# Novels into Movies: Title Changes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 2, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557 "2001-04-02T23:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/1 "2001-04-02T23:12:46Z")
I’m looking here for well-known novels that were made into movies with very different titles. Examples: “Shoeless Joe” became “Field of Dreams.” “The Short-TImers” became “Full Metal Jacket” “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” became “Blade Runner.” More examples? Please? ---
**Author:** ![Grok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Grok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grok)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/2 "2001-04-02T23:35:33Z")
“We Can Remember it for You Wholesale” became “Total Recall” “Red Dragon” became “Manhunter” “Lost Moon” became “Apollo 13” ---
**Author:** ![DeadAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@DeadAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadAngel)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/3 "2001-04-02T23:39:25Z")
“My Posse Don’t Do Homework” became “Dangerous Minds” ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/4 "2001-04-02T23:44:37Z")
“Great Debates” became “MPSIMS”… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/5 "2001-04-03T00:01:17Z")
Well, since short stories have already been broached (we’ll remember it for you wholesale): Who Goes There? -\> The Thing The Monolith -\> 2001: A Space Oddesy Herbert West: Reanimator -\> Reanimator The Racer -\> Death Race 2000 (You didn’t say they had to be ACCURATE adaptations…) ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/6 "2001-04-03T00:31:17Z")
Richard Matheson’s _I Am Legend_ becomes “adapted” into _Omega Man_. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/7 "2001-04-03T02:15:50Z")
How is this not IMHO or MPSIMS? Here are some more: Flowers for Algernon into Charley. “Trucks” (an SK story) into Maximum Overdrive. There’s The Haunting of Hill House into just plain, “The Haunting” but that’s not too different, I suppose. All I can think of for now… ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/8 "2001-04-03T02:59:24Z")
_Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption_ was shortened to just _The Shawshank Redemption_. _The Black Ferris_ became _Something Wicked This Way Comes_. _Cabal_ became _Nightbreed_. I’m sure I can think of more… ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/9 "2001-04-03T03:12:10Z")
“The Wizard of Oz” was shortened to “Oz” for the HBO version. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/10 "2001-04-03T03:43:30Z")
Two quick things: 1. Thanks to everyone who came up with answers. 2. I actually THOUGHT I was in General Questions when I posted this… it obviously doesn’t belong in Great Debates, and I apologize for the inconvenience to the moderator who’ll have to clean up the mess. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/11 "2001-04-03T04:34:42Z")
Tengu wrote: > [@](#): > > The Monolith -\> 2001: A Space Oddesy I think you mean: “The Sentinel” -\> _2001: A Space Odyssey_ ---
**Author:** ![Mysphyt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Mysphyt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mysphyt)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/12 "2001-04-03T05:12:03Z")
_grumblegrumble_ _Eaters of the Dead_ stupidly became _The Thirteenth Warrior_._/grumblegrumble_ ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/13 "2001-04-03T05:23:03Z")
Richard Matheson’s I AM LEGEND was adapted twice: first as The Last Man on Earth, and then later as The Omega Man. \*The movie Frankie Starlight was adapted from a book called The Dork of Cork. (I think the book’s title was much better, but it didn’t stand a chance here in the U.S.) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/14 "2001-04-03T05:24:12Z")
here’s another: El Club Dumas (book) became The Ninth Gate (book). ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/15 "2001-04-03T05:29:32Z")
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" (a brilliant novel, IMHO) was shortened to “The Mambo Kings.” “Second Variety” became “Screamers.” (P. K. Dick) “Monkey Planet” (translated from the original French) became “Planet of The Apes.” Thereafter the novel was released as “Planet of The Apes.” “Cyborg” became “The Six Million Dollar Man” (I’m using TV as well as feature films). Interestingly enough, “Cyborg” was credited as the source of “The Bionic Woman” as well, though it was just a spin-off of TSMDM. “Farewell To The Master” became “The Day The Earth Stood Still” “MASH” became “M_A_S\*H” (stretching it, I know) And the words “On” and “Over” from “The Bridge \_\_\_\_ The River Kwai” are interchanged, but I forget which is which. Sir ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/16 "2001-04-03T06:06:55Z")
The Body -\> Stand By Me A Prayer for Owen Meany -\> Simon Birch ---
**Author:** ![Cyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@Cyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyn)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/17 "2001-04-03T06:57:26Z")
Emma----\>Clueless Sweet Thursday----\>Cannery Row ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/18 "2001-04-03T14:07:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enderw24 \* > \*\*“The Wizard of Oz” was shortened to “Oz” for the HBO version. \*\* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/19 "2001-04-03T14:20:51Z")
“Animal Husbandry” became “Someone Like You” ---
**Author:** ![KeithB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@KeithB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithB)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2001, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557/20 "2001-04-03T15:16:38Z")
I may be misremembering, and the IMDB has no mention of a “Black Ferris”, but I believe that “Something Wicked This Way Comes” was based on the Bradbury novel “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” In fact, Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/novels-into-movies-title-changes/60557.md?page=2)