Book vs. Film of "Nightmare Alley" (1947)

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sethb
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Book vs. Film of "Nightmare Alley" (1947)

Post by sethb » Sun Feb 13, 2011 7:57 pm

"Nightmare Alley" (1947) was always one of my favorite films, and I was glad to finally see that it was finally issued on DVD a few years ago.

I just finished reading William Lindsay Gresham's 1946 novel "Nightmare Alley," which has now been reprinted in paperback and is available from Amazon. It's always fun to go back to the original source and see what the author intended.

In this case, it's very interesting to see how the film version varies from the original novel. While I'm not surprised that Fox tacked on an obligatory "happy ending," the studio did stick pretty closely to the basic premise, while still eliminating a number of plotlines and situations (adultery, prostitution) that never would have been permitted onscreen during that era by the Production Code. SETH
Please don't call the occasional theatrical release of an old movie a "reissue." We do not say "The next time you go to the Louvre, you will see a re-issue of the Mona Lisa.” -- Cecil B. DeMille

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