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'.
Sleuth (2007)
6.5/10
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Michael Caine, Jude Law
Anthony Shaffer's play comes to the screen for the second time in this ambitious remake directed by Kenneth Branagh from a script by Harold Pinter. Mi... Read more
Funny Money (2006)
5.3/10
Director: Leslie Greif
Starring: Chevy Chase, Penelope Ann Miller, Armand Assante, Robert Loggia, Christopher McD...
Chevy Chase returns to the silver screen as an average accountant who accidentally swaps suitcases and comes home with one million in hot cash. His wi... Read more
Bug (2006)
6.1/10
Director: William Friedkin
Starring: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr, Lynn Collins
Ashley Judd is a lonely waitress holed up in a decrepit motel who lives in constant fear of her ex-husband (Harry Connick, Jr.). She begins to feel ho... Read more
The Architect (2006)
5.6/10
Director: Matt Tauber
Starring: Anthony LaPaglia, Viola Davis, Isabella Rossellini, Hayden Panettiere, Sebastian...
Anthony LaPaglia plays architect Leo Waters, living an outwardly perfect life in the suburbs, while on the East Side of Chicago the residents in one o... Read more
The History Boys (2006)
6.9/10
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Starring: Samuel Anderson, James Corden, Stephen Campbell Moore, Richard Griffiths, France...
Set in Thatcher's England, a group of clever, though working-class lads, attempt to earn the academic scores required for acceptance into the elite sc... Read more
Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
5.1/10
Director: Tyler Perry
Starring: Tyler Perry, Blair Underwood, Lynn Whitfield, Boris Kodjoe, Henry Simmons, Lisa...
Tyler Perry adapted his play, directed and also played three characters in his sequel to 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman', in which pistol-packing grandma... Read more
Last Train to Freo (2006)
6.6/10
Director: Jeremy Sims
Starring: Steve Le Marquand, Gigi Edgley, Tom Budge, Glenn Hazeldine, Gillian Jones
Jeremy Sims switches from actor to director for this taut Aussie thriller that began life as a short play. Set in real time, a woman boards a train c... Read more
Who Laughs Last?: A Documentary About Roger Hall (2006)
8.5/10
Director: Shirley Horrocks
Starring: Peter Elliott, John Clarke, Ginette McDonald, Fiona Samuel, Roger Hall, Grant Ti...
One of New Zealand's best known playwrights, Roger Hall has been tickling the kiwi funnybone for 30 years. This documentary from Shirley Horrocks inv... Read more
No. 2 (2006)
5/10
Director: Toa Fraser
Starring: Mia Blake, Ruby Dee, Taungaroa Emile, Rene Naufahu, Tuva Novotny, Miriama McDowe...
Nana Maria (Ruby Dee) is a feisty eighty-something matriarch who decides to host a family get-together to announce the heir to her estate. Not as eas... Read more
She's the Man (2006)
6.4/10
Director: Andy Fickman
Starring: Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Robert Hoffman, Jonathan Sadowski, A...
This contemporary teen take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night sees Viola (Amanda Bynes) assuming her brother Sebastian's identity so she can play on the... Read more