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My principal aim with this bibliography was to get literary-minded cinephiles pointed in the right direction should they develop an interest in reading the stories, plays, novels, memoirs, poems, and other works on which some of my favorite directors have based their films. A secondary aim was to generate a handy reading list for myself. In an attempt to imply an expanded definition of auteur theory, I’ve sorted the bibliography by film director, but it truly is meant to be a bibliography, not merely a set of partial filmographies. (How pointless would that be in the Age of Google?)
The project quickly became about establishing parameters, because it wanted to grow unwieldy at every turn. As a result, I’ve stuck to directors who have made important films in the genres of horror and suspense, though their work in other genres may also be included. As for the date range I’ve decided on, well, the sound era was finding its legs by 1930, and literary work from that time through the 1970s is in some danger of being lost to the ravages of time, if it hasn't been already. Incidentally, it is the year in which a movie was released that defines the 1930 - 1980 range, not the year in which the source material was published.
In the end, the above factors outweighed my desire to touch on some of my favorite movie adaptations from 1980 onward. Again, parameters. Of course, many films are shot from original screenplays, so never rule that out as a possibility for why you’re not seeing a famous film listed. Novelizations and short films have been omitted as well. Remakes are stickier. Are they based on the same source material as the original film, or are they based on the film itself? It’s more clear in some cases than in others. Here I used my best judgment. Similarly, where I was unable to verify the title or publication date of a work cited as being the source of a film, I have not included it.
The real challenge with this project has been keeping my mouth shut, so to speak. I was determined to stick to my original goal of providing a bibliographic resource, though it was often tempting to include commentary for some of the books and films referred to. In the end, I decided such commentary would be out of place. My opinions, after all, have already shaped the thing; more opining would have been a distraction, in addition to making the word count untenable. (I’ll pause here only to point out a two-pronged coincidence: 1) the star of Otto Preminger’s The Cardinal was none other than Thomas Tryon, who would go on to become a highly respected novelist himself; 2) Tryon also ends up in this bibliography for having written the novella that Billy Wilder’s 1978 film Fedora was based on. (Help yourself to my thoughts on Tryon's The Night of the Moonbow for no additional charge.))
This is not a work of scholarly research, by the way. Most everything was pulled from Wikipedia, with additional verification required in certain cases, some of which led me down an interesting rabbit hole or two. One resource I found particularly useful at times was The Complete Index to Literary Sources, which is freely available on Google Books. If some of your favorite directors are not included in the bibliography, I can only apologize. But do let me know by e-mail (petemesling at info dot com), or on social media, if you feel I’ve really missed the boat with a director who would have been a good fit. Maybe this bibliography is destined to have a sequel. It can certainly be updated if necessary, so also feel free to let me know if you spot any errors.
On a closing note, acclaimed novelist and short story writer Richard Matheson penned a number of the scripts for the Roger Corman films listed below (and one for Steven Spielberg—remember, we’re not looking beyond 1980). For more on his contributions to film and television, please see the four-part article I collaborated with him on almost twenty years ago: The Films of Richard Matheson.
DIRECTED BY ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Short Stories
Rear Window (1954): adapted from "It Had to Be Murder” (1942), by Cornell Woolrich
The Birds (1963): adapted from “The Birds” (1952), by Daphne du Maurier
Torn Curtain (1966): adapted from “A Bed in America” (unpublished), by Brian Moore
Plays
Juno and the Paycock (1930): adapted from Juno and the Paycock (1924), by Seán O'Casey
The Skin Game (1931): adapted from The Skin Game (1920), by John Galsworthy
Number Seventeen (1932): adapted from Number Seventeen (1925), by Joseph Jefferson Farjeon
Rope (1948): adapted from Rope (1929), by Patrick Hamilton
I Confess (1953): adapted from Nos deux consciences (Our Two Consciences) (1902), by Paul Anthelme Bourde
Dial M for Murder (1954): adapated from the teleplay Dial M for Murder, by Frederick Knott
Short Stories/Plays
Secret Agent (1936): adapted from the play Secret Agent (1933), by Campbell Dixon, which was based on two stories in the collection Ashenden: Or the British Agent (1927), by M. Somerset Maugham
Stage Musicals
Waltzes from Vienna (1934): adapted from Walzer aus Wien (1930), by Alfred Maria Willner, Heinz Reichert, Ernst Marischka, and Johann Strauss II (music arranged by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Julius Bittner)
Novels
Murder! (1930): adapted from Enter Sir John (1928), by Clemence Dane (pen name of Winifred Ashton) and Helen Simpson
Rich and Strange (1931): adapted from Rich and Strange (1930), by Dale Collins
The 39 Steps (1935): adapted from The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915), by John Buchan
Sabotage (1936): adapted from The Secret Agent (1907), by Joseph Conrad
Young and Innocent (1937): adapted from A Shilling for Candles (1936), by Josephine Tey (pen name of Elizabeth MacKintosh)
The Lady Vanishes (1938): adapted from The Wheel Spins (1936), by Ethel Lina White
Jamaica Inn (1939): adapted from Jamaica Inn (1936), by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca (1940): adapted from Rebecca (1938), by Daphne du Maurier
Suspicion (1941): adapted from Before the Fact (1932), by Francis Iles (Anthony Berkeley Cox)
Spellbound (1945): adapted from The House of Dr. Edwardes (1927), by Hilary Saint George Saunders and John Palmer
Notorious (1946): adapted from The Song of the Dragon (1923), by John Taintor Foote The Paradine Case (1947): adapted from The Paradine Case (1933), by Robert Smythe Hichens
Stage Fright (1950): adapted from Man Running (serialized in Collier’s in 1947, later reissued as a hardcover book in 1948, and eventually published as a paperback in 1950 with the title Killer by Proxy), by Selwyn Jepson
Strangers on a Train (1951): adapted from Strangers on a Train (1950), by Patricia Highsmith
To Catch a Thief (1955): adapted from To Catch a Thief (1952), by David Dodge
The Trouble with Harry (1955): adapted from The Trouble with Harry (1949), by Jack Trevor Story
Vertigo (1958): adapted from D'entre les morts (From Among the Dead) (1954), by Boileau-Narcejac (pen name of Pierre Boileau and Pierre Ayraud (a.k.a., Thomas Narcejac)
Psycho (1960): adapted from Psycho (1959), by Robert Bloch
Marnie (1964): adapted from Marnie (1961), by Winston Graham
Topaz (1969): adapted from Topaz (1967), by Leon Uris
Frenzy (1972): adapted from Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square (1966), by Arthur La Bern
Family Plot (1976): adapted from The Rainbird Pattern (1972), by Victor Canning
Nonfiction
Foreign Correspondent (1940): adapted from the memoir Personal History (1935), by Vincent Sheean
The Wrong Man (1956): adapted from The True Story of Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, by Maxwell Anderson
DIRECTED BY STANLEY KUBRICK
Short Stories
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): adapted from “Sentinel of Eternity” (1951), by Arthur C. Clarke (The novel was written concurrently with the production of the film.)
Novels
The Killing (1956): adapted from Clean Break (1955), by Lionel White
Paths of Glory (1957): adapted from Paths of Glory (1935), by Humphrey Cobb
Spartacus (1960): adapted from Spartacus (1951), by Howard Fast
Lolita (1962): adapted from Lolita (1955), by Vladimir Nabokov
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964): adapted from Red Alert (1958), by Peter Bryant (pen name of Peter Bryan George)
A Clockwork Orange (1971): adapted from A Clockwork Orange (1962), by Anthony Burgess
Bary Lyndon (1975): adapted from The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), by William Makepeace Thackeray
The Shining (1980): adapted from The Shining (1977), by Stephen King
DIRECTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG
Short Stories
Duel (1971): adapted from “Duel” (1971), by Richard Matheson
Novels
Jaws (1975): adapted from Jaws (1974), by Peter Benchley
DIRECTED BY BRIAN DE PALMA
Novels
Carrie (1976): adapted from Carrie (1974), by Stephen King
The Fury (1978): adapted from The Fury (1976), by John Farris
DIRECTED BY FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
Stage Musicals
Finian’s Rainbow (1968): adapted from Finian’s Rainbow (1947), by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy
Novels
You’re a Big Boy Now (1966): adapted from You’re a Big Boy Now (1963), by David Benedictus The Godfather (1972): adapted from The Godfather (1969), by Mario Puzo
Apocalypse Now (1979): adapted from Heart of Darkness (1899), by Joseph Conrad
DIRECTED BY WILLIAM FRIEDKIN
Plays
The Birthday Party (1968): adapted from The Birthday Party (1957), by Harold Pinter
The Boys in the Band (1970): adapted from The Boys in the Band (1968), by Mart Crowley
Novels
The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1968): adapted from The Night They Raided Minsky’s (1960), by Rowland Barber
The Exorcist (1973): adapted from The Exorcist (1971), by William Peter Blatty
Sorcerer (1977): adapted from Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) (1950), by Georges Arnaud (pen name of Henri Girard), but also seen as a remake of Clouzot’s 1953 film The Wages of Fear
Cruising (1980): adapted from Cruising (1970), by Gerald Walker
Nonfiction
The French Connection (1971): adapted from The French Connection (1969), by Robin Moore
DIRECTED BY ROGER CORMAN Short Stories
House of Usher (1960): adapted from “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839), by Edgar Allan Poe
The Pit and the Pendulum (1961): adapted from “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1842), by Edgar Allan Poe
Tales of Terror (1962): adapted from “Morella” (1835), “The Black Cat” (1843), “The Cask of Amontillado” (1846), and “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” (1845), by Edgar Allan Poe
Premature Burial (1962): adapted from “The Premature Burial” (1844), by Edgar Allan Poe
Tomb of Ligeia (1964): adapted from “Ligeia” (1838), by Edgar Allan Poe
The Masque of the Red Death (1964): adapted from “The Masque of the Red Death” (1942), by Edgar Allan Poe
Plays
Tower of London (1962): adapted from Richard III (between 1592 and 1594) and Macbeth (1606), both by William Shakespeare
Poems
The Raven (1963): adapted from The Raven (1845), by Edgar Allan Poe
Poems/Novellas
The Haunted Palace (1963): adapted from the poem “The Haunted Palace” (1839), by Edgar Allan Poe, and from the novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (1927), by H. P. Lovecraft
Novels
The Intruder (1962): adapted from The Intruder (1959), by Charles Beaumont
A Time for Killing (a.k.a., The Long Ride Home) (1967): adapted from The Southern Blade (1963), by Nelson and Shirley Wolford
DIRECTED BY JAMES WHALE
Plays
Journey’s End (1930): adapted from Journey’s End (1928), by R. C. Sherriff
Waterloo Bridge (1931): adapted from Waterloo Bridge (1930), Robert E. Sherwood
A Kiss before the Mirror (1933): adapted from A Kiss before the Mirror (1932), by Ladislas Fodor (also the source for Whale’s 1938 Wives under Suspicion)
The Great Garrick (1937): adapted from Ladies and Gentlemen (1937), by Ernest Vajda
Wives under Suspicion (1938): adapted from A Kiss before the Mirror (1932), by Ladislas Fodor (also the source for Whale’s 1933 A Kiss before the Mirror)
Plays/Novels
Frankenstein (1931): adapted from the play Frankenstein (1927), by Peggy Webling, and from the novel Frankenstein (1818), by Mary Shelley
Novels
The Impatient Maiden (1932): adapted from The Impatient Virgin (1931), by Donald Henderson Clarke
The Old Dark House (1932): adapted from Benighted (1927), by J. B. Priestley
The Invisible Man (1933): adapted from The Invisible Man (1897), by H. G. Wells
One More River (1934): adapted from One More River (1933), by John Galsworthy
Remember Last Night? (1935): adapted from The Hangover Murders (1935), by Adam Hobhouse
Show Boat (1936): adapted from Show Boat (1926), by Edna Ferber
The Road Back (1937): adapted from The Road Back (1929), by Erich Maria Remarque
The Man in the Iron Mask (1939): adapted from The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later (1847 - 1850), by Alexandre Dumas
DIRECTED BY HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT
Novels
L'Assassin habite au 21 (The Murderer Lives at Number 21) (1942): adapted from L'Assassin habite au 21 (The Murderer Lives at Number 21) (1939), by Stanislas-André Steeman
Quai des Orfèvres (Goldsmiths’ Quay) (1947): adapted from Légitime Défense (Self-Defense) (1942), by Stanislas-André Steeman
Manon (1949): adapted from Manon Lescaut (1731), by Abbé Prévost
Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) (1953): adapted from Le Salaire de la peur (The Wages of Fear) (1950), by Georges Arnaud (pen name of Henri Girard)
Les Diaboliques (1955): adapted from Celle qui n'était plus (She Who Was No More), by Boileau-Narcejac (pen name of Pierre Boileau and Pierre Ayraud (a.k.a., Thomas Narcejac)
GEORGE CUKOR
Plays
Grumpy (1930): adapted from Grumpy (1913), by Horace Hodges and Thomas Wigney Percyval
The Virtuous Sin (1930): adapted from The General (1928), by Lajos Zilahy
The Royal Family of Broadway (1930): adapted from The Royal Family (1927), by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber
A Bill of Divorcement (1932): adapted from A Bill of Divorcement (1921), by Clemence Dane (pen name of Winifred Ashton)
Our Betters (1933): adapted from Our Betters (1917), by M. Somerset Maugham
Dinner at Eight (1933): adapted from Dinner at Eight (1932), by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber
Romeo and Juliet (1936): adapted from Romeo and Juliet (between 1591 and 1595), by William Shakespeare
Holiday (1938): adapted from Holiday (1928), by Philip Barry
Zaza (1939): adapted from Zaza (1898), by Pierre Berton and Charles Simon
The Women (1939): adapted from The Women (1936), by Clare Boothe Luce
Susan and God (1940): adapted from Susan and God (1937), by Rachel Crothers
The Philadelphia Story (1940): adapted from The Philadelphia Story (1939), by Philip Barry
A Woman’s Face (1941): adapted from Il était une fois … (Once upon a Time …) (1932), by Francis de Croisset
Her Cardboard Lover (1942): adapted from Dans sa candeur naïve (In His Naive Candor) (1926), by Jacques Deval
Gaslight (1944): adapted from Gas Light (1938), by Patrick Hamilton
Edward, My Son (1949): adapted from Edward, My Son (1947), by Noel Langley and Robert Morley
Born Yesterday (1950): adapted from Born Yesterday (1946), by Garson Kanin
The Actress (1953): adapted from Years Ago (1946), by Ruth Gordon
My Fair Lady (1964): adapted from Pygmalion (1913), by George Bernard Shaw
The Blue Bird (1976): adapted from L'Oiseau bleu (The Blue Bird) (1908), by Maurice Maeterlinck
The Corn Is Green (1979): adapted from The Corn Is Green (1938), by Emlyn Williams
Plays/Novels
Camille (1936): adapted from the novel La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady with the Camellias) (1848), by Alexandre Dumas, and from the play La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady with the Camellias) (1852), by Alexandre Dumas
Novellas
A Life of Her Own (1950): adapted from The Abiding Vision (from the book The Harsh Voice: Four Short Novels) (1935), by Rebecca West
Wild Is the Wind (1957): a remake of the 1947 film Fury, which was adapted from La Lupa (1880), by Giavanni Verga
Novels
Little Women (1933): adapted from Little Women (published 1868 and 1869 in two volumes), by Louisa May Alcott
David Copperfield (1935): adapted from David Copperfield (1850), by Charles Dickens
Sylvia Scarlett (1935): adapted from The Early Life and Adventures of Sylvia Scarlett (1918), by Compton MacKenzie
Keeper of the Flame (1942): adapted from Keeper of the Flame (1942), by I. A. R. Wylie
Bhowani Junction (1956): adapted from Bhowani Junction (1954), by John Masters
Heller in Pink Tights (1960): adapted from Heller with a Gun (1955), by Louis L’Amour
The Chapman Report (1962): adapted from The Chapman Report (1960), by Irving Wallace
Justine (1969): adapted from Justine (1957), by Lawrence Durrell
Travels with My Aunt (1972): adapted from Travels with My Aunt (1969), by Graham Greene
DIRECTED BY WILLIAM WYLER
Plays
Jezebel (1938): adapted from Jezebel (1933), by Owen Davis
The Letter (1940): adapted from The Letter (1927), by W. Somerset Maugham
The Little Foxes (1941): adapted from The Little Foxes (1939), by Lillian Hellman
Detective Story (1951): adapted from Detective Story (1949), by Sidney Kingsley
The Children’s Hour (1961): adapted from The Children’s Hour (1934), by Lillian Hellman
Plays/Novels
Dodsworth (1936): adapted from the play Dodsworth (1934), by Sidney Howard, which was adapted from the novel Dodsworth (1929), by Sinclair Lewis
The Heiress (1949): adapted from The Heiress (1947), by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, which was adapted from the novel Washington Square (1880), by Henry James
Novellas
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946): adapted from Glory for Me (1945), by MacKinlay Kantor
Novels
Wuthering Heights (1939): adapted from Wuthering Heights (1847), by Emily Brontë
Mrs. Miniver (1942): adapted from Mrs. Miniver (1940), by Jan Struther (pen name of Joyce Anstruther)
Carrie (1952): adapted from Sister Carrie (1900), by Theodore Dreiser
Friendly Persuasion (1956): adapted from The Friendly Persuasion (1945), by Jessamyn West
The Big Country (1958): adapted from Ambush at Blanco Canyon (serialized in The Saturday Evening Post in 1957 and later reissued as a mass market paperback with the title The Big Country), by Donald Hamilton
Ben-Hur (1959): adapted from Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880), by Lew Wallace
The Collector (1965): adapted from The Collector (1963), by John Fowles
DIRECTED BY BILLY WILDER [MORE TO BE ADDED]
Short Stories/Plays
The Major and the Minor (1942): adapted from the play Connie Goes Home (1923), by Edward Childs Carpenter, which was based on the short story “Sunny Goes Home” (1921), by Fannie Kilbourne
Witness for the Prosecution (1957): adapted from the play Witness for the Prosecution (1954), by Agatha Christie, and from the short story “Traitor’s Hands” (1925 (published as “Witness for the Prosecution” from 1933 onward)), by Agatha Christie
Plays
Five Graves to Cairo (1943): adapted from Szinmü négy felvon (Hotel Imperial) (1917), by Lajos Bíró
Stalag 17 (1953): adapted from Stalag 17 (1952), by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski
Sabrina (1954): adapted from Sabrina Fair (1953), by Samuel A. Taylor
The Seven Year Itch (1955): adapted from The Seven Year Itch (1952), by George Axelrod
The Apartment (1960): adapted from Still Life (1936), by Noël Coward
One, Two, Three (1961): adapted from Egy, kettő, három (One, Two, Three) (1929), by Ferenc Molnár
Kiss Me, Stupid (1964): adapted from L'ora della fantasia (The Dazzling Hour) (1944), by Anna Bonacci
Avanti! (1972): adapted from Avanti! (1968), by Samuel A. Taylor
The Front Page (1974): adapted from The Front Page (1928), by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Stage Musicals
Irma la Douce (Irma the Sweet) (1963): adapted from Irma La Douce (Irma the Sweet) (1956), by Marguerite Monnot and Alexandre Breffort
Novellas
Fedora (1978): adapted from Fedora (from the book Crowned Heads) (1976), by Thomas Tryon
Novels
Double Indemnity (1944): adapted from Double Indemnity (serialized in Liberty magazine in 1936 and as a book in 1943), by James. M. Cain
The Lost Weekend (1945): adapted from The Lost Weekend (1944), by Charles. R. Jackson
Love in the Afternoon (1957): adapted from Ariane, jeune fille russe (Ariane, Young Russian Girl) (1920), by Claude Anet (pen name of Jean Schopfer)
Love in the Afternoon (1957): adapted from Ariane, jeune fille russe (1920), by Claude Anet (pen name of Jean Schopfer)
Nonfiction
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957): adapted from the autobiography The Spirit of St. Louis (1953), by Charles Lindbergh
DIRECTED BY ROBERT WISE
Poems
The Set-Up (1949): adapted from the book-length narrative poem The Set-Up (1928), by Joseph Moncure March
Short Stories
Mademoiselle Fifi (1944): adapted from “Boule de Suif” (1880), by Guy de Maupassant, and “Mademoiselle Fifi” (1882), by Guy de Maupassant
The Body Snatcher (1945): adapted from “The Body Snatcher” (1884), by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Game of Death (1945): adapted from “The Most Dangerous Game” (1924), by Richard Connell
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951): adapted from “Farewell to the Master” (1940), by Harry Bates
Tribute to a Bad Man (1956): adapted from “Hanging’s for the Lucky” (1952), by Jack Schaefer
Until They Sail (1957): adapted from “Until They Sail” (1951), by James Michener
Plays
Two for the Seesaw (1962): adapted from Two for the Seesaw (1958), by William Gibson
Stage Musicals/Plays
West Side Story (1961): adapted from the musical West Side Story (1957), by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim, and from Romeo and Juliet (1591 - 1595), by William Shakspeare
Stage Musicals/Nonfiction
The Sound of Music (1965): adapted from the musical The Sound of Music (1959), by Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse, and from the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), by Maria Augusta von Trapp
Novels
Blood on the Moon (1948): adapted from Gunman’s Chance (1941), by Luke Short
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951): adapted from The House on Telegraph Hill (The Frightened Child) (1948), by Dana Lyon
So Big (1953): adapted from So Big (1924), by Edna Ferber
Executive Suite (1954): adapted from Executive Suite (1952), by Cameron Hawley
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958): adapted from Run Silent, Run Deep (1955), by Edward L. Beach, Jr.
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959): adapted from Odds Against Tomorrow (1958), by William P. McGivern
The Haunting (1963): adapted from The Haunting of Hill House (1959), by Shirley Jackson
The Sand Pebbles (1966): adapted from The Sand Pebbles (1962), by Richard McKenna
The Andromeda Strain (1971): adapted from The Andromeda Strain (1969), by Michael Crichton
Audrey Rose (1977): adapted from Audrey Rose (1975), by Frank De Felitta
Nonfiction
Star! (1968): adapted from the autobiography A Star Danced (1945), by Gertrude Lawrence, and from Gertrude Lawrence as Mrs. A.: An Intimate Biography of the Great Star (1954), by Richard Stoddard Aldrich (Lawrence’s widower)
The Hindenburg (1975): adapted from The Hindenburg (1972), by Michael M. Mooney
DIRECTED BY FRITZ LANG
Novels
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933): adapted from Mabuse’s Colony (unfinished Mabuse book), by Norbert Jacques
Man Hunt (1941): adapted from Rogue Male (1939), by Geoffrey Household
The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960): adapted from Mr. Tot Buys a Thousand Eyes (1931), by Jan Fethke
DIRECTED BY JOHN FRANKENHEIMER
Plays
The Iceman Cometh (1973): adapted from The Iceman Cometh (1946), by Eugene O’Neill
Novels
The Manchurian Candidate (1962): adapted from The Manchurian Candidate (1959), by Richard Condon
Seven Days in May (1964): adapted from Seven Days in May (1962), by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II
Seconds (1966): adapted from Seconds (1962), by David Ely
Black Sunday (1977): adapted from Black Sunday (1975), by Thomas Harris
Nonfiction
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962): adapted from the Robert Stroud biography Birdman of Alcatraz (1955), by Thomas E. Gaddis
The Train (1964): adapted from Le front de l'art (1961), by Rose Valland
DIRECTED BY ORSON WELLES
Short Stories
The Immortal Story (1968): adapted from “The Immortal Story” (1958), by Isak Dinesen (pen name of Karen Bixen)
Plays
Macbeth (1948): adapted from Macbeth (1606), by William Shakespeare
Othello (1951): adapted from Othello (1603), by William Shakespeare
Falstaff (or Chimes at Midnight) (1965): adapted from Henry IV, Part 1 (1597 or earlier); Henry IV, Part 2 (between 1596 and 1599); Richard II (1595); Henry V (1599); and The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602 or earlier)—all by William Shakespeare
Novels
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942): adapted from The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), by Booth Tarkington
The Lady from Shanghai (1947): adapted from If I Die Before I Wake (1938), by Sherwood King
Touch of Evil (1958): adapted from Badge of Evil (1956), by Whit Masterson (pen name of Robert Allison Wade and H. Bill Miller)
The Trial (1962): adapted from The Trial (1925), by Franz Kafka
DIRECTED BY OTTO PREMINGER
Plays/Novels/Operas
Porgy and Bess (1959): adapted from the novel Porgy (1925), by DuBose Heyward, and from the play Porgy (1927), by DuBose Heyward and Dorothy Heyward, and from the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), by DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward, and George Gershwin
Novels
Laura (1944): adapted from Laura (1943), by Vera Louise Caspary
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955): adapted from The Man with the Golden Arm (1949), by Nelson Algren
Anatomy of a Murder (1959): adapted from Anatomy of a Murder (1958), by Robert Traver (pen name of Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker)
The Cardinal (1963): adapted from The Cardinal (1950), by Henry Morton Robinson
Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965): adapted from Bunny Lake Is Missing (1957), by Merriam Modell
DIRECTED BY SIDNEY LUMET
Plays
Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962): adapted from Long Day’s Journey into Night (1956), by Eugene O’Neill
Equus (1977): adapted from Equus (1973), by Peter Shaffer
Novels
The Pawnbroker (1964): adapted from The Pawnbroker (1961), by Edward Lewis Wallant
Fail Safe (1964): adapted from Fail-Safe (1962), by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler
Murder on the Orient Express (1974): adapted from Murder on the Orient Express (1934), by Agatha Christie
The Wiz (1978): adapted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), by L. Frank Baum
Nonfiction
Serpico (1973): adapted from the biography Serpico (1973), by Peter Maas
Dog Day Afternoon (1975): adapted from the Life magazine article “The Boys in the Bank” (1972), by P. F. Kluge and Thomas Moore