation brilliantly blends the more subtle essences of Shakespeare's classic comedy with the p... Read more
The Taming of the Shrew - Shakespeare Retold (2005)
Director: David Richards
Starring: Shirley Henderson, Rufus Sewell, Jaime Murray, Stephen Tompkinson, Twiggy, Davi...
Katherine (Shirley Henderson) is a successful politician with a chance at the party leadership, but her abrasive temper has left her a 38-year-old sin... Read more
The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
6.9/10
Director: Daniel Mann
Starring: Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford, Machiko Kyo, Eddie Albert, Paul Ford
A whimsical, poignant adaptation of the hit Broadway play about an American G.I.'s experiences in Okinawa in 1944. Glenn Ford is given the task of 'de... Read more