Laura (1944) film poster
1940s
THE FALLEN SPARROW (Richard Wallace, 1943) with John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara, based on The Fallen Sparrow (1942) by Dorothy B. Hughes
LAURA (Otto Preminger, 1944) with Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, Dana Andrews, based on Laura by Vera Caspary
BEDELIA (Lance Comfort, 1946) with Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter, based on Bedelia (1945) by Vera Caspary
RIDE THE PINK HORSE (Robert Montgomery, 1947) with Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, Thomas Gomez, based on Ride the Pink Horse (1946) by Dorothy B. Hughes
A LETTER TO THREE WIVES (Joseph Mankiewicz, 1949) with Linda Darnell, Kirk Douglas, Jeanne Craine, screenplay by Vera Caspary
THE RECKLESS MOMENT (Max Ophuls, 1949) with Joan Bennett, James Mason, based on The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
1950s
IN A LONELY PLACE (Nicholas Ray, 1950) with Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, based on In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951) with Farley Granger, Robert Walker, based on Strangers on a Train (1950) by Patricia Highsmith
DON’T BOTHER TO KNOCK (Roy Baker, 1952) with Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Anne Bancroft, based on Mischief by Charlotte Armstrong
THE BLUE GARDENIA (Fritz Lang, 1953) with Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern, original story by Vera Caspary
Film poster for Bande à part (1964), based on Fools’ Gold
1960s
PLEIN SOLEIL [PURPLE NOON] (René Clement, 1960) with Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, based on The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
THE WATCHER (John Brahm, 1960) with Martin Gabel, Stuart Erwin [TV film: Thriller], based on The Watcher (1959) by Dolores Hitchens
LE MEURTRIER [ENOUGH ROPE] (Claude Autant-Lara, 1963) with Gert Frobe, Marina Vlady, based on The Blunderer by Patricia Highsmith
BEAST IN VIEW (Joseph Newman, 1964) with Joan Hackett, Kevin McCarthy [TV film: The Alfred Hitchcock Hour], based on Beast in View by Margaret Millar
BANDE À PART [BAND OF OUTSIDERS] (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) with Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur, based on Fools’ Gold by Dolores Hitchens
THE HANGED MAN (Don Siegel, 1964) with Robert Culp, Vera Miles, Edmond O’Brien, based on Ride the Pink Horse (1946) by Dorothy B. Hughes
THE FOOL KILLER (Servando Gonzalez, 1965) with Anthony Perkins, Dana Elcar, based on The Fool Killer (1954) by Helen Eustis
LAURA (John Llewellyn Moxey, 1968) with Lee Radziwill, George Sanders, Farley Granger, Arlene Francis [TV movie], based on Laura by Vera Caspary
1970s
LA RUPTURE (Claude Chabrol, 1970) with Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Cassel, based on The Balloon Man (1968) by Charlotte Armstrong
THE AMERICAN FRIEND (Wim Wenders, 1977) with Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, based on Ripley’s Game (1974) by Patricia Highsmith
DITES-LUI QUE JE L’AIME [THIS SWEET SICKNESS] (Claude Miller, 1977) with Gerard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, based on This Sweet Sickness (1960) by Patricia Highsmith
1980s
EAUX PROFONDES [DEEP WATER] (Michel Deville, 1981) with Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, based on Deep Water (1957) by Patricia Highsmith
LE CRI DU HIBOU [THE CRY OF THE OWL] (Claude Chabrol, 1987) with Christophe Malavoy, Mathilda May, based on The Cry of the Owl (1962) by Patricia Highsmith
1990s
THE SITTER (Rick Berger, 1991) with Kim Myers, Brett Cullen [TV movie], based on Mischief by Charlotte Armstrong
THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (Anthony Minghella, 1999) with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, based on The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) by Patricia Highsmith
Film poster for The Deep End (2001), based on The Blank Wall
2000s
LA CANDIDE MADAME DUFF (Jean-Pierre Mocky, 2000) with Jean-Pierre Mocky, Pierre Cosso, based on The Innocent Mrs. Duff (1946) by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
MERCI POUR LE CHOCOLAT (Claude Chabrol, 2000) with Isabelle Huppert, Jacques Dutronc, based on The Chocolate Cobweb (1948) by Charlotte Armstrong
THE DEEP END (Scott McGehee & David Siegel, 2001) with Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic, based on The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
RIPLEY’S GAME (Liliana Cavani, 2002) with John Malkovich, Lena Headey, based on Ripley’s Game (1974) by Patricia Highsmith
RIPLEY UNDER GROUND (Roger Spottiswoode, 2005) with Barry Pepper, Jacinda Barrett, based on Ripley Under Ground (1970) by Patricia Highsmith
THE CRY OF THE OWL (Jamie Thraves, 2009) with Paddy Considine, Julia Stiles, based on The Cry of the Owl (1962) by Patricia Highsmith
2010s
THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY (Hossein Amini, 2014) with Viggo Mortensen, Kirstin Dunst, based on The Two Faces of January (1964) by Patricia Highsmith
THE BLUNDERER (Andy Goddard, in production) with Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, based on The Blunderer by Patricia Highsmith
CAROL (Todd Haynes, forthcoming) with Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, based on The Price of Salt (1952) by Patricia Highsmith
Watch the Trailers
The Life Sentence created a YouTube playlist of the trailers for these film adaptations. Watch all eleven of them here.
Sarah Weinman is widely recognized as a leading authority on crime fiction. She is the editor of Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives: Stories from the Trailblazers of Domestic Suspense, which the Los Angeles Review of Books called “simply one of the most significant anthologies of crime fiction, ever.” She is the news editor for Publishers Marketplace, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the National Post, and The Washington Post, among other publications.