List of plays adapted into feature films

This is a list of plays that have been adapted into feature films followed by a list of feature films based on stage plays or musicals.

Shakespeare plays

The Guinness Book of Records lists 410 feature-length film and TV versions of William Shakespeare's plays as having been produced, which makes him the most filmed author ever in any language.[1]

The Internet Movie Database lists Shakespeare as having writing credit on 1,171 films, with 21 films in active production, but not yet released, as of June 2016. The earliest known production is King John from 1899.[2]

Other plays

This is a list of plays other than those written by William Shakespeare (covered by the above section) that have been adapted into feature films. The title of the play is followed by its first public performance, its playwright, the title of the film adapted from the play, the year of the film and the film's director. If a film has an alternate title based on geographical distribution, the title listed will be that of the widest distribution area.

Play Playwright Film Film director
8 femmes Robert Thomas 8 Women (2002) François Ozon
The 24th Day Tony Piccirillo The 24th Day (2004) Tony Piccirillo
27 Wagons Full of Cotton, and The Longest Stay Cut Short or The Unsatisfactory Supper[3] Tennessee Williams Baby Doll (1956) Elia Kazan[4]
1776 (1969) Peter Stone and Sherman Edwards 1776 (1972) Peter H. Hunt
Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1938) Robert E. Sherwood Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) John Cromwell
Abie's Irish Rose (1922) Anne Nichols Abie's Irish Rose (1928) Victor Fleming
Abie's Irish Rose (1946) A. Edward Sutherland
Accent on Youth (1934) Samson Raphaelson Accent on Youth (1935) Wesley Ruggles
Mr. Music (1950) Richard Haydn
But Not for Me (1959) Walter Lang
The Admirable Crichton (1902) J. M. Barrie The Admirable Crichton (1918) G. B. Samuelson
The Admirable Crichton (1957) Lewis Gilbert
Agnes of God (1979) John Pielmeier Agnes of God (1985) Norman Jewison
Ah, Wilderness! (1933) Eugene O'Neill Ah, Wilderness (1935) Clarence Brown
Summer Holiday (1948) Rouben Mamoulian
Alfie (1963) Bill Naughton Alfie (1966)[5] Lewis Gilbert
Alfie (2004)[5] Charles Shyer
Amadeus (1979) Peter Shaffer Amadeus (1984) Miloš Forman
American Buffalo (1975) David Mamet American Buffalo (1996) Michael Corrente
Anastasia Marcelle Maurette Anastasia (1956)[6] Anatole Litvak
Anastasia (1997) Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Anna Christie (1921) Eugene O'Neill Anna Christie (1923) John Griffith Wray
Anna Christie (1930) Clarence Brown
Anna Christie (1930) Jacques Feyder
Annie (1976) Charles Strouse, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan Annie (1982) John Huston
Annie (1999) Rob Marshall
Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995) Bille Woodruff
Annie (2014) Will Gluck
Annie Get Your Gun (1946) Herbert and Dorothy Fields Annie Get Your Gun (1950) George Sidney
Annie Get Your Gun (1957) Vincent J. Donehue
Annie Get Your Gun (1967) Clark Jones
Another Country (1981) Julian Mitchell Another Country (1984) Marek Kanievska
Anything Goes (1934) Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse Anything Goes (1936) Lewis Milestone
Anything Goes (1956) Robert Lewis
Arsenic and Old Lace (1941) Joseph Kesselring Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Frank Capra
As Is (1985) William M. Hoffman As Is (1986) Michael Lindsay-Hogg
Assunta Spina Salvatore di Giacomo Assunta Spina (1915) Gustavo Serena
Ay Carmela! José Sanchis Sinisterra Ay Carmela ! (1990) Carlos Saura
Babes in Arms (1937) Rodgers and Hart Babes in Arms (1939) Busby Berkeley
Bad Girl Viña Delmar Bad Girl (1931) Frank Borzage
Bar Girls Lauran Hoffman Bar Girls (1994)[7] Marita Giovanni
Barefoot in the Park (1963) Neil Simon Barefoot in the Park (1967) Gene Saks
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1930) Rudolf Besier The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) Sidney Franklin
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957) Sidney Franklin
Barstool Words Josh Ben Friedman Killing Zelda Sparks (2006) Jeff Glickman
Bashir Lazhar Évelyne de la Chenelière Monsieur Lazhar (2011)[8] Philippe Falardeau
Beautiful Thing (1993) Jonathan Harvey Beautiful Thing (1995) Hettie MacDonald
Becket or The Honor of God (1959) Jean Anouilh Becket (1964) Peter Glenville
Becky Sharp Langdon Mitchell Becky Sharp (1935) Rouben Mamoulian
The Beggar's Opera John Gay The Beggar's Opera (1953) Peter Brook
The Big Knife Clifford Odets The Big Knife (1955) Robert Aldrich
Biloxi Blues (1984) Neil Simon Biloxi Blues (1988) Mike Nichols
Blithe Spirit Noël Coward Blithe Spirit (1945) David Lean
Blue Denim James Leo Herlihy Blue Denim (1959)[9] Philip Dunne
Born Yesterday Garson Kanin Born Yesterday (1950) George Cukor
Born Yesterday (1993) Luis Mandoki
The Boys in the Band Mart Crowley The Boys in the Band (1970) William Friedkin
Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts Kenneth G. Ross Breaker Morant (1980) Bruce Beresford
Brighton Beach Memoirs (1982) Neil Simon Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)[10] Gene Saks
A Bronx Tale (1988) Chazz Palminteri A Bronx Tale (1993) Robert DeNiro
The Browning Version (1948) Terence Rattigan The Browning Version (1951) Anthony Asquith
The Browning Version (1955)
The Browning Version (1985)
The Browning Version (1994) Mike Figgis
Bug (1996) Tracy Letts Bug (2007) William Friedkin
Bus Stop (1955) and People in the Wind William Inge Bus Stop (1956) Joshua Logan
Butterflies Are Free (1969) Leonard Gershe Butterflies Are Free (1972) Milton Katselas
California Suite (1976) Neil Simon California Suite (1978) Herbert Moss
Can-Can (1953) Abe Burrows Can-Can (1960) Walter Lang
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) Tennessee Williams Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) Richard Brooks
Chapter Two (1977) Neil Simon Chapter Two (1979) Robert Moore
Chicago (1926) Maurine Dallas Watkins Chicago (1927) Cecil B. DeMille
Roxie Hart (1942) William A. Wellman
Chicago (2002) Rob Marshall
Children of a Lesser God (1979) Mark Medoff Children of a Lesser God (1986) Randa Haines
The Church Mouse (1928) Ladislas Fodor The Church Mouse (1934) Monty Banks
Closer (1997) Patrick Marber Closer (2004) Mike Nichols
Come Blow Your Horn (1961) Neil Simon Come Blow Your Horn (1963) Bud Yorkin
The Connection (1959) Jack Gelber The Connection (1961) Shirley Clarke
Coquette (1927) George Abbott and Ann Preston Bridgers Coquette (1929) Sam Taylor
Crimes of the Heart (1978) Beth Henley Crimes of the Heart (1986) Bruce Beresford
The Crucible (1953) Arthur Miller Les Sorcières de Salem (1957) Raymond Rouleau
The Crucible (1996) Nicholas Hytner
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957) William Inge The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) Delbert Mann
Death of a Salesman (1949) Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman (1951) László Benedek
Death of Yazdgerd Bahram Beyzai Death of Yazdgerd (1982) Bahram Beyzai
Haute Surveillance (1947) Jean Genet Deathwatch (1965) Vic Morrow
Desk Set William Marchant Desk Set (1957) Walter Lang
A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen A Doll's House (1918)
A Doll's House (1922) Charles Bryant
A Doll's House (1943) Ernesto Arancibia
A Doll's House (1959)
A Doll's House (1973) Joseph Losey
A Doll's House (1973)[11] Patrick Garland
Doubt: A Parable John Patrick Shanley Doubt (2008)
Dracula Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston Dracula (1931)
Dracula (1979)
Driving Miss Daisy (1987) Alfred Uhry Driving Miss Daisy (1989) Bruce Beresford
The Doughgirls (1942) Joseph Fields The Doughgirls (1944) James V. Kern
The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1965) Paul Zindel The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1971) Paul Newman
The Emperor Jones (1920) Eugene O'Neill The Emperor Jones (1933) Dudley Murphy
Equus (1973) Peter Shaffer Equus (1977)[12] Sidney Lumet
Fences (1985) August Wilson Fences (2016) Denzel Washington
A Few Good Men (1989) Aaron Sorkin A Few Good Men (1992) Rob Reiner
Finian's Rainbow (1947) Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy Finian's Rainbow (1968) Francis Ford Coppola
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1987) Terrence McNally Frankie and Johnny (1991) Garry Marshall
The Front Page (1928) Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur The Front Page (1931) Lewis Milestone
His Girl Friday (1940) Howard Hawks
The Front Page (1974) Billy Wilder
Switching Channels (1988) Ted Kotcheff
Gas Light (1938) Patrick Hamilton Gaslight (1940) Thorold Dickinson
Gaslight (1944) George Cukor
Glengarry Glen Ross (1984) David Mamet Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) James Foley
God of Carnage Yasmina Reza Carnage (2011)[13] Roman Polanski
Goodbye Again George Haight and Allan Scott Goodbye Again (1933) Michael Curtiz
Goodbye Charlie (1959) George Axelrod Goodbye Charlie (1964) Vincente Minnelli
The Grass is Greener (1956) Hugh Williams and Margaret Williams The Grass Is Greener (1960) Stanley Donen
The Great White Hope (1967) Howard Sackler The Great White Hope (1970) Martin Ritt
The Greeks Had a Word for It (1930) Zoe Akins The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932) Lowell Sherman
How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) Jean Negulesco
Happy Birthday, Wanda June Kurt Vonnegut Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)
Harvey (1944) Mary Chase Harvey (1950) Henry Koster
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (1998) John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) John Cameron Mitchell
The History Boys (2004) Alan Bennett The History Boys (2006) Nicholas Hytner
Holiday (1928) Philip Barry Holiday (1930) Edward H. Griffith
Holiday (1938) George Cukor
The Iceman Cometh (1946) Eugene O'Neill The Iceman Cometh (1973) John Frankenheimer
An Ideal Husband (1895) Oscar Wilde An Ideal Husband (1935) Herbert Selpin
An Ideal Husband (1947) Alexander Korda
An Ideal Husband (1999) Oliver Parker
An Ideal Husband (2000) William P Cartlidge
Idioglossia Mark Handley Nell (1994)[14] Michael Apted
The Importance of Being Earnest (1895) Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest (1932) Franz Wenzler
Al Compás de tu Mentira (1950) Héctor Canziani
The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) Anthony Asquith
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) Oliver Parker
Incendies Wajdi Mouawad Incendies (2010)[15] Denis Villeneuve
Inherit the Wind Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Inherit the Wind (1960 film) Stanley Kramer
It's Only the End of the World Jean-Luc Lagarce It's Only the End of the World (2016)[16] Xavier Dolan
The Jazz Singer (1925) Samson Raphaelson The Jazz Singer (1927)[17] Alan Crosland
The Jazz Singer (1952) Michael Curtiz
The Jazz Singer (1980) Richard Fleischer
Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (1967) Purushottam Darvhekar Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (2015)
Kind Sir (1953) Norman Krasna Indiscreet (1958) Stanley Donen
The Lady of the Camellias Alexandre Dumas, fils Kameliadamen (1907)
Camille (1909)
La Dame aux Camélias (1910)
La Signora delle Camelie (1915)
Camille (1915)
Camille (1917)
Camille (1921)
Damen med kameliorna (1925)
Camille (1926)
La Dame aux Camélias (1934)
Camille (1936)
La Dame aux Camélias (1953)
La Mujer de las camelias (1954)
La Dame aux Camélias (1980)
Camille (1984)
Life During Wartime Keith Reddin The Alarmist (1997)
The Lion in Winter (1966) James Goldman The Lion in Winter (1968) Anthony Harvey
The Lion in Winter (2003) A. Konchalovsky
Loco (1947) Dale Eunson & Katherine Albert How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) Jean Negulesco
Long Day's Journey into Night (1956) Eugene O'Neill Long Day's Journey into Night (1962) Sidney Lumet
Long Day's Journey into Night (1996) David Wellington
Look Back in Anger (1956) John Osborne Look Back in Anger (1959) Tony Richardson
Lost in Yonkers (1990) Neil Simon Lost in Yonkers (1993) Martha Coolidge
Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994) Terrence McNally Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997) Joe Mantello
Luv (1964) Murray Schisgal Luv (1967) Clive Donner
The Madness of George III (1991) Alan Bennett The Madness of King George (1994) Nicholas Hytner
Major Barbara (1905) George Bernard Shaw Major Barbara (1941) Gabriel Pascal
A Majority of One (1959) Leonard Spigelgass A Majority of One (1961) Mervyn LeRoy
The Marriage-Go-Round (1958) Leslie Stevens The Marriage-Go-Round (1960) Walter Lang
The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore Tennessee Williams Boom! (1968)[18] Joseph Losey
The Miss Firecracker Contest (1979) Beth Henley Miss Firecracker (1989) Thomas Schlamme
Mourning Becomes Electra (1931) Eugene O'Neill Mourning Becomes Electra (1947) Dudley Nichols
'night, Mother Marsha Norman 'night, Mother (1986)
The Odd Couple (1965) Neil Simon The Odd Couple (1968) Gene Saks
Ofoti John Wheatcroft The Boy Who Loved Trolls (1984) Harvey Laidman
L'Oiseau Bleu (The Blue Bird) Maurice Maeterlinck The Blue Bird (1910)
The Blue Bird (1918)
The Blue Bird (1940)
The Blue Bird (1970)
The Blue Bird (1976)
Once More, with Feeling (1958) Harry Kurnitz Once More, with Feeling! (1960) Stanley Donen
The Only Game in Town (1968) Frank D. Gilroy The Only Game in Town (1970) George Stevens
Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (1904) J. M. Barrie Peter Pan (1924) Herbert Brenon
Peter Pan (1953) Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske
Peter Pan (2003) P. J. Hogan
The Petrified Forest (1935) Robert E. Sherwood The Petrified Forest (1936) Archie Mayo
Picnic (1953) William Inge Picnic (1955) Joshua Logan
Plaza Suite (1968) Neil Simon Plaza Suite (1971) Arthur Hiller
Polly of the Circus (1907) Margaret Mayo Polly of the Circus (1917) Charles T. Horan and Edwin L. Hollywood
Polly of the Circus (1932) Alfred Santell
Prelude to a Kiss (1988) Craig Lucas Prelude to a Kiss (1992) Norman René
The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971) Neil Simon The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975) Melvin Frank
Private Lives (1930) Noël Coward Private Lives (1931) Sidney Franklin
Pygmalion (1913) George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion (1938) Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard
My Fair Lady (1964) George Cukor
Quartet (1999) Ronald Harwood Quartet (2012) Dustin Hoffman
The Queen Was in the Parlour (1926) Noël Coward The Queen Was in the Parlour (1927) Graham Cutts
Tonight Is Ours (1933) Stuart Walker
Rabbit Hole (2006) David Lindsay-Abaire Rabbit Hole (2010) John Cameron Mitchell
A Raisin in the Sun (1959) Lorraine Hansberry A Raisin in the Sun (1961) Daniel Petrie
Real Women Have Curves (1990) Josefina López Real Women Have Curves (2002) Patricia Cardoso
The Ritz (1975) Terrence McNally The Ritz (1976) Richard Lester
The Rocky Horror Show (1973) Richard O'Brien The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Jim Sharman
Rope (1929) Patrick Hamilton Rope (1948) Alfred Hitchcock
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) Tom Stoppard Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990) Tom Stoppard
The Seven Year Itch (1952) George Axelrod The Seven Year Itch (1955) Billy Wilder
Seventh Heaven (1922) Austin Strong Seventh Heaven (1927)[19] Frank Borzage
Seventh Heaven (1937)[19] Henry King
Sexual Perversity in Chicago (1974) David Mamet About Last Night... (1986)[20] Edward Zwick
About Last Night (2014)[20] Steve Pink
Shirley Valentine (1986) Willy Russell Shirley Valentine (1989) Lewis Gilbert
Six Degrees of Separation (1990) John Guare Six Degrees of Separation (1993) Fred Schepisi
Sleuth (1970) Anthony Shaffer Sleuth (1972) Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Sleuth (2007) Kenneth Branagh
Tamanna (2014) Steven Moore
A Sound of Hunting (1945) Harry Brown Eight Iron Men (1952) Edward Dmytryk
Still Life (1936) Noël Coward Brief Encounter (1945) David Lean
Strange Interlude (1928) Eugene O'Neill Strange Interlude (1932) Robert Z. Leonard
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Elia Kazan
The Subject Was Roses (1964) Frank D. Gilroy The Subject Was Roses (1968) Ulu Grosbard
Sunday in New York (1961) Norman Krasna Sunday in New York (1963) Peter Tewksbury
Sunrise at Campobello (1958) Dore Schary Sunrise at Campobello (1960) Vincent J. Donehue
The Sunshine Boys (1972) Neil Simon The Sunshine Boys (1975) Herbert Ross
That Championship Season (1972) Jason Miller That Championship Season (1982) Jason Miller
They Might Be Giants (1961) James Goldman They Might Be Giants (1971) Anthony Harvey
Thunder Rock (1939) Robert Ardrey Thunder Rock (1942) Roy Boulting
The Tiger (1963) Murray Schisgal The Tiger Makes Out (1967) Arthur Hiller
Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose Twelve Angry Men (1954)
12 Angry Men (1957)[21] Sidney Lumet
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960) Meredith Willson and Richard Morris The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) Charles Walters
Venus in Fur (2010) David Ives La Vénus à la Fourrure (2013) Roman Polanski
A View from the Bridge (1955) Arthur Miller Vu du pont (1962) Sidney Lumet
West Side Story (1957) Arthur Laurents West Side Story (1961) Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins
West Side Story (2020) Steven Spielberg
When We Are Married (1938) J. B. Priestley When We Are Married (1943) Lance Comfort
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) Edward Albee Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Mike Nichols
Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? (1958) Norman Krasna Who Was That Lady? (1960) George Sidney
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1955) George Axelrod Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) Frank Tashlin
You Can't Take It With You (1936) George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart You Can't Take It With You (1938) Frank Capra

Films based on stage plays or musicals

This is a list of feature films based on stage plays or musicals.

0–9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
This film-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References

  1. Young, Mark (ed.). The Guinness Book of Records 1999, Bantam Books, 358; Voigts-Virchow, Eckartm (2004), Janespotting and Beyond: British Heritage Retrovisions Since the Mid-1990s, Gunter Narr Verlag, 92.
  2. Brooke, Michael. "Shakespeare on Screen: The Bard from Beerbohm Tree to Branagh". Screenonline. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  3. Kazan, Elia (2009). Kazan on Directing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 196.
  4. An editor's section in Kazan on Directing, (Kazan, Elia (2009). Kazan on Directing. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 196.) describes how Williams and Kazan collaborated on the story. Kazan as being the one who first put the two plays together, although The Long Stay is a secondary plot arc. Kazan initially wrote the story with a vengeful, violent ending, while Williams advocated a more ambiguous ending. Kazan acquiesced, and is not credited as a writer. Williams was involved in the writing periodically throughout filming.
  5. Gardner, Lyn (27 January 2012). "Alfie". The Guardian.
  6. 'Film Of Anastasia', The Times, 23 Sep.1953, p2
  7. Holden, Stephen (April 7, 1995). "Bar Girls (1994) FILM REVIEW; Where the Girls Are. (Not the Beach.)". The New York Times.
  8. Wyatt, Nelson (29 January 2012). "Journey to Oscars began at the theatre for Canadian makers of 'Monsieur Lazhar'". The Canadian Press.
  9. Staff (December 31, 1958). "Review: 'Blue Denim'". Variety.
  10. Ebert, Roger (December 25, 1986). "Brighton Beach Memoirs". Chicago Sun-Times.
  11. Canby, Vincent. "A Doll s House (1973)". nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  12. Smith, Richard Harland. "Equus (1977)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  13. Hopewell J. & Keslassy E. (1 November 2010). "Polanski's 'Carnage' rolls out sales". Variety. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  14. Maslin, Janet (December 14, 1994). "Nell (1994) FILM REVIEW: NELL; A Woman Within a Wild Child, As Revealed by Jodie Foster". The New York Times.
  15. Wyatt, Nelson (24 February 2011). "Author of Incendies, the play, praises movie version". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  16. Galuppo, Mia (12 February 2016). "Canadian Helmer Xavier Dolan on Adapting 'It's Only the End of the World'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  17. Bradley, Edwin M (2004). The First Hollywood Musicals: A Critical Filmography of 171 Features, 1927 Through 1932. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-2029-4.
  18. "Trash and Treasure: John Waters on 'Boom!'". MovieTime. ABC Radio National. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  19. "Notes for Seventh Heaven (1937)". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  20. "About Last Night 2014". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Retrieved October 1, 2016.
  21. Variety film review; February 27, 1957, p. 6.
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