The original film version of "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is a seven-hour 1979 BBC series that starred Alec Guinness.

WSJ: Tomas Alfredson: The Director Who Came In From the Cold

Whom do you put in a musical whose original film version starred John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and a gaggle of scene-stealing character actors?

WSJ: The Quiet Man Sings | Donnybrook | You Can't Take It With You | Theater Reviews by Terry Teachout

The new version of the film received little publicity and the original version is available across the US on DVD.

BBC: NEWS | Entertainment | Robots march to US cinema summit

The good luck of the original production and of the 2001 film version was that they featured tart, alert, commanding actresses Kathleen Chalfant and Emma Thompson who could embody the psychological profile of the droll, arrogant, solitary, bluestocking professor.

NEWYORKER: News from Nowhere

Fail Safe is a nuclear war story, considered to be the serious version of Dr Strangelove and the original novel was made into a film released just months after the Kubrick comedy.

BBC: Why TV drama is going live

Stroman has now directed the film version, transferring her superb musical numbers and recapturing the brilliant performances of some of the original Broadway cast.

NEWYORKER: The Producers

The original 1953 Broadway production of "Picnic, " for instance, ran for 477 performances, and the film version, which starred William Holden, Kim Novak and Rosalind Russell, was one of the biggest box-office smashes of 1955.

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