CLASSIC AMERICAN LITERATURE ON FILM
Submitted by professor on Thu, 10/30/2003 - 11:34
Tags:
- The Grapes Of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1940), starring Henry Fonda.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1939), starring Burgess Meredith, Lon Chaney Jr.
- Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1992), starring John Malkovich, Gary Sinise.
- Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (1982), starring Nick Nolte, Debra Winger.
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1955), starring James Dean, Raymond Massey.
- East of Eden by John Steinbeck (TV - 1981), starring Timothy Bottoms, Jayne Seymour.
- Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck (1942), starring Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr.
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1958), starring Spencer Tracy.
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (1990), starring Anthony Quinn.
- For Whom The Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (1943), starring Gary Cooper.
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (1932), starring Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes.
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1956), starring Gregory Peck.
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1998), starring Patrick Stewart.
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1938), starring Tommy Kelly.
- Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1973), musical starring Johnny Whitaker, Celeste Holm.
- The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1939), starring Mickey Rooney.
- Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1975), starring Ron Howard.
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (1945), starring Dorothy McGuire.
- To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1962), starring Gregory Peck.
- Mourning becomes Electra by Eugene O'Neill (1978), starring Bruce Davison, Joan Hackett.
- The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill (Broadway Theatre Archive - 1960), starring Jason Robards.
- The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill (1973), starring Lee Marvin.
- Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1939), starring Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia De Havilland.
- House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (2000), starring Gillian Anderson (X-Files), Dan Aykroyd.
- Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1993), starring Daniel Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer (Dir. Scorcese).
- Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton (1993), starring Liam Neeson.
- The Wings of the Dove by Henry James (1997), starring Helena Bonham Carter.
- Turn of the Screw by Henry James (2003), starring Jodhi May, Pam Ferris, Colin Firth.
- Turn of the Screw by Henry James (1974), starring Lynn Redgrave, Eva Griffith, Jasper Jacob.
- The Golden Bowl by Henry James (2000), starring Kate Beckinsale, Jeremy Northam, Uma Thurman.
- Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimnore Cooper (1992), starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe.
- Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimnore Cooper (1920 YES).
- Washington Square by Henry James (1997), starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, Albert Finney,
- The Heiress (1949), adaptation of Henry James' Washington Square, Olivia de Havilland, Montgomery Clift.
- The Innocents (1961), adaptation of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, starring Deborah Kerr.
- Mark Twain - A Film Directed by Ken Burns (2002).
Author Comments:
A long overdue update.
Still under construction - suggestions welcome.
UPDATED: 10-October-2004
See also my lists:
I received an e-mail with a few suggested additions:
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (filmed 2000)
Age of Innocence by same (filmed 1993)
Ethan Frome by same (filmed 1993)
Wings of the Dove by Henry James (filmed 1997)
Turn of the screw by same (2003)
The Golden Bowl by same (2000)
Washington Square by same (1997)
Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimnore Cooper (1992)
I shall add all of these shortly (Thanks to Chris).
How are you going to deal with adaptations of classic american literature that are not titled after the original novel? For example, The Innocents (1961) is an adaptation of Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Good question - will the above suffice ?   (no, I'm not entirely happy with it myself either).
Suggestions welcome.
Well, ALL the items on the list are 'adaptations'.
So, perhaps:
The Innocents (The Turning of the Screw by Henry James)
or, rename the 'adaptations' header to 'Altered Titles' or something?
You are right of course - they are all adaptations, so I shall just list them all together because categorising is too arbitrary, and (attempt to) describe them in the comments.
Wings of the Dove (1997): Helena Bonham Carter and two people macking on her.
Are we considering comics as Classic American Literature? If so, The Phantom (1998), Superman, Spiderman, etc.
And what's the cutoff date for this category? For instance, what qualifies as Classic Modern American Literature vs Default Classic American Literature?
Whilst they might be described as classic in their own genre, I have difficulty accepting that they are 'classic literature'. Perhaps I can be convinced - and anyway I'm English so what would I know ;)
How do I set a cut off or distinguish between modern and default classic - I guess I don't know the answer to that.
Try some suggestions.
Okay, I see your point on genre literature. And you're right, it's all very ambiguous.
As for cutoff points, if I remember correctly from my literature classes as an undergrad, there's a general movement to delineate American literature as "Early" (dawn of time to 1899) and "Modern" (1900-present). But there's also something to be said for pre- and post-Civil War as the boundary.
Although having re-read my response, I'm not sure it's even remotely helpful. Any lit. majors out there who can help?