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'.
Look Back in Anger (1989)
7.2/10
Director: David Jones, Judi Dench
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson
John Osborne's classic, searing post-war drama caused a sensation when it was published in 1956. In the figure of Jimmy Porter, Osborne had unleashed... Read more
The Architect (2006)
5.6/10
Director: Matt Tauber
Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Viola Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Hayden Panettiere, Sebastian...
Anthony LaPaglia plays architect Leo Waters, living an outwardly perfect life in the suburbs, while on the East Side of Chicago the residents in one o... Read more
The Winslow Boy (1999)
7.4/10
Director: David Mamet
Starring: Gemma Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Rebecca Pidgeon
From the celebrated play by Terence Rattigan comes this moving representation of "The Winslow Boy", an exquisite new film by acclaimed director and pl... Read more
A Chorus of Disapproval (1989)
5.8/10
Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Jenny Seagrove, Jeremy Irons, Patsy Kensit, Prunella Scales, Ri...
The film version of the hilarious Alan Ayckbourn stage play. Jeremy Irons is the protagonist who stirs up all sorts of intrigue in a small town when h... Read more
Richard III (Olivier) (1954)
7.5/10
Director: Laurence Olivier
Starring: Claire Bloom, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Cedric Hardwicke...
Shakespeare's tragic, twisted king is brilliantly portrayed by Laurence Olivier, who also produced and directed. With Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Richards... Read more
Jeffrey (1995)
6.7/10
Director: Christopher Ashley
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Steven Weber, Michael T Weiss, Sigourney Weaver
A gay man gives up sex for fear of AIDS, then meets his HIV-positive Mr Right. Paul Rudnick's brilliantly witty off-Broadway hit gets a faithful scree... Read more
Othello (Olivier) (1965)
6.9/10
Director: Stuart Burge
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Joyce Redman, Frank Finlay, Derek Jacobi
Shakespeare's tragic story of how a great man's vanity is manipulated by a jealous aide to bring his downfall, has never been more movingly nor dramat... Read more
Rabbit Hole (2010)
7/10
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Nicole Kidman
Powerful adaptation of the play by David Lindsay-Abaire stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as a married couple whose lives are shattered when their... Read more
What's in a Name? ( Le prenom ) (2012)
7.3/10
Director: Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patelliere
Starring: Charles Berling, Francoise Fabian, Valerie Benguigui, Patrick Bruel, Judith El Z...
A.k.a. "Le prénom". Vincent (Patrick Bruel), a successful forty-something Parisian businessman, is about to become a father for the first time. He is... Read more
The Norman Conquests (1977)
8.5/10
Director: Herbert Wise
Starring: Richard Briers, Tom Conti, Penelope Keith, Penelope Wilton, David Troughton, Fio...
Alan Acykbourn's wildly funny and often poignant trilogy is made up of three interconnected plays recounting the events and conversations between the... Read more