Congeniality of Novels for Film Adaptation

Abstract

Adaptation according to Jean Mitry rests on the absurd assumption that there exists a content that could be transferred or transformed from one form of expression into another.¹

Adaptation of novel dates back to 1908; it was the first time that Charles Dickens’ novel Christmas Carol was transformed into a silent movie; thought its sound picture version (talkie) came out in 1933. Dickens’ Dombey and Son was the first novel filmed in modern dress in 1931 as Rich Man’s Folly directed by John Cromwell in which John Bencraft acted as Mr.Dombey. Thackeray’s novel Becky Sharp (1935) adapted for the film was the first three colors – Technicolor. Many novels were adapted after 1910, or precisely after the adaptation of the play The Assassin of Duke De Guise.²