20th Century Literature On Screen
"20th century literature on screen" Movies and TV Shows
#1
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
Synopsis:
An extraordinary young girl discovers her superpower and summons the remarkable courage, against all odds, to help others change their stories, whilst also taking charge of her own destiny. Standing up for what's right, she's met with miraculous results.
Starring:
Emma Thompson,
Lashana Lynch,
Stephen Graham
Plot:
circus,
library,
corruption,
child abuse,
magic,
hero,
genius,
school,
singing,
remake
...
#2
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Synopsis:
Three tales of very different women using their sexuality as a means to getting what they want.
Starring:
Aldo Giuffrè,
Marcello Mastroianni,
Sophia Loren
#3
War of the Buttons
Synopsis:
For generations, two rival French villages, Longueverne and Velrans, have been at war. But this is no ordinary conflict, for the on-going hostilities are between two armies of young schoolboys. When he is beaten by his father for having lost his buttons, the leader of the Longueverne army, Lebrac, has an idea which will give his side the advantage: next time, he and his brave soldiers will go in …
Starring:
Paul Crauchet,
Pierre Trabaud,
Pierre Tchernia
Plot:
france,
village,
fight,
battle,
boys gang,
boarding school,
horseback riding,
betrayal by a friend,
betrayal,
literature on screen
...
#4
Vertigo
Synopsis:
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
Starring:
James Stewart,
Henry Jones,
Lee Patrick
#5
Topaz
Synopsis:
Copenhagen, Denmark, 1962. When a high-ranking Soviet official decides to change sides, a French intelligence agent is caught up in a cold, silent and bloody spy war in which his own family will play a decisive role.
Starring:
Michel Piccoli,
John Vernon,
Philippe Noiret
Plot:
1960s,
cold war,
spy,
defection,
cuban missile crisis,
year 1962,
secret agent,
surveillance,
intrigue,
interrogation
...
#6
The Witches
Synopsis:
A young boy named Luke and his grandmother go on vacation only to discover their hotel is hosting an international witch convention, where the Grand High Witch is unveiling her master plan to turn all children into mice. Will Luke fall victim to the witches' plot before he can stop them?
Starring:
Anjelica Huston,
Jane Horrocks,
Rowan Atkinson
#7
The Wicker Man
Synopsis:
Police sergeant Neil Howie is called to an island village in search of a missing girl whom the locals claim never existed. Stranger still, however, are the rituals that take place there.
Starring:
Aubrey Morris,
Christopher Lee,
Britt Ekland
#8
The Silence of the Lambs
Synopsis:
Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.
Starring:
Anthony Heald,
Tracey Walter,
Anthony Hopkins
#9
The Odd Couple
Synopsis:
In New York, Felix, a neurotic news writer who just broke up with his wife, is urged by his chaotic friend Oscar, a sports journalist, to move in with him, but their lifestyles are as different as night and day are, so Felix's ideas about housekeeping soon begin to irritate Oscar.
Starring:
Monica Evans,
Carole Shelley,
John Fiedler
#10
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Synopsis:
In 1900, strong-willed widow Lucy Muir goes to live in Gull Cottage by the British seaside, even though it appears to be haunted. On her very first night she meets the ghost of the crusty former owner, Captain Gregg—and refuses to be scared off. They eventually become friends and allies, after Lucy gets used to the idea of a man's ghost haunting her bedroom.
Starring:
George Sanders,
Robert Coote,
Rex Harrison
#11
The Birds
Synopsis:
Chic socialite Melanie Daniels enjoys a passing flirtation with an eligible attorney in a San Francisco pet shop and, on an impulse, follows him to his hometown bearing a gift of lovebirds. But upon her arrival, the bird population runs amok. Suddenly, the townsfolk face a massive avian onslaught, with the feathered fiends inexplicably attacking people all over Bodega Bay.
Starring:
Veronica Cartwright,
Rod Taylor,
Suzanne Pleshette
Plot:
bird attack,
california,
paranoia,
1960s,
unsolved mystery,
nature run amok,
attic,
female protagonist,
based on short story,
bird
...
#12
Sweet Smell of Success
Synopsis:
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the metho…
Starring:
Burt Lancaster,
Jeff Donnell,
Tony Curtis
Plot:
musician,
attempted suicide,
press agent,
newspaper columnist,
unscrupulous,
manipulation,
power,
jazz club,
incest,
blackmail
...
#13
Sleuth
Synopsis:
A mystery novelist devises an insurance scam with his wife’s lover – but things aren’t exactly as they seem.
Starring:
Michael Caine,
Laurence Olivier,
John Matthews
Plot:
battle of wits,
suspense,
surprise ending,
psychotronic film,
huis clos,
mg car,
dartboard,
automaton,
ladder,
racism
...
#14
Scent of a Woman
Synopsis:
Charlie Simms is a student at a private preparatory school who comes from a poor family. To earn the money for his flight home to Gresham, Oregon for Christmas, Charlie takes a job over Thanksgiving looking after retired U.S. Army officer Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, a cantankerous middle-aged man who lives with his niece and her family.
Starring:
Bradley Whitford,
June Squibb,
Al Pacino
#15
Rebecca
Synopsis:
Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistr…
Starring:
George Sanders,
C. Aubrey Smith,
Judith Anderson
Plot:
widower,
castle,
shipwreck,
costume party,
house fire,
marriage proposal,
haunted by the past,
unhappy marriage,
bride,
shyness
...
#16
Psycho
Synopsis:
When larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where manager Norman Bates cares for his housebound mother.
Starring:
John McIntire,
Martin Balsam,
Simon Oakland
Plot:
motel,
shower,
money,
maniac,
stabbed with a knife,
surprise ending,
suspense,
serial killer,
theft,
homicidal maniac
...
#17
Oscar
Synopsis:
This film originated as a play in Paris. The story focuses on the one-day adventures of Bertrand Barnier played with a genius of French cinema, Louis de Funes. In the same morning he learns that his daughter is pregnant, an employee stole a large amount of money from his company, his maid is about to resign in order to marry a wealthy neighbor and his body builder is interested in marrying his da…
Starring:
Claude Rich,
Louis de Funès,
Paul Préboist
#18
National Lampoon's Vacation
Synopsis:
Clark Griswold is on a quest to take his family on a quest to Walley World theme park for a vacation, but things don't go exactly as planned.
Starring:
Anthony Michael Hall,
Randy Quaid,
Chevy Chase
#19
Marnie
Synopsis:
Marnie is a thief, a liar, and a cheat. When her new boss, Mark Rutland, catches on to her routine kleptomania, she finds herself being blackmailed.
Starring:
Sean Connery,
Alan Napier,
Diane Baker
#20
Lord of the Flies
Synopsis:
Amidst a nuclear war, a plane carrying a group of schoolboys crash lands on a deserted island. With no adult survivors, the boys are forced to fend for themselves. At first they cooperate, but when they split into two separate camps -- one led by the pragmatic Ralph and the other by militaristic Jack -- their society falls into disarray, leading to a disturbing examination of human nature and a c…
Starring:
James Aubrey,
Tom Chapin,
Hugh Edwards
Plot:
deserted island,
children,
all male cast,
airplane,
smoking plane,
walking,
airplane crash,
pacific island,
school boy,
schoolboy
...