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'.
Fool for Love (1985)
6.1/10
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Kim Basinger, Randy Quaid, Sam Shepard
The minimalist, barren landscapes energize the smothering, claustrophobic interiors of Sam Shepard's play in this Robert Altman adaptation. Starring S... 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
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
King Lear (Olivier) (1984)
8.3/10
Director: Michael Elliott
Starring: Laurence Olivier, John Hurt, Robert Lindsay, Diana Rigg
Laurence Olivier stars in and produces this adaptation of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, made exclusively for television. The ageing King Lear (Olivier... Read more
Much Ado About Nothing (BBC) (1984)
7.4/10
Director: Stuart Burge
Starring: Cherie Lunghi, Robert Lindsay, Robert Reynolds, Michael Elphick, Clive Dunn
Cherie Lunghi and Robert Lindsay star as Benedick and Beatrice in this faithful BBC adaptation of Shakespeare's famous comedy. Benedick and Beatrice f... Read more
The Wild Duck (1984)
6.3/10
Director: Henri Safran
Starring: Liv Ullmann, Jeremy Irons, John Meillon, Lucinda Jones
Director Henri Safran adapts Henrik Ibsen's timeless play to an Australian setting and a turn-of-the-century ambience in this poignant story of an ill... Read more
Colonel Redl (1984)
7.7/10
Director: Istvan Szabo
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Hans Christian Blech, Gudrun Landgre...
Klaus Maria Brandauer stars in this epic story of intrigue, love and lust, set in Austria during the years leading up to WWI. Adapted from John Osborn... Read more
A Soldier's Story (1984)
7.2/10
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Howard E Rollins Jr, Adolph Caesar, Art Evans
A spellbinding mystery and drama about a black army attorney, sent to investigate a murder on a black army base. Starring Howard E Rollins, music by H... 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
Educating Rita (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Michael Caine, Julie Walters, Michael C Williams
An entertaining adaptation of Willy Russell's stage play about a young working class wife who wants to better herself and selects a boozy professor as... Read more