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'.
A Taste of Honey (1961)
7.6/10
Director: Tony Richardson
Starring: Dora Bryan, Rita Tushingham, Robert Stephens, Murray Melvin
A lively tale of a pregnant Salford teenager, her mother, and her unlikely friendship with a gay man. Time has left its mark on many of the innovative... Read more
The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961)
6.5/10
Director: Leslie Norman
Starring: Richard Harris, Laurence Harvey, Richard Todd, David McCallum, Ronald Fraser
A film based on the successful play by Willis Hall about a British patrol in Burma who are determined to kill an innocent Japanese prisoner in a mad r... Read more
All Night Long (1961)
5.9/10
Director: Basil Dearden, Michael Relph
Starring: Richard Attenborough, Patrick McGoohan, Keith Michell, Betsy Blair, Charles Ming...
Directed by Basil Dearden and set in London's jazz scene of the 1950s, this atmospheric updating of Shakespeare's 'Othello' features appearances by so... Read more
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
8.1/10
Director: Daniel Petrie
Starring: Louis Gossett Jr, Ruby Dee, Sidney Poitier, Claudia McNeil
Based on Lorraine Hansberry's play about a 1950s African-American family who get the opportunity (via an insurance pay-out) to improve their lives. Fe... Read more
One, Two, Three (1961)
8/10
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: James Cagney, Arlene Francis, Horst Buchholz
James Cagney's 'retirement' film was this hilarious comedy about a Coke executive in contemporary West Berlin freaking out when the boss's visiting da... Read more
Inherit the Wind ( Blu-ray ) (1960)
8.2/10
Director: Stanley Kramer
Starring: Dick York, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Spencer Tracy
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
Sophia Loren Collection: Heller In Pink Tights (1960) / Desire Under the Elms (1958) / A Breath of Scandal (1960)
Director: Delbert Mann, George Cukor, Michael Curtiz
Starring: Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn, Burl Ives, Anthony Perkins, Maurice Chevalier, Ange...
This classic collection features three films from Italian screen beauty Sophia Loren. 'Heller In Pink Tights' - Based on the novel by Louis L'Amour, t... Read more
The Millionairess (1960)
5.5/10
Director: Anthony Asquith
Starring: Sophia Loren, Peter Sellers, Alastair Sim, Dennis Price, Vittorio De Sica
George Bernard Shaw's aceribic play served as the basis for this romantic satire starring Sophia Loren as a fabulously wealthy beauty who tires of men... 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 Diary of Anne Frank ( Blu-ray ) (1959)
7.4/10
Director: George Stevens
Starring: Diane Baker, Ed Wynn, Joseph Schildkraut, Lou Jacobi, Millie Perkins, Richard Be...
One of the most gripping and heartfelt stories to emerge from the Holocaust, this magnificent adaptation of the acclaimed play is based on the writing... Read more