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No, But I Saw the Movie: The Best Short Stories Ever Made Into Film
High Noon. All About Eve. The Fly. Blow-Up. The Heartbreak Kid. The Jazz Singer. Guys and Dolls. Stagecoach. Don't Look Now. Psycho. Behind many of Hollywood's greatest movies are equally great short stories. No, But I Saw the Movie collects more than two dozen of the world's best films as they were originally written, such stories as:
"Rear Window," Cornell Woolrich's tale of innocent voyeurism run mad -- which became a Hitchcock masterpiece; "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, the chilling science-fiction tale that was the basis for the smash film 2001: A Space Odyssey; "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams, the romance Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert brought to life in It Happened One Night -- winner of an armful of Oscars.
These outstanding stories represent many genres -- comedy, true crime, science fiction, romance, horror -- and each is timeless in its own right. For those who've spent hours in dark theaters enjoying the best films of our century, here is a collection of cinematic tales to delight film buffs and fiction aficionados alike.
"Rear Window," Cornell Woolrich's tale of innocent voyeurism run mad -- which became a Hitchcock masterpiece; "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke, the chilling science-fiction tale that was the basis for the smash film 2001: A Space Odyssey; "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams, the romance Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert brought to life in It Happened One Night -- winner of an armful of Oscars.
These outstanding stories represent many genres -- comedy, true crime, science fiction, romance, horror -- and each is timeless in its own right. For those who've spent hours in dark theaters enjoying the best films of our century, here is a collection of cinematic tales to delight film buffs and fiction aficionados alike.
432 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 1989
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September 16, 2013Contents:
All About Eve (1950) - from The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr
Bad Day at Black Rock (1954) - from Bad Time at Honda by Howard Breslin
Blow Up (1966) - from Blow Up by Julio Cortazar
The Body Snatcher (1945) - from The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
Don't Look Now (1973) - from Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
The Fly (1958) - from The Fly by George Langelaan
Freaks (1932) - from Spurs by Tod Robbins
Guys and Dolls (1955) - from The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown by Damon Runyon
The Heartbreak Kid (1972) - from A Change of Plan by Bruce Jay Friedman
High Noon (1952) - from The Tin Star by John M. Cunningham
It Happened One Night (1934) - from Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - from The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern
The Jazz Singer (1927) - from The Day of Atonement by Sampson Raphaelson
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) - from Mr Blandings Builds His Castle by Eric Hodgins
Psycho (1960) - from The Real Bad Friend by Robert Bloch
Rear Window (1954) - from Rear Window by Cornell Woolrich
Stagecoach (1939) - from Stage to Lordsburg by Ernest Haycox
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - from The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
All About Eve (1950) - from The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr
Bad Day at Black Rock (1954) - from Bad Time at Honda by Howard Breslin
Blow Up (1966) - from Blow Up by Julio Cortazar
The Body Snatcher (1945) - from The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
Don't Look Now (1973) - from Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier
The Fly (1958) - from The Fly by George Langelaan
Freaks (1932) - from Spurs by Tod Robbins
Guys and Dolls (1955) - from The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown by Damon Runyon
The Heartbreak Kid (1972) - from A Change of Plan by Bruce Jay Friedman
High Noon (1952) - from The Tin Star by John M. Cunningham
It Happened One Night (1934) - from Night Bus by Samuel Hopkins Adams
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - from The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern
The Jazz Singer (1927) - from The Day of Atonement by Sampson Raphaelson
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) - from Mr Blandings Builds His Castle by Eric Hodgins
Psycho (1960) - from The Real Bad Friend by Robert Bloch
Rear Window (1954) - from Rear Window by Cornell Woolrich
Stagecoach (1939) - from Stage to Lordsburg by Ernest Haycox
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - from The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke
April 1, 2012
Some of the greatest movies ever made have come from short stories, and in this collection David Wheeler reprints several wonderful examples. Most are very close to their subsequent film versions (ALL ABOUT EVE, THE FLY, STAGECOACH, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE), while others diverge enough to give intriguing suggestions of how a certain film could have been just a little different--HIGH NOON'S sheriff being an arthritic old man instead of a vigorous fellow not yet out of his prime, for example. Still others, such as the stories behind PSYCHO and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, differ substantially, so substantially that a film made to the precise parameters of the short story would resemble the film we already know only a little or even not at all. At best, these stories give a means of renewing our acquaintance with each film and seeing it with an altered and more precise perspective. I, for example, never quite grasped the full power of Nicolas Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW until I read Daphne DuMaurier's story of the same title. This is an excellent collection of short fiction, far too short a collection, for my money. I would love to see a sequel.
August 16, 2025
Surprise gem, even if I skipped a handful. Especially loved Night Bus, Stage to Lordsburg, The Wisdom of Eve, etc. The notes of the resulting movies were great, but I missed seeing anywhere the original pub years of the stories. Great appendix of others not included—would have made a great volume 2.
May 27, 2009
It's a great discovery for movie buffs, being an anthology of short stories, which became famous films, among them authors like Daphne du Maurier, Guy de Maupassant, Graham Greene and Arthur C. Clarke and the bases for All About Eve, High Noon, Jazz Singer, Rear Window, It Happened One Night, etc. A truly fun read!
November 5, 2019
A fun collection of short stories in alphabetic order of the movies they were made into. I especially appreciate the introductions to each of the stories and the list at the end of of the book of still more stories that were made into movies.
April 18, 2022
An excellent collection of short stories which subsequently inspired or formed the basis of classic films. I have seen most of them and intend to rewatch those I have following reading this although will probably skip The Jazz Singer.
November 27, 2016
A good friend recently sent me a xerox of the original short story from this book that inspired Tod Brownings "Freaks". The original story offers a a more cynical view of "normal people" and with a darker humor than depicted in the film. Given the film's low budget, it's easy to understand that
the climax of the screenplay would not be as suspenseful as in the story. That story inspired me to get the book. Now I'm interested in seeing some of these films again.
the climax of the screenplay would not be as suspenseful as in the story. That story inspired me to get the book. Now I'm interested in seeing some of these films again.
Read
August 11, 2011A pretty good collection of short stories that are worth your time,even if you haven't watched the movies. Standouts include Arthur C Clarkes The Sentinel,Daphne Du Maurier's Don't Look Now and Howard Breslin's Bad Day at Honda.
September 19, 2015
It is amazing to me how some of these stories came to the big screen in the form I know. A lot of these stories are totally different that the movie they became. Did enjoy the stories even if they were different.
August 13, 2014
I didn't give this 5 stars only because I'm not a fan of Westerns or "Guys and Dolls," even in short story form. So... I did a little skippin
September 16, 2018
Mixed Treasures
As a short argument in our home invariably the book is better than than the movie, the exception being novelizations which get shredded as derivative. Here however are an intriguing collection of short stories that were turned into iconic films. Several of the 18 entries are horror like "The Fly", "Freaks" and "Psycho", a genre I usually pass on but "The Body Snatcher" wasn't too bad as it had an interesting historical background, and psychological thrillers such as "Don't Look Now" (excellent premise based on imperfect precognition), "Blow Up" (the film is more understandable), "Rear Window" (good, but the movie is an improvement - see also the play Wrong Window) and laconic Westerns "Bad Day at Black Rock" (a modern western), "Stage Coach" and "High Noon", which make up half the entries.
"All About Eve" is intriguing and complements the film well, and while "Guys and Dolls" is good and raises more than a few smiles it can't compete with the singing and dancing of the play or film, even taking Brando into account. For me "The Heartbreak Kid" was meh for both short story and film - book's forward was contributed by its author and Neil Simon was screenwriter. "Bus Trip" is a well written tear inducing romantic comedy that is just as good as the film it became - "It Happened One Night", but "The Greatest Gift" the basis for one of my all time favourites "It's a Wonderful Life", was a major disappointment, a mere shadow without most of the fabulous touchstone moments of the film.
Other entries include "Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House", a luke warm comedy worth seeing before you buy a new home or embark on renovations. "The Day of Atonement" was very moving , the basis for both versions of "The Jazz Singer", neither of of which I've seen so I can't comment to compare. The final short is Arthur C. Clark's "The Sentinel", the basis for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I remember from his collection Tales from the White Hart. No, it doesn't feature chimpanzees throwing bones that turn into space stations or Dave asking Hal to open the pod bay doors - it's entirely about finding the monolith, in the story a pyramid on the moon.
The stories, each of which are graced by a short introduction by the editor, are disconnected so it's easy to pick up and put down. The book ends with a list of 41 more short stories turned into film but apparently the publisher didn't go for a follow up collection. Worth while if even only 1 of the movies listed is a personal favourite.
As a short argument in our home invariably the book is better than than the movie, the exception being novelizations which get shredded as derivative. Here however are an intriguing collection of short stories that were turned into iconic films. Several of the 18 entries are horror like "The Fly", "Freaks" and "Psycho", a genre I usually pass on but "The Body Snatcher" wasn't too bad as it had an interesting historical background, and psychological thrillers such as "Don't Look Now" (excellent premise based on imperfect precognition), "Blow Up" (the film is more understandable), "Rear Window" (good, but the movie is an improvement - see also the play Wrong Window) and laconic Westerns "Bad Day at Black Rock" (a modern western), "Stage Coach" and "High Noon", which make up half the entries.
"All About Eve" is intriguing and complements the film well, and while "Guys and Dolls" is good and raises more than a few smiles it can't compete with the singing and dancing of the play or film, even taking Brando into account. For me "The Heartbreak Kid" was meh for both short story and film - book's forward was contributed by its author and Neil Simon was screenwriter. "Bus Trip" is a well written tear inducing romantic comedy that is just as good as the film it became - "It Happened One Night", but "The Greatest Gift" the basis for one of my all time favourites "It's a Wonderful Life", was a major disappointment, a mere shadow without most of the fabulous touchstone moments of the film.
Other entries include "Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House", a luke warm comedy worth seeing before you buy a new home or embark on renovations. "The Day of Atonement" was very moving , the basis for both versions of "The Jazz Singer", neither of of which I've seen so I can't comment to compare. The final short is Arthur C. Clark's "The Sentinel", the basis for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which I remember from his collection Tales from the White Hart. No, it doesn't feature chimpanzees throwing bones that turn into space stations or Dave asking Hal to open the pod bay doors - it's entirely about finding the monolith, in the story a pyramid on the moon.
The stories, each of which are graced by a short introduction by the editor, are disconnected so it's easy to pick up and put down. The book ends with a list of 41 more short stories turned into film but apparently the publisher didn't go for a follow up collection. Worth while if even only 1 of the movies listed is a personal favourite.
December 17, 2023
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/no-but-i-saw-the-movie-the-best-short-stories-ever-made-into-film-ed-david-wheeler/
An anthology of 18 short stories which were all adapted into well-known films. I remain fairly illiterate in movie lore, so I’m sorry to say that I have seen very few of the classic movies represented here; the ones I knew were “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr, source for All About Eve; “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams, source for It Happened One Night; and “The Sentinel”, by Arthur C. Clarke, source for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I had seen two of the other films, but not previously read the original stories: Guys and Dolls, based on “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” by Damon Runyon, where I think the show is better than the original, and Psycho, which is very different from “The Real Bad Friend” by Robert Bloch to the point that I actually query the strength of the connection between them. Also, which I have not seen Stagecoach, Ernest Haycox’ story “From Stage to Lordsburg” seems to me rather derivative of Maupassant’s “Boule de Suif”.
There were several here that I liked, enough to make stronger efforts to see the films: “The Fly” by George Langelaan, “The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern which was the source for It’s A Wonderful Life, “The Day of Atonement” by Samson Raphaelson which was the source for The Jazz Singer, and “Mr Blandings Builds His Castle” by Eric Hodgins, which became Mr Blandings Builds His Castle. On the other hand I could not make head nor tail of “The Tin Star”, by John M. Cunningham, supposedly the basis for High Noon.
Long out of print but a quirky and interesting collection.
An anthology of 18 short stories which were all adapted into well-known films. I remain fairly illiterate in movie lore, so I’m sorry to say that I have seen very few of the classic movies represented here; the ones I knew were “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr, source for All About Eve; “Night Bus” by Samuel Hopkins Adams, source for It Happened One Night; and “The Sentinel”, by Arthur C. Clarke, source for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
I had seen two of the other films, but not previously read the original stories: Guys and Dolls, based on “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown” by Damon Runyon, where I think the show is better than the original, and Psycho, which is very different from “The Real Bad Friend” by Robert Bloch to the point that I actually query the strength of the connection between them. Also, which I have not seen Stagecoach, Ernest Haycox’ story “From Stage to Lordsburg” seems to me rather derivative of Maupassant’s “Boule de Suif”.
There were several here that I liked, enough to make stronger efforts to see the films: “The Fly” by George Langelaan, “The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern which was the source for It’s A Wonderful Life, “The Day of Atonement” by Samson Raphaelson which was the source for The Jazz Singer, and “Mr Blandings Builds His Castle” by Eric Hodgins, which became Mr Blandings Builds His Castle. On the other hand I could not make head nor tail of “The Tin Star”, by John M. Cunningham, supposedly the basis for High Noon.
Long out of print but a quirky and interesting collection.
September 27, 2025
The best book I ever skimmed. Truly interesting background on short stories which led to movie adaptations. Nice list in the back of many others. This book is a little dated now and I really wish Wheeler had included the name of the publications in which the stories appeared! Many of the stories are vastly overwritten but this is how stories were before TV, Internet etc. impaired out attention spans.
Most stories bear little resemblance to the movies. This is to be expected. Few are literary, it's mostly plot—hence the skimming—and each story has information on the movie credits (including music, et al), how it got made author bios (I assume most either smoked or drank themselves to death—they seemed to have very short lifespans).
If you love short stories and movies this book is a rare find.
Most stories bear little resemblance to the movies. This is to be expected. Few are literary, it's mostly plot—hence the skimming—and each story has information on the movie credits (including music, et al), how it got made author bios (I assume most either smoked or drank themselves to death—they seemed to have very short lifespans).
If you love short stories and movies this book is a rare find.
April 20, 2020
Really a fun book. A collection of short stories on which many classic movies were based. Some are pretty complete (The Night Bus, which became It Happened One Night). Some are only very general ideas that lead to the movies (The Real Bad Friend, which inspired Psycho). Such a variety of genres and writing styles. Comedy, horror, westerns, suspense (Rear Window is one of the best). This might be hard to find, but if you like movies and reading fiction it will be worth the hunt.
July 29, 2021
It's easy to see how these amazing short stories were behind some of the greatest classic films ever. My favorite story in this collection is "Night Bus" (It happened one night) by Samuel Hopkins Adams and it was so interesting to see the source material of so many other films from this book.
October 21, 2024
The subtitle has it as The Best Short Stories Ever Made Into Film; can’t say I agree with that statement. A lot of them are good but I hardly see them as “the best.” They did make for a lot of good movies though, many of which are still being watched and enjoyed so they have that going for them.
March 11, 2025
This is one of my favorite books of all time. Love reading the shorts that were turned into classic films; 2001 Space Odyssey, Blow Up, All About Eve, plenty more. I keep this book on my closest shelf and often go back to some of my favorite short stories. Highly recommended.
December 16, 2025
Pretty enjoyable, especially if you've seen the movie!
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May 30, 2024Bought this second hand as to try and get into reading again and the website didn't have a blurb as to what is was about. If you want to read the stories where famous movies came from, now you can
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews