# The "Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone" phenomenon: other books/films with two names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2001, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000 "2001-11-07T14:21:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/21 "2001-11-08T13:50:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Me: \<\< British MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS became (inexplicably, to me) MURDER ON THE CALAIS COACH in the US \>\> > > Screech-owl: \<\< I remember seeing it in the theatres as ‘Orient Express’. \>\> > > Sorry if I was unclear, I was talking about the book titles, not the movie titles. I always assumed that **Murder on the Calais Coach** was the original British title. Why the hell did they change as wonderful and mysterious-sounding a title as \*\* Murder on the Orient Express\*\* to the bland “Murder on the Calais Coach” for the American edition? Obviously the first title was the better one, because they used it for the Albert Finney film. ---
**Author:** ![Izzardesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@Izzardesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Izzardesque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/22 "2001-11-08T15:35:57Z")
The Madness of King George III was changed to The Madness of King George because it was thought that the sequel happy Americans would want to know what happened to TMOKG I and II!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/23 "2001-11-08T15:44:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Izzardesque \* > \*\*The Madness of King George III was changed to The Madness of King George because it was thought that the sequel happy Americans would want to know what happened to TMOKG I and II!! 😃 \*\* No it wasn’t so, and as always: check with [Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/movies/films/george.htm)! ---
**Author:** ![Izzardesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@Izzardesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Izzardesque)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2001, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/24 "2001-11-08T16:08:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\* > No it wasn’t so, and as always: check with [Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/movies/films/george.htm)! \*\* You do know that it is possible to say this without sounded quite so smarmy and full of yourself? ---
**Author:** ![ScriptAnalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@ScriptAnalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScriptAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2001, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/25 "2001-11-11T00:08:33Z")
John Dickson Carr’s English mystery novel THE HOLLOW MAN was changed to THE THREE COFFINS in the US. As others have noted above, there are numerous examples of title changes for movies. What has not been mentioned is that, in some cases, the change takes place only in the advertising campaign – when you actually see the film, sometimes the original title is still on the print (presumably because the distributor was too lazy to change it). Sorry I can’t think of specific examples, but I have encountered this from time to time. steve biodrowski [http://www.thescriptanalyst.com](http://www.thescriptanalyst.com) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/26 "2001-11-12T23:14:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Izzardesque \* > You do know that it is possible to say this without sounded quite so smarmy and full of yourself? Ooooo! Metahumor! ---
**Author:** ![ScriptAnalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@ScriptAnalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ScriptAnalyst)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/27 "2001-11-13T07:25:44Z")
Just thought of another good example: WITCHFINDER GENERAL in Britain became THE CONQUEROR WORM in the US. The film starred Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins a real-life “witchfinder,” whose name might have been known to Brit audiences. In American, however, Price at that time (late '60s) was synonymous with cinematic adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe, so the US distrubtor had him read a few lines of the poem “Conqueror Worm” over the credits and changed the title to match. Too bad, because it’s a good film, and the new title gives a grossly misleading impression of the film. steve biodrowski [http://www.thescriptanalyst.com](http://www.thescriptanalyst.com) ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/28 "2001-11-13T09:06:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Edward The Head \* > **Well for movies Enceno Man was called California Man in Europe when I was there.** This is probably because a lot of non-americans do not know where Enceno is but they do know where California is. Another example of this is Beverly Hills Cop which got the name “Snuten i Hollywood” (That´s Hollywood Cop for the linguistically challenged) in Sweden. The reason for this was that Hollywood was considered a more well known place than Beverly Hills. This was of course before 90210 made Beverly Hills a well known place all over the world. 😃 /Coil ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/29 "2001-11-13T16:15:52Z")
My video copy of “The Admirable Crichton” uses that more well known title all over the box and the tape. But the title card at the beginning of the film uses the US theater title “Paradise Lagoon.” I’ve also seen this with many spaghetti westerns. The version of “Long Live Your Death” (translation of the original Italian title) that I saw had an alternate title “Don’t Turn The Other Cheek” worked in one word at a time during the opening credits. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000/30 "2001-11-13T17:28:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* > **For reasons not clear to me, the “Quatermass” series in Britain was completely retitled in the US:** The titles were changed because the Quatermass movies were all remakes of BBC serials. Since the serials were never seen in the US (at least until the first VHS release of 1958’s _Quatermass and the Pit_) the name Quatermass wouldn’t mean anything to the American public, while the English would recognize it from the TV serials. \*\* > [@](#): > > UK: The Quatermass Xperiment (sic) \*\* This isn’t a misspelling, but was a deliberate marketing gimmick. The film recieved an ‘X’ rating in England (no, that doesn’t mean it’s porn) so they changed it from ‘Experiment’ to emphasize this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-sorcerers-philosophers-stone-phenomenon-other-books-films-with-two-names/92000.md?page=1)