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'.
Killer Joe (2011)
6.7/10
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Gina Gershon, Matthew McConaughey, Thomas Haden Church, Emile Hirsch, Juno Templ...
Following their earlier collaboration, "Bug", director William Friedkin and playwright Tracy Letts re-team for 'a totally twisted deep-fried Texas red... Read more
Cathy Come Home (1966)
Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Carol White, Ray Brooks
"Cathy Come Home" is probably the most famous British television play ever, watched by a quarter of the population both on its first broadcast in Nove... Read more
Blessed (2009)
6.8/10
Director: Ana Kokkinos
Starring: Deborra-Lee Furness, Frances O'Connor, Miranda Otto, Victoria Haralabidou, Willi...
A tender and stirring portrayal of a single day from two very different perspectives. Seven children wander the streets in an urban odyssey but not al... Read more
The Method (2005)
7.3/10
Director: Marcelo Pineyro
Starring: Eduardo Noriega, Najwa Nimri, Eduard Fernandez, Pablo Echarri, Ernesto Alterio,...
A cutting corporate satire from Spain, based on a famous play by Jordi Galceran, it features seven job applicants who turn up for an interview and fin... Read more
Peter Pan (2003)
6.9/10
Director: P J Hogan
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lynn Redgrave, Richard Briers, O...
Director P.J. Hogan's ('Muriel's Wedding') visually stunning adaptation of J.M. Barrie's classic story follows 'the boy who wouldn't grow up' as he le... Read more
Agnes of God (1985)
6.6/10
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Jane Fonda, Anne Bancroft, Meg Tilly, Anne Pitoniak
The childlike novice of an extremely sheltered convent is discovered one night with the bloodied body of a baby she claims not to recognise. Psychiatr... Read more
Inherit the Wind (1960)
8.2/10
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York
In this superb film based on the notorious Scopes Monkey trial, a biology teacher is put on trial for teaching the theory of evolution. The courtroom... Read more
The Iceman Cometh (1973)
7.4/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Lee Marvin, Fredric March, Robert Ryan, Jeff Bridges, Bradford Dillman
In the faded light of Harry Hope's 1912 New York skid row bar, a rag tag group of fallen men, each like a ghost haunting the wreckage of his own life,... Read more
Hurlyburly (1998)
5.8/10
Director: Anthony Drazan
Starring: Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Chazz Palminteri, Garry Shandling, Anna P...
David Rabe's blistering play about addiction, sexual confrontation and moral bankruptcy is bought to the screen with a stellar cast, including Sean Pe... Read more
Equus (1977)
7.2/10
Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Richard Burton, Peter Firth, Jenny Agutter
Richard Burton and Peter Firth in the film version of Peter Shaffer's play about a part-time stableboy who has blinded six horses. Burton, as the psyc... Read more