Some of the most memorable movies of Hollywood's Golden Age were based on novels that never received the acclaim they deserved. No-one who saw Rod Steiger in The Pawnbroker could forget the actor's wrenching performance but does anyone remember the author of the book on which the film was based? The same can be said of Jane Fonda in They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Greta Garbo in Susan Lenox, and Humphrey Bogart in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. This book retrieves these novels and re-evaluates the careers of the eight neglected novelists whose works inspired eight different directors – among them Stanley Kubrick, Sidney Lumet, John Huston and Sidney Pollack. Each chapter offers detailed analysis on both the original text and the resulting movie. Taken together, the double examination of novel and film raises some important questions about the nature and problems of cinematic adaptation.

Gabriel Miller is Professor at Rutgers University, USA.

Introduction
1. Jews without Manners
Novel: Yekl: A Tale of the New York Ghetto (1896)
Film: Hester Street (1975)
2. The New Woman Gets the Old Treatment
Novel: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1917)
Film: Susan Lenox: Her Fall and Rise (1931)
3. Special Delivery
Novel: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1934)
Film: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
4. Marathon Man/Marathon Woman
Novel: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1935)
Film: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
5. The Wages of Sin
Novel: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927, 1935)
Film: The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
6. Murder in the First Degree
Novel: Paths of Glory (1935)
Film: Paths of Glory (1957)
7. The Gangster as Existential Hero
Novel: Low Company (1937)
Film: The Gangster (1957)
8. Those Who Walk in Darkness
Novel: The Pawnbroker (1961)
Film: The Pawnbroker (1965)
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index