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'.
Summertime (1955)
7.4/10
Director: David Lean
Starring: Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Darren McGavin
An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome - but married - Italian man while vacationing... Read more
As You Like It (BBC) (1978)
6.3/10
Director: Basil Coleman
Starring: Helen Mirren, Brian Stirner, Richard Pasco
One of Shakespeare's favourites throughout the ages. A fairy tale of tangled love and political intrigue lavishly staged by Canada's renowned Stratfor... Read more
The Devil's Disciple (1987)
7.4/10
Director: David Jones
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian Richardson, Elizabeth Spriggs, Mike Gwilym, Susan Woolridge
Patrick Stewart and Ian Richardson star in this George Bernard Shaw adaptation from the BBC. Set in New Hampshire in 1777, Dick Dudgeon's father has... Read more
King Lear (Scofield) (1970)
8.3/10
Director: Peter Brook
Starring: Paul Scofield, Irene Worth, Jack MacGowran
To see Paul Scofield as Lear is to see nobility turn to pauperdom, pride to a frenzy of madness, manhood to senility, in the course of a single and un... Read more
Steaming (1985)
6.5/10
Director: Joseph Losey
Starring: Diana Dors, Sarah Miles, Vanessa Redgrave
The last film by the great filmmaker Joseph Losey features a stellar female cast of Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Diana Dors and Patti Love in an ada... Read more
Heartbreak House (1977)
Director: Cedric Messina
Starring: John Gielgud, Sian Phillips, Barbara Murray, Daniel Massey, Lesley-Anne Down, Da...
Shaw's passionate response to World War I was this rollicking romp through the minefields of romantic entanglement. Captain Shotover (John Gielgud) i... Read more
Beckett On Film: Volume 3 (2000)
3.6/10
Director: David Mamet, Patricia Rozema, Katie Mitchell, Damien Hirst, Charles Garrad
Starring: Richard Johnson, Harold Pinter, Rebecca Pidgeon, John Gielgud, Jim Norton, Timot...
Derived from the Gate Theatre Dublin's performances, this acclaimed 'Beckett on Film' project brings together a collection of films from the distingui... Read more
Crimes of the Heart (1986)
6.4/10
Director: Bruce Beresford
Starring: Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard, Tess Harper
Jessica Lange, Sissy Spacek and Diane Keaton star as flaky Southern sisters who are uneasily reunited when Spacek is arrested for shooting her politic... Read more
Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
7.4/10
Director: John Badham
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti
Richard Dreyfuss is phenomenal as a sculptor who is left a quadriplegic after a car accident and decides that he wants to be allowed to die, a choice... Read more
Face to Face (2011)
6.8/10
Director: Michael Rymer
Starring: Sigrid Thornton, Vince Colosimo, Luke Ford, Matthew Newton
A young construction worker rams into the back of his boss's expensive sports car in a fit of anger at being sacked. Rather than fronting court, he's... Read more