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'.
Paint Your Wagon (1969)
6.7/10
Director: Joshua Logan
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, Lee Marvin
Musical set during the gold rush days in California features Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood as prospectors who share a wife (Jean Seberg) whom they pur... Read more
The Corn is Green (1979)
7/10
Director: George Cukor
Starring: Anna Massey, Katharine Hepburn, Toyah Wilcox
A strong-willed teacher, determined to educate the poor and illiterate youth of an impoverished Welsh village, discovers one student whom she believes... 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
Moonlight ( Blu-ray ) (2016)
7.4/10
Director: Barry Jenkins
Starring: Mahershala Ali, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders,...
This drama charts the life of a black gay youth named Chiron as he grows up in a rough neighborhood in Miami. In the first segment, Chiron is a ten-ye... Read more
The Boys in the Band (1970)
7.7/10
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Cliff Gorman, Kenneth Nelson, Leonard Frey, Reuben Greene, Laurence Luckinbill,...
One of the first American films to openly deal with homosexuality. 'The Boys in the Band', based on Mart Crowley's enormously successful Broadway play... Read more
The Honey Pot (1967)
7/10
Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Starring: Capucine, Cliff Robertson, Maggie Smith, Rex Harrison, Susan Hayward
Rex Harrison stars as international playboy Cecil Fox, who decides to pretend he's dying in order to find out what his three old flames will do. He su... Read more
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
7.8/10
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Robert Taylor, Lucile Watson
The second of three adaptations of Robert E Sherwood's acclaimed play, this 1940 film was noticably dampened by the omnipotent Motion Picture Producti... Read more
The Women (1939)
8/10
Director: George Cukor
Starring: Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Paulette Goddard, J...
Based on the Clare Booth Luce play of the same name, this MGM comedy is justly famous for its all-female cast and deft direction by George Cukor. The... Read more
La Ronde (1950)
7.7/10
Director: Max Ophuls
Starring: Anton Walbrook, Serge Reggiani, Simone Simon, Danielle Darrieux
Simone Signoret, Anton Walbrook, and Simone Simon lead a roundelay of French stars in Max Ophuls's delightful, acerbic adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler... Read more
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End (1980)
6.9/10
Director: Steve Roberts
Starring: Trevor Howard, Patrick Magee, Denise Coffey, Harry Fowler, J.G Devlin, Sheila Re...
Based on a radio play by Vivien Stanshall (who acts as narrator), Trevor Howard stars as an eccentric-to-the-point-of-insane nobleman who attempts to... Read more