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 Balcony (1963)
6.1/10
Director: Joseph Strick
Starring: Lee Grant, Leonard Nimoy, Peter Falk, Ruby Dee, Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters is the madame of a house where customers play out their erotic fantasies, oblivious to a revolution which is sweeping the country. Whe... Read more
Marat / Sade (1967)
7.6/10
Director: Peter Brook
Starring: Patrick Magee, Glenda Jackson, Clifford Rose
('The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sa... Read more
Act of Murder (1995)
7.5/10
Director: Shirley Horrocks
Starring: Miranda Harcourt
This intriguing documentary presents a performance of the play 'Verbatim', written by William Brandt and based on countless interviews with prison inm... Read more
Pink String and Sealing Wax (1946)
6.7/10
Director: Robert Hamer
Starring: Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Gordon Jackson, Sally Ann Howes
Belying its whimsical title, this Victorian era thriller tells the story of an adulterous wife who hatches a cunning plan to kill her abusive husband... Read more
The Little Foxes (1941)
8.2/10
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Bette Davis, Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Richard Carlson, Teresa Wright
It's the turn of the century in the Deep South, and the Hubbard siblings are embroiled in their own money-driven, power-hungry civil war. The most cal... Read more
Antony And Cleopatra (BBC) (1981)
5.9/10
Director: Jonathan Miller
Starring: Colin Blakely, Janet Key, Jane Lapotaire, John Paul, Esmond Knight, Ian Charleso...
Colin Blakely and Jan Lapataire star in this BBC adaptation of Shakespeare's passionate tale. Mark Antony, one of the three rulers of the Roman Empire... Read more
Shadowlands (1993)
7.4/10
Director: Richard Attenborough
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger, Joseph Mazzello
An intelligent, observant, handsome adaptation of William Nicholson's award-winning play, inspired by the late-blooming romance between the fifty some... Read more
Alice in Wonderland (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Kirk Browning
Starring: Richard Burton, Colleen Dewhurst, Donald O'Connor, Kate Burton, Nathan Lane, Fri...
From the elaborate broadway revival of the 1932 Eva Le Gallienne/Florida Friebus production comes a whimsical retelling of the Lewis Carroll classic.... Read more
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Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962)
6.3/10
Director: Charles Walters
Starring: Doris Day, Stephen Boyd, Jimmy Durante, Martha Raye, Dean Jagger
This Rodgers and Hart musical was nominated for an Oscar for its score, and stars Doris Day and Jimmy Durante as circus owners who are going down the... Read more
David Williamson Collection: Don's Party (1975) / The Removalists (1975) / Travelling North (1987) / The Four Minute Mile (1988) (1975)
8.5/10
Director: Bruce Beresford, Carl Schultz, Jim Goddard, Tom Jeffrey
Starring: Graham Kennedy, John Hargreaves, Ray Barrett, Peter Cummins, Leo McKern, Julia B...
David Williamson is considered one of Australia's greatest living playwrights. Writing contemporary stories about sex, sports and social politics. Mo... Read more