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Question on which author has had the most movies made from their books

12K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Macfury 
#1 ·
My wife and I were discussing which author has had the most movies made from their books. I tried to look it up on a number of sources and could not find a definitive list.

I didn't count Shakespeare as his work was really a script, not a book, Conan Doyle wrote many stores, but not sure if they were turned into books later, DIckens and Christie have to be there as does Patterson, Clancy, King, but who has the most books turned into a movie. Off the top of my head I say Michael Creighton but I can't seem to find any proof.

Whom would you say is the book to movie champ?
 
#3 ·
I'm sure Arthur Conan Doyle and Steven King have had the most films made, but most of them were from short stories rather than books.

Agatha Christie? Jules Verne?
 
#5 ·
I would guess that Agatha Christie would be the author that has had the most books made into movies. That is, if you include TV.

I think William Shakespeare is also a contender, if you include all the different remakes/re-imaginations over the years.
 
#6 ·
John Steinbeck and Ernest Hemingway come to mind, in that I loved their books and most of the movies made from these books.
 
#7 ·
#8 · (Edited)
That surely must be the Bond series....?? 22 I think.

tho I would guess if you counted multiples of the same story then Conan Doyle by a mile.

Between 1921 and 1923 they produced a total of 47 two-reelers,

The stories of Sherlock Holmes were very popular as adaptations for the stage, and later film, and still later television. Continuing in Pop culture references to Sherlock Holmes. The Universal Sherlock Holmes (1995) by Ronald B. DeWaal lists over 25,000 Holmes-related productions and products.
Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

from the same link

It has been estimated that Sherlock Holmes is the most prolific screen character in the history of cinema.[3] The first known film featuring Holmes is Sherlock Holmes Baffled, a one-reel film running less than a minute, made by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company in 1900. This was followed by a 1905 Vitagraph film Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; or, Held for Ransom, featuring Maurice Costello as Holmes.[4]
Many similar films were made in the early years of the twentieth century, most notably the 13 one- and two-reel films produced by the Danish Nordisk Film Company between 1908 and 1911. The only non-lost film is Sherlock Holmes i Bondefangerkløer, produced in 1910. Holmes was originally played by Viggo Larsen. Other actors who played Holmes in those films were Otto Lagoni, Einar Zangenberg, Lauritz Olsen and Alwin Neuss. In 1911 the American Biograph company produced a series of 11 short comedies based on the Holmes character with Mack Sennett (later of Keystone Cops fame) in the title role.
The next significant cycle of Holmes films were produced by the Stoll Films company in Britain. Between 1921 and 1923 they produced a total of 47 two-reelers, all featuring noted West End actor Eille Norwood in the lead with Hubert Willis as Watson. A later British series produced between 1933 and 1936 starred Arthur Wontner as Holmes
 
#11 ·
For English language novel-length books, Charles Dickens I think, with about 100 adaptations--if you exclude TV miniseries.

There are about 50 adaptations of just the Holmes novels and about 10 of The Lost World, so Conan Doyle kicks in at about 60.
 
#15 ·
I interpret the question to mean how many books were turned into movies, rather than how many movies were made from a book. So multiple adaptations of the same book would still count as 1.
Or, you could go for the author who has had the highest number of their total published number of books turned into movies.
 
#18 ·
No idea the authority of this, but:

From Print to Film: Authors With the Most Film Adaptations

Beyond the obvious classics (the Bible, Homer, Shakespeare, and Dickens), which authors have had the greatest number of their works turned into films? Following is a list of some 20th Century authors with the most book-to-film numbers (note: these do not include television shows, only motion pictures):

1. Stephen King. With 86 films made from his novels and short stories, He may indeed be The King of print-to-film success. Beginning with Carrie in 1976, film adaptations of his works have been huge commercial hits, including The Shining (1980), Misery (1990), and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). While never as frightening as his books, the films made from Stephen King novels continue to scare the hell out of us to this day.

2. W. Somerset Maugham. This name will surprise many today, especially those who have never heard of him, but in the first half of the 20th Century, Maugham was the most commercially successful author alive. The 64 films made from his works also span the longest period of novel to film success: his novel The Explorer was made into a film in 1915, and most recently The Painted Veil was released in 2006. Maugham also likely holds the distinction of most books filmed multiple times: The Painted Veil (1934, 2006); Of Human Bondage (1934, 1946, 1964); The Razor’s Edge (1946, 1984); Theater (1962, 2004); and Miss Thompson (1928, 1932, 1953).

3. Ernest Hemingway. At 29 films, he falls well back of the previous two authors on this list, but he is, after all, Hemingway. From A Farewell to Arms in 1932 through Night Express in 2006, Hemingway has been a fixture both in print and film for over 75 years.
 
#19 ·
PosterBoy i never would have thought about Somerset Maugham..... 64 is an amazing total. I was thinking about King also, and Christie as well. But I think Sonal's post would be the definitive source. But I am certainly surprised by the second place finisher......
 
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