One lesson that producers never seem to learn is that a show spun off from a hit theatrical movie has no better chance of becoming a hit on TV than does any other new series. The elements that make a movie money are quite different from those that make a series popular (broad audience appeal, likable characters, situations that can be taken in many different directions, etc.). And, of course, the stars and budget of the big screen are seldom available to TV. Nevertheless, every season brings new headlines about the latest theatrical blockbuster that's about to become a hit series. It seldom works. Of the top 100 series of all time, only M*A*S*H and Alice were adapted directly from movies—if you don't count such evergreen properties as The Virginian (first filmed in 1914) and Lassie.
In the interests of truth, justice, and setting the record straight, we present a list of series included in this book that were based on theatrical movies. The rules for inclusion are that the series must have been a direct adaptation of the movie, sharing characters and/or setting, and not a disguised version possibly “inspired by” a theatrical film (e.g., Switch by The Sting, Hunterby Dirty Harry, Battlestar Galactica by Star Wars , etc.). We have also not included stars who simply played themselves in both movies and TV (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers), or, for the most part, historical figures whose lives have been portrayed in many forms over the years (e.g., Henry VIII, Wild Bill Hickok, etc.). Some judgment was used about what to include. Notable films are listed even if they were, in turn, based on another source such as a book (Lassie) , play (The Odd Couple) , or radio show (Amos ‘n' Andy) , however.
Dates prior to 1928 generally indicate silent films. Unless noted, dates reflect the first series and movie; if there were sequels or remakes, this is indicated by “& seq.” An asterisk (*) indicates a syndicated series.
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version (principal star, date) |
| 1949 |
|
| The Front Page |
The Front Page (Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, 1931 & seq.) |
| The Life of Riley |
Life of Riley (William Bendix, 1949)\ |
| Mama |
I Remember Mama (Irene Dunne, 1948) |
| 1950 |
|
| Adventures of Ellery Queen (& seq.) |
The Spanish Cape Mystery (Donald Cook, 1935 & seq.) |
| Big Town |
Big Town (Philip Reed, 1947 & seq.) |
| Buck Rogers (& seq.) |
Buck Rogers (aka Destination Saturn) (Buster rabbe, 1939 & seq.) |
| *Cisco Kid |
Began in silent films; first sound feature In old Arizona (Warner Baxter, 1929 & seq.) |
| Dick Tracy |
Dick Tracy (Ralph Byrd, 1937 & seq.) |
| The Girls |
Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (Gail Russell, 1944 & seq.) |
| Stage Door |
Stage Door (Katharine Hepburn, 1937) |
| 1951 |
|
| Amos ‘n' andy |
Check and Double Check (Freeman Gosden, Charles Correll, 1930) |
| *Boston Blackie |
Boston Blackie'sthe 14 films starring Chester Morris made between 1941-1949 are best known |
| A Date with Judy |
A Date with Judy (Jane Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, 1948) |
| 1952 |
|
| Adventures of Superman |
Theatrical cartoon (voice: Bud Collyer) in 1941; movie serial starring Kirk Alyn in 1948; feature starring George Reeves in 1951 |
| Claudia, The Story of a Marriage |
Claudia (Dorothy McGuire, Robert Young, 1943 & seq.) |
| Mr. & Mrs. North |
Mr. and Mrs. North (Gracie Allen, William Post, Jr., 1941) |
| My Friend Irma |
My Friend Irma (Marie Wilson, 1949 & seq.) |
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version principal star, date) |
| 1953 |
|
| *Flash Gordon |
Flash Gordon (aka Spaceship to the Unknown)(Buster Crabbe, 1936 & seq.) |
| Life with Father |
Life with Father (William Powell, 1947) |
| Topper |
Topper (Cary Grant, Roland Young, 1937 & seq.) |
| 1954 |
|
| The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin |
The Man from Hell's River (Rin Tin Tin, Sr., 1922 & seq.) |
| Lassie (& seq.) |
Lassie Come Home (Roddy McDowall, Elizabeth Taylor, 1943 & seq.) |
| That's My Boy |
That's My Boy (Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, 1951) |
| 1955 |
|
| The Adventures of Robin Hood (& seq.) |
First British version in 1909; first U.S. version in 1912; the most famous versions (of many) are those starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (1922) and Errol Flynn (1938) |
| Casablanca (& seq.) |
Casablanca (Humphrey Bogart, 1942) |
| Cheyenne |
Cheyenne (Dennis Morgan, 1947) |
| *Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal |
Magnificent Obsession (Robert Taylor, 1935 & seq.) |
| Kings Row |
Kings Row (Ann Sheridan, 1942) |
| 1956 |
|
| *The Adventures of Fu Manchu |
First seen in the 1920s as a series of British two-reelers starring Harry Agar Lyons; then The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (Warner Oland, 1929 & seq.); numerous others including a series with Christopher Lee in the 1960s |
| The Adventures of Sir Lancelot |
First version in 1942; most famous, Knights of the Round Table, starring Robert Taylor in 1954 |
| Broken Arrow |
Broken Arrow (James Stewart, 1950) |
| My Friend Flicka |
My Friend Flicka (Roddy McDowall, 1943 & seq.) |
| 1957 |
|
| Blondie (& seq.) |
Blondie (Penny Singleton, Arthur Lake, 1938 & 27 seq.) |
| Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (& seq.) |
I, the Jury (Biff Elliot, 1953 & seq.) |
| The New Adventures of Charlie Chan |
Began as a minor character in House Without a Key (George Kuwa, 1926); became a major one in numerous films starring Warner Oland (beginning 1931) and others |
| The Thin Man |
The Thin Man (William Powell, Myrna Loy, 1934 &seq.) |
| Zorro (& seq.) |
The Mark of Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., 1920 & seq.) |
| 1958 |
|
| *The Adventures of Tugboat Annie |
Tugboat Annie (Marie Dressler, 1933 & seq.) |
| *How to Marry a Millionaire |
How to Marry a Millionaire (Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, Lauren Bacall, 1953) |
| Naked City |
The Naked City (Barry Fitzgerald, 1948) |
| Northwest Passage |
Northwest Passage (Spencer Tracy, 1940) |
| 1959 |
|
| Five Fingers |
Five Fingers (James Mason, 1952) |
| Mr. Lucky |
Mr. Lucky (Cary Grant, 1943) |
| Peck's Bad Girl |
Peck's Bad Boy (Jackie Coogan, 1921 & seq.) |
| Pete Kelly's Blues |
Pete Kelly's Blues (Jack Webb, 1955) |
| Wichita Town |
Wichita (Joel McCrea, 1955) |
| 1960 |
|
| My Sister Eileen |
My Sister Eileen (Rosalind Russell, 1942 & seq.) |
| *The Third Man |
The Third Man (Orson Welles, 1950) |
| National Velvet |
National Velvet (Mickey Rooney, Elizabeth Taylor, 1944 & seq.) |
| 1961 |
|
| The Asphalt Jungle |
The Asphalt Jungle (Sterling Hayden, 1950 & seq.) |
| Bus Stop |
Bus Stop (Marilyn Monroe, 1956) |
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version (principal star, date) |
| Dr. Kildare |
Interns Can't Take Money (Joel McCrea, 1937); the |
| more famous series began with Young Dr. Kildare, starring Lew Ayres (1938 & 14 seq.) 87th Precinct |
Cop Hater (Robert Loggia, 1958 & seq.) |
| Father of the Bride |
Father of the Bride (Spencer Tracy, Elizabeth Taylor, 1950 & seq.) |
| Margie |
Margie (Jeanne Crain, 1946) |
| Whispering Smith |
Whispering Smith (Alan Ladd, 1948 & seq.) |
| 1962 |
|
| Going My Way |
Going My Way (Bing Crosby, 1944 & seq.) |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington |
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (James Stewart, 1939 & seq.) |
| Room for One More |
Room for One More (Cary Grant, 1952) |
| The Virginian |
First version in 1914 starred Dustin Farnum; the most famous remake was in 1929, starring Gary Cooper |
| 1963 |
|
| The Farmer's Daughter |
The Farmer's Daughter (Loretta Young, 1947) |
| 1964 |
|
| Destry |
Destry Rides Again (Tom Mix, 1932 & seq.); most famous version, in 1939, starred James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich |
| Flipper (& seq.) |
Flipper (Chuck Connors, 1963) |
| No Time for Sergeants |
No Time for Sergeants (Andy Griffith, 1958) |
| Peyton Place |
Peyton Place (Lana Turner, 1957 & seq.) |
| Twelve O'Clock High |
Twelve O'Clock High (Gregory Peck, 1949) |
| Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea |
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Walter Pidgeon, 1961) |
| 1965 |
|
| Wackiest Ship in the Army |
The Wackiest Ship in the Army (Jack Lemmon, 1960) |
| Gidget (& seq.) |
Gidget (Sandra Dee, 1959 & seq.) |
| The Long Hot Summer |
The Long Hot Summer (Paul Newman, 1958) |
| Mr. Roberts |
Mister Roberts (Henry Fonda, 1955) |
| Please Don't Eat the Daisies |
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (Doris Day, 1960) |
| Tammy |
Tammy and the Bachelor (Debbie Reynolds, 1957 & seq.) |
| 1966 |
|
| Daktari |
Clarence, The Cross-Eyed Lion (Marshall |
| Thompson, 1965) |
|
| The Rounders |
The Rounders (Glenn Ford, Henry Fonda, 1965) |
| Shane |
Shane (Alan Ladd, 1953) |
| Tarzan (& seq.) |
Tarzan of the Apes (Elmo Lincoln, 1918); at least 37 later versions, the most famous in the ‘30s and ‘40s starring Johnny Weissmuller |
| 1967 |
|
| Cowboy in Africa |
Africa—Texas Style! (Hugh O'Brian, 1967) |
| Hondo |
Hondo (John Wayne, 1953) |
| The Saint |
The Saint in New York (Louis Hayward, 1938 & seq.) |
| 1968 |
|
| The Ghost and Mrs. Muir |
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Gene Tierney, 1947) |
| 1969 |
|
| The Courtship of Eddie's Father |
Courtship of Eddie's Father (Glenn Ford, Ronny Howard, 1963) |
| Mr. Deeds Goes to Town |
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Gary Cooper, 1936) |
| 1970 |
|
| Barefoot in the Park |
Barefoot in the Park (Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, 1967) |
| The Interns |
The Interns (Cliff Robertson, 1962) |
| McCloud |
Coogan's Bluff (Clint Eastwood, 1968) |
| The Odd Couple (& seq.) |
The Odd Couple (Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, 1968) |
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version (principal star, date) |
| 1971 |
|
| *Doctor in the House |
Doctor in the House (Dirk Bogaide, 1954 & seq.) |
| 1972 |
|
| Anna and the King |
Anna and the King of Siam (Irene Dunne, Rex Harrison, 1946); musical version in 1956, The King and I, starred Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner |
| M*A*S*H |
M*A*S*H (Donald Sutherland, 1970) |
| 1973 |
|
| Adam's Rib |
Adam's Rib (Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, 1949) |
| Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice |
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Natalie Wood, 1969) |
| Shaft |
Shaft (Richard Roundtree, 1971 & seq.) |
| 1974 |
|
| Born Free |
Born Free (Virginia McKenna, 1966 & seq.) |
| The Cowboys |
The Cowboys (John Wayne, 1972) |
| Paper Moon |
Paper Moon (Ryan O'Neal, 1973) |
| Petroceui |
The Lawyer (Barry Newman, 1970) |
| Planet of the Apes |
Planet of the Apes (Charlton Heston, 1968 & seq.) |
| 1975 |
|
| Matt Helm |
The Silencers (Dean Martin, 1966 & seq.) |
| Swiss Family Robinson |
Swiss Family Robinson (Thomas Mitchell, 1940 & seq.) |
| 1976 |
|
| Alice |
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (Ellen Burstyn, |
| 1975) |
|
| Popi |
Popi (Alan Arkin, Rita Moreno, 1969) |
| Serpico |
Serpico (Al Pacino, 1973) |
| What's Happening!! (& seq.) |
Cooley High (Glynn Turman, 1975) |
| 1977 |
|
| Life and Times of Grizzly Adams |
The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams (Dan Haggerty, 1976) |
| Logan's Run |
Logan's Run (Michael York, 1976) |
| The Nancy Drew Mysteries (& seq.) |
Nancy Drew, Detective (Bonita Granville, 1938 & seq.) |
| Operation Petticoat |
Operation Petticoat (Cary Grant, 1959) |
| 1978 |
|
| How the West Was Won |
How The West Was Won (all-star cast, 1962) |
| The Paper Chase |
The Paper Chase (John Houseman, 1973) |
| 1979 |
|
| House Calls |
House Calls (Walter Matthau, 1978) |
| Little Women |
Little Women (Katharine Hepburn, 1933 & seq.) |
| The Bad News Bears |
Bad News Bears (Walter Matthau, 1976 & seq.) |
| The Curse of Dracula (& seq.) |
German film Nosferatu (Max Schreck, 1922) and many sequels, notably Dracula (Bela Lugosi, 1931) |
| Dear Detective |
Dear Detective (Annie Giradot, 1977 & seq.) |
| Delta House |
National Lampoon's Animal House (John Belushi, |
| 1978) |
|
| From Here to Eternity |
From Here to Eternity (Burt Lancaster, 1953) |
| Turnabout |
Turnabout (John Hubbard, Carole Landis, 1940) |
| 1980 |
|
| Beyond Westworld |
Westworld (Richard Benjamin, 1973 & seq.) |
| Breaking Away |
Breaking Away (Dennis Christopher, 1979) |
| Freebie and the Bean |
Freebie and the Bean (James Caan, Alan Arkin, 1974) |
| Semi-Tough |
Semi-Tough (Burt Reynolds, 1977) |
| 1981 |
|
| Flamingo Road |
Flamingo Road (Joan Crawford, 1949) |
| Foul Play |
Foul Play (Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, 1978) |
| Harper Valley P.T.A |
Harper Valley P.T.A. (Barbara Eden, 1978) |
| Private Benjamin |
Private Benjamin (Goldie Hawn, 1980) |
| Walking Tall |
Walking Tall (Joe Don Baker, 1973) |
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version (principal star, date) |
| 1982 |
|
| Fame |
Fame (Irene Cara, 1980) |
| Herbie, The Love Bug |
The Love Bug (Dean Jones, 1969 & seq.) |
| 9 to 5 |
9 to 5 (Jane Fonda, 1980) |
| Seven Brides for Seven Brothers |
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, 1954) |
| 1983 |
|
| Gun Shy |
The Apple Dumpling Gang (Bill Bixby, 1975) |
| Hotel |
Hotel (Rod Taylor, 1967) |
| 1984 |
|
| Blue Thunder |
Blue Thunder (Roy Scheider, 1983) |
| The Four Seasons |
The Four Seasons (Alan Alda, 1981) |
| 1985 |
|
| Mr. Belvedere |
Sitting Pretty (Clifton Webb, 1948 & seq.) |
| Stir Crazy |
Stir Crazy (Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor, 1980) |
| 1986 |
|
| Fast Times |
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Sean Penn, 1982) |
| Gung Ho |
Gung Ho (Michael Keaton, 1986) |
| Starman |
Starman (Jeff Bridges, 1984) |
| 1987 |
|
| *Bustin' Loose |
Bustin' Loose (Richard Pryor, 1981) |
| Nothing in Common |
Nothing in Common (Tom Hanks, 1986) |
| Down and Out in Beverly Hills |
Boudu Saved from Drowning (Michel Simon, 1932), remade as Down and Out in Beverly Hills (Nick |
| Nolte, 1986) |
|
| *You Can't Take It with You |
You Can't Take It with You (Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, 1938) |
| 1988 |
|
| *Freddy's Nightmares |
Nightmare on Elm Street (Robert Englund, 1984 & seq.) |
| In the Heat of the Night |
In the Heat of the Night (Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, 1967 & seq.) |
| Baby Boom |
Baby Boom (Diane Keaton, 1987) |
| Dirty Dancing |
Dirty Dancing (Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, 1987) |
| Dirty Dozen: The Series |
The Dirty Dozen (Lee Marvin, 1967) |
| *War of the Worlds |
War of the Worlds (Gene Barry, 1953) |
| 1989 |
|
| Alien Nation |
Alien Nation (James Caan, 1988) |
| 1990 |
|
| Adventures of the Black Stallion |
The Black Stallion (Kelly Reno, Mickey Rooney, 1979) |
| Bagdad Cafe |
Bagdad Cafe (Marianne Sagebrecht, 1988) |
| Ferris Bueller |
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (Matthew Broderick, 1986) |
| The Outsiders |
The Outsiders (C. Thomas Howell, 1983) |
| Parenthood |
Parenthood (Steve Martin, 1989) |
| Swamp Thing |
Swamp Thing (Louis Jourdan, Adrienne Barbeau, 1982) |
| Uncle Buck |
Uncle Buck (John Candy, 1989) |
| Working Girl |
Working Girl (Melanie Griffith, 1988) |
| 1991 |
|
| Baby Talk |
Look Who's Talking (Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, |
| 1989 & seq.) |
|
| Eddie Dodd |
True Believer (James Woods, 1989) |
| *Harry and the Hendersons |
Harry and the Hendersons (John Lithgow, 1987) |
| 1992 |
|
| Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures |
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, 1989) |
| *Highlander (& seq.) |
Highlander (Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, 1986 & seq.) |
| TV series (premiere) |
Earliest Film Version (principal star, date) |
| *The Untouchables |
The Untouchables (Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, 1987) |
| The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles |
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Harrison Ford, 1981) |
| 1993 |
|
| A League of Their Own |
A League of Their Own (Tom Hanks, Geena Davis,1992) |
| Problem Child |
Problem Child (John Ritter, 1990 & seq.) |
| Snowy River: The McGregor Saga |
The Man from Snowy River (Kirk Douglas, 1982) |
| 1994 |
|
| *RoboCop: The Series |
RoboCop (Peter Weller, 1987 & seq.) |
| Weird Science |
Weird Science (Anthony Michael Hall, Kelly |
| LeBrock, 1985) |
|
| 1995 |
|
| John Grisham's The Client |
The Client (Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones, 1994) |
| 1996 |
|
| The Big Easy |
The Big Easy (Dennis Quaid, Ellen Barkin, 1987) |
| Clueless |
Clueless (Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, 1995) |
| Dangerous Minds |
Dangerous Minds (Michelle Pfeiffer, 1995) |
| *FX: The Series |
F/X (Bryan Brown, Brian Dennehy, 1986) |
| Party Girl |
Party Girl (Parker Posey, 1995) |
| 1997 |
|
| Buffy, The Vampire Slayer |
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Luke Perry, 1992) |
| *Conan: The Television Series |
Conan the Barbarian (Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1982) |
| *Disney's Honey, I Shrunk the Kids |
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (Rick Moranis, 1989) |
| La Femme Nikita |
La Femme Nikita (Anne Parillaud, 1991), Point of No Return (Bridget Fonda, Gabriel Byrne, 1993) |
| *Police Academy: The Series |
Police Academy (Steve Guttenberg, George Gaynes, Michael Winslow, 1984 & seq.) |
| *Stargate SG-1 |
Stargate (Kurt Russell, James Spader, 1994). |
| Timecop |
Timecop (Jean-Claude Van Damme, 1994) |
| 1998 |
|
| *The Crow: Stairway to Heaven |
The Crow (Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, 1994) |
| The Magnificent Seven: The Series |
The Magnificent Seven (Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, 1960) |
| *Mortal Kombat: Conquest |
Mortal Kombat (Christopher Lambert, 1995 & seq.) |
| The Net |
The Net (Sandra Bullock, 1995) |
| 1999 |
|
| *Beastmaster |
The Beastmaster (Marc Singer, Tanya Roberts, 1982) |
| *Total Recall 2070 |
Total Recall (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, 1990) |
| 2001 |
|
| Some of My Best Friends |
Kiss Me Guido (Nick Scotti, Anthony Barrile, 1997) |
| 2002 |
|
| The Dead Zone |
The Dead Zone (Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, 1983) |
| 2003 |
|
| Karen Sisco |
Out of Sight (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, 1998) |
| My Big Fat Greek Life |
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, |
| 2002) Tremors |
Tremors (Kevin Bacon, 1990) |
| 2006 |
|
| Blade: The Series |
Blade (Wesley Snipes, 1998) |
| Friday Night Lights |
Friday Night Lights (Billy Bob Thornton, 2004) |