Actual Nominations: Becket. Zorba The Greek. Dr. Strangelove. Mary Poppins. My Fair Lady.
This year saw the usual mix of adapted plays and musicals, with Becket picking up the official win. My choice goes to Kubrick, George, and Southern’s loose adaptation of Peter George’s own Red Alert. Kubrick deftly turns the story into a black comedy and adds in a heavier satirical element, as well as completely re-writing the ending.
My Winner: Dr. Strangelove.
My Nominations: Dr. Strangelove. Goldfinger. The Killers. Zulu. The Outrage.
Only Kubrick’s satire makes it over to my personal list this year, joining an unexpected foursome. Richard Maibum returned yet again to adapt another Ian Fleming novel, this time crafting the script which many others would use as a template over the following decades. With rewrites and additions by Oscar winner Paul Dehn, the script is peppered with iconic one liners and scenes. Based on Kurosawa’s classic Rashomon, which was in turn based on earlier Japanese short stories, Michael Kanin gives a grandiose, yet filthy air to Ritt’s The Outrage, while Gene L Coon’s take on Hemmingway’s short story was so violent for a Teleplay that it was released to great success on the big screen instead. My final nomination is for Cy Enfield and John Prebble, for their rip-roaring script Zulu, based on a previous media article Prebble had written. With plenty of innocent inaccuracies, and some completely fabricated stuff to present both a tale of high adventure for Britannia, and a basis for heavy historical criticism, Zulu is a story which always provokes debate.
My Winner: Dr. Strangelove.
Which film from 1964 do you think has the best adapted screenplay? Let us know in the comments.
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