spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 17, 2022 21:55:52 GMT
Just a fun thread to create lists of films that were remade at least once (tv versions don't count -- well, maybe, if they're important to you). So please make one or more lists. There are so many, and one of the hard parts is that when re-made, some had new titles.
I'll start with these:
The Three Godfathers (1916) Hell's Heroes (1929) Three Godfathers (1948)
I only saw the last of those, so I can't choose a favorite.
The Front Page (1931) His Girl Friday (1948)
The Front Page (1974)
I saw all of those, and my hands down favorite is His Girl Friday.
Have fun. Oh, and one of the best ways to verify accuracy (especially when the title changes) is through the original writer.
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Post by manfromplanetx on Aug 17, 2022 23:52:20 GMT
The plot of "A Star Is Born" first filmed in 1937 has remained basically the same over the years, telling the behind the scene story of a rising star and a fading celebrity who fall in love and grapple with fame... A Star Is Born was remade in 1954 with Judy Garland and James Mason; in 1976 with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson; and in 2018 with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper (not seen) Each remake has put a slightly different spin on the story all three I have seen are great entertainment ...
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Post by politicidal on Aug 18, 2022 0:39:41 GMT
The bestselling adventure novel King Solomon's Mines was first adapted in 1937 and then it was remade as a theatrical release in 1950 and 1985; the latter getting a sequel in 1986.
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Post by Penn Guinn on Aug 18, 2022 0:53:44 GMT
Of Mice and Men 1939 Burgess Meredith / Lon Chaney 1981 Robert Blake / Randy Quaid - this is a TV Movie but it's big screen worthy 1992 Gary Sinese / John Malcovich .... each is my "favorite" version depending on which one I just finished watching. There is a live theater version which I have not seen yet and a 1968 TV version with George Segal and Nicol Williamson which I did not care for.
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 18, 2022 1:02:13 GMT
I knew you would list this one, Penn. I still haven't seen the 1992 Gary Sinese / John Malcovich version, but it's on my list.
Actually, I've only seen the 1939 version so far, which I loved. But of all the others, the Senise/Malcovish version is the one I'm looking forward to.
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Post by Penn Guinn on Aug 18, 2022 1:18:28 GMT
Leo McCarey directed 'em both.
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 18, 2022 1:32:59 GMT
Leo McCarey directed 'em both.
Yes, he did Penn Guinn. Bless him for that. My favorite of the two is AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER, I think because of Deborah Kerr. And let's not forget that there was also the 1994 version, though I didn't care for it at all.
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Post by Isapop on Aug 18, 2022 2:04:40 GMT
.
The Front Page (1931) His Girl Friday (1948)
The Front Page (1974)
I saw all of those, and my hands down favorite is His Girl Friday.
Have fun. Oh, and one of the best ways to verify accuracy (especially when the title changes) is through the original writer.
You have to add Switching Channels (1988), the remake of HGF.
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spiderwort
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@spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 18, 2022 2:28:47 GMT
.
The Front Page (1931) His Girl Friday (1948)
The Front Page (1974)
I saw all of those, and my hands down favorite is His Girl Friday.
Have fun. Oh, and one of the best ways to verify accuracy (especially when the title changes) is through the original writer.
You have to add Switching Channels (1988), the remake of HGF.
Oh, thank you, Isapop! I never saw that and was not aware of it being a remake. Good cast. I'll keep an eye out for it, and thanks again. I have a feeling there might be more oversights that will need to be corrected when all is said and done.
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Post by mattgarth on Aug 18, 2022 3:27:28 GMT
THE SPOILERS -- five versions of the Rex Beach novel set during the Alaskan Gold Rush The first one established the classic barroom brawl between the protagonist and the villain (and legend has it that it was a real fistfight):
1914 -- William Farnum and Tom Santschi (actual brawl) 1923 -- Milton Sills and Noah Beery Sr. (Wallace's brother) 1930 -- Gary Cooper and William Boyd (no, not Hoppy) 1942 -- John Wayne and Randolph Scott (best version) 1955 -- Jeff Chandler and Rory Calhoun (in color)
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 8:28:06 GMT
.
The Front Page (1931) His Girl Friday (1948)
The Front Page (1974) I saw all of those, and my hands down favorite is His Girl Friday.
Have fun. Oh, and one of the best ways to verify accuracy (especially when the title changes) is through the original writer. You have to add Switching Channels (1988), the remake of HGF. According to Garson Kanin, Harry Cohn was offered the script of Gunga Din, but turned it down on the basis that he already owned the property it was based on: The Front Page. This made Cohn the butt of jokes around Hollywood, but if you look at Gunga Din the subplot of Mclaglen tricking Fairbanks into rejoining the army (and away from his fiancee) and Fairbanks finding a way out again is very similar to how the editor keeps the reporter working on the story and away from his girl. Hecht and MacArthur worked on both scripts. Torrid Zone is virtually a remake of The Front Page, reset on a banana plantation in Latin America. To be honest it's probably my favorite version of the story. How Warners got away with such blatant plagiarism I don't know; Hecht and MacArthur are not mentioned in the credits, although Jerry Wald (the inspiration for the unscrupulous producer in What Makes Sammy Run) is. Make of that what you will.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 8:37:03 GMT
Although not technically -- that is, legally -- a remake, Red River is essentially a reworking of Mutiny On The Bounty.
In one respect it's actually closer to the real story than either the '35 or '62 versions in that the two main characters are shown to be friends (as Bligh and Christian were in reality), whereas Gable-Laughton and Brando-Howard are presented as being total strangers pre-mutiny.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 8:50:33 GMT
Of Mice and Men 1939 Burgess Meredith / Lon Chaney 1981 Robert Blake / Randy Quaid - this is a TV Movie but it's big screen worthy 1992 Gary Sinese / John Malcovich .... each is my "favorite" version depending on which one I just finished watching. There is a live theater version which I have not seen yet and a 1968 TV version with George Segal and Nicol Williamson which I did not care for. Care to detail why you didn't like this version? Williamson was brilliant that same year as the brutish soldier in The Bofors Gun. I'd be interested in seeing how he handled playing such a backward, pathetic character instead of the boorish louts specialized in. Myself, I didn't care for the Sinise/Malkovich version. The Robert Blake one is actually pretty good. For trivia fans: there's an episode of The Fugitive that is basically a redo of OMAM, w/Denny Miller in the Lenny role to Dr. Kimble's reluctant George. Miller gave an online interview where he discussed working on this episode. Supposedly Janssen showed up on the set hungover after having lost $40K over the weekend in Las Vegas.
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Post by timshelboy on Aug 18, 2022 10:49:07 GMT
There was a TV version from 1960 - also a musical - with Richard Basehart, Claude Rains and Marisa Pavan
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 18, 2022 12:04:57 GMT
Although not technically -- that is, legally -- a remake, Red River is essentially a reworking of Mutiny On The Bounty. In one respect it's actually closer to the real story than either the '35 or '62 versions in that the two main characters are shown to be friends (as Bligh and Christian were in reality), whereas Gable-Laughton and Brando-Howard are presented as being total strangers pre-mutiny.
Interesting concept, Richard. Not sure I can see it that way, but I'll give it some thought. I confess I originally conceived this thread to be more about direct remakes. That said, all of your contributions and postulations are really intriguing and say a lot about how Hollywood worked in the old days (and to some extent still today). You have a real aptitude for demonstrating that.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 12:39:11 GMT
Although not technically -- that is, legally -- a remake, Red River is essentially a reworking of Mutiny On The Bounty. In one respect it's actually closer to the real story than either the '35 or '62 versions in that the two main characters are shown to be friends (as Bligh and Christian were in reality), whereas Gable-Laughton and Brando-Howard are presented as being total strangers pre-mutiny. Interesting concept, Richard. Not sure I can see it that way, but I'll give it some thought. IIRC Borden Chase admitted RR was based on MOTB. Chase was involved in another curious case. In 1952 he wrote Bend Of The River, produced for Universal by Aaron Rosenberg. In 1966 Rosenberg was executive producer of the Daniel Boone series for Fox, and he remade Bend Of The River as a 2 part episode called "The High Cumberland". Neither Chase nor the original novel's author are credited. How Rosenberg could totally remake at Fox a property presumably owned by Universal, I don't know.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 12:51:41 GMT
According to Garson Kanin, Harry Cohn was offered the script of Gunga Din, but turned it down on the basis that he already owned the property it was based on: The Front Page. This made Cohn the butt of jokes around Hollywood, but if you look at Gunga Din the subplot of Mclaglen tricking Fairbanks into rejoining the army (and away from his fiancee) and Fairbanks finding a way out again is very similar to how the editor keeps the reporter working on the story and away from his girl. Hecht and MacArthur worked on both scripts. Torrid Zone is virtually a remake of The Front Page, reset on a banana plantation in Latin America. To be honest it's probably my favorite version of the story. How Warners got away with such blatant plagiarism I don't know; Hecht and MacArthur are not mentioned in the credits, although Jerry Wald (the inspiration for the unscrupulous producer in What Makes Sammy Run) is. Make of that what you will. Very interesting stuff, Richard. Wouldn't have thought of any of that. I'll give you Gunga Din, since the writers were credited (though for me it's not really the same story, per se). And I can see the similarities in Torrid Zone now that you mention it, but its "plagiarism" is not acceptable to me. If TZ is not a remake of tFP then the word "remake" has no meaning. It has the same structure, the same subplot of supervisor conniving to keep underling around to do special job, and the supervisor (Pat O'Brien) is a carbon copy of tFP's editor. 2 reasons: 1. Hollywood protecting its image 2. There's another reason, but it would cause controversy here "Let me tell you something, compared to Harry Cohn Sammy Glick was a choirboy". -- Jerry Wald to Budd Schulberg
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spiderwort
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Post by spiderwort on Aug 18, 2022 13:07:37 GMT
Adding a three more, all adapted from Fannie Hurst writings:
Four Daughters (1938), remade as Young at at Heart (1954)
Back Street (1932) and Back Street (1961)
Imitation of Life (1934) and Imitation of Life (1959)
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Post by stryker on Aug 18, 2022 13:14:12 GMT
Interesting concept, Richard. Not sure I can see it that way, but I'll give it some thought. IIRC Borden Chase admitted RR was based on MOTB. Chase was involved in another curious case. In 1952 he wrote Bend Of The River, produced for Universal by Aaron Rosenberg. In 1966 Rosenberg was executive producer of the Daniel Boone series for Fox, and he remade Bend Of The River as a 2 part episode called "The High Cumberland". Neither Chase nor the original novel's author are credited. How Rosenberg could totally remake at Fox a property presumably owned by Universal, I don't know.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Aug 18, 2022 13:23:14 GMT
Back Street (1932) and Back Street (1961) Also 1941 w/Margaret Sullavan & Boyer Along similar lines the well-known Letter From An Unknown Woman had previously been made w/Sullavan at Universal in 1933 as Only Yesterday. I may write a bit more about this later today when I have some time, as though I much prefer LFAUW, OY has one great moment that truly fascinates me.
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