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'.
Hamlet (Olivier) (1948)
7.8/10
Director: Laurence Olivier
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Basil Sydney
A brilliant adaptation of Shakespeare's play about the Danish prince 'who just couldn't make up his mind'. Hauntingly photographed in Elsinore, Denmar... Read more
The Caretaker (1963)
4.2/10
Director: Clive Donner
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Alan Bates, Robert Shaw
The Caretaker was the play that made Harold Pinter's name when it was first performed at the Arts Theatre, London in 1960, and it remains probably his... Read more
Macbeth - Shakespeare Retold (2005)
Director: Mark Brozel
Starring: James McAvoy, Keeley Hawes, Joseph Millson, Toby Kebbell, Vincent Regan, Richard...
Shakespeare's Scottish play is skilfully transferred to a modern day restaurant where chef Joe Macbeth (James McAvoy) has worked hard to make Duncan D... Read more
Indiscreet (1958)
6.8/10
Director: Stanley Donen
Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Cecil Parker, Phyllis Calvert, David Kossoff, Megs J...
Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant are perfectly cast in this witty comedy, adapted by Norman Krasna from his own stageplay, 'Kind Sir'. Bergman is a weal... Read more
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
8.1/10
Director: Daniel Petrie
Starring: Louis Gossett Jr, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil
Based on Lorraine Hansberry's play about a 1950s African-American family who get the opportunity (via an insurance pay-out) to improve their lives. Fe... Read more
The Importance Of Being Earnest (1952)
7.6/10
Director: Anthony Asquith
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Richard Wattis, Michael Denison
Oscar Wilde's play took over 57 years to reach the big screen but it was worth the wait. A colourful theatrical film about mating rituals in Great Bri... Read more
The Tempest (1979)
6.6/10
Director: Derek Jarman
Starring: Heathcote Williams, Karl Johnson, Toyah Wilcox
British helmer Derek Jarman's film version of Shakespeare's most fanciful play is definitely one of a kind. The plot remains intact, however, liberty... Read more
Good (2008)
6.2/10
Director: Vicente Amorim
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Jason Isaacs, Jodie Whittaker, Steven Mackintosh, Mark Strong,...
Viggo Mortensen is the bespectacled Professor Halder, living in 1930s Germany with a neurotic wife, two demanding children and a mother suffering from... Read more
Grand Hotel (1932)
7.6/10
Director: Edmund Goulding
Starring: Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery
Welcome to Grand Hotel - a beautiful Berlin establishment filled with palatial splendor and whose occupants include Greta Garbo as a fading ballerina,... Read more
The Laramie Project (2002)
7.3/10
Director: Moises Kaufman
Starring: Dylan Baker, Tom Bower, Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Peter Fonda, Steve Busc...
Playwright/director Moises Kaufman adapts his acclaimed off-Broadway production for the small screen in this powerful docudrama. Set in the Wyoming to... Read more