Can you guess these classic literary adaptations by their taglines?
A good movie tagline can be a work of art—and a bad one can be very funny. Hollywood has given us plenty of both over the years. But can you match the classic literary adaptation to its tagline? (Some of these make perfect sense for the work at hand, and others… not so much. Either way, it’s fun to guess.)
Highlight the space after each “Movie:” to see the answer, and share your score in the comments!
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Tagline: “When pretty girls t-e-a-s-e-d men into marriage!”
Movie: Pride and Prejudice, dir. Robert Z. Leonard (1940)
Tagline: “The shadow of a remembered woman came between their lips… but these two had the courage to hope… and to live their love!”
Movie: Rebecca, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1940)
Tagline: “The thousands who have read the book will know why WE WILL NOT SELL ANY CHILDREN TICKETS to see this picture!”
Movie: The Grapes of Wrath, dir. John Ford (1940)
Tagline: “WHAT A TREMENDOUS MOMENT AWAITS YOU… When each beloved character of this great book becomes a living reality for you on the screen!”
Movie: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, dir. Elia Kazan (1945)
Tagline: “Hunted by men…Sought by WOMEN!”
Movie: The Third Man, dir. Carol Reed (1949)
Tagline: “A story as EXPLOSIVE as his BLAZING automatics!”
Movie: The Maltese Falcon, dir. John Huston (1941)
Tagline: “They took a horse nobody loved and made him the most famous horse in the world!”
Movie: National Velvet, dir. Clarence Brown (1944)
Tagline: “Youth’s adventure in living!”
Movie: The Picture of Dorian Gray, dir. Albert Lewin (1945)
Tagline: “Before the Shark there was the Whale.”
Movie: Moby Dick, dir. John Huston (1956)
Tagline: “This is the weekend they didn’t play golf.”
Movie: Deliverance, dir. John Boorman (1972)
Tagline: “From the Moment they met it was Murder!”
Movie: Double Indemnity, dir. Billy Wilder (1944)
Tagline: “Their Love was a Flame that Destroyed!”
Movie: The Postman Always Rings Twice, dir. Tay Garnett (1946)
Tagline: “Millions Have Read This Great Novel… Millions more will see an even greater picture!”
Movie: How Green Was My Valley, dir. John Ford (1941)
Tagline: “It begins with the shriek of a train whistle and ends with shrieking excitement! Young America’s idol—a good looking stranger in search of sensation—and a girl in love.”
Movie: Strangers on a Train, dir. Alfred Hitchcock (1951)
Tagline: “Every father’s daughter is a virgin.”
Movie: Goodbye, Columbus, dir. Larry Peerce (1969)
Tagline: “From the book that couldn’t be written comes the motion picture that couldn’t be made!”
Movie: Myra Breckinridge, dir. Michael Sarne (1970)
Tagline: “It’s Scrumdiddlyumptious!”
Movie: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, dir. Mel Stuart (1971)
Tagline: “The most devastating detective story of this century.”
Movie: All the President’s Men, dir. Alan J. Pakula (1976)
Tagline: “I’m in trouble, George… bad trouble.”
Movie: A Place in the Sun, dir. George Stevens (1951)
Tagline: “The most beloved Pulitzer Prize book now comes vividly alive on the screen!”
Movie: To Kill A Mockingbird, dir. Robert Mulligan (1962)
Tagline: “Exterminate all rational thought.”
Movie: Naked Lunch, dir. David Cronenberg (1991)
Tagline: “If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won’t know what it’s all about! When you’ve seen it all, you’ll swear there’s never been anything like it!”
Movie: The Manchurian Candidate, dir. John Frankenheimer (1962)
Tagline: “A mother’s love leads to murder.”
Movie: Mildred Pierce, dir. Michael Curtiz (1945)
Tagline: “Buy the ticket. Take the ride.”
Movie: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, dir. Terry Gilliam (1998)
Tagline: “Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”
Movie: The Shawshank Redemption, dir. Frank Darabont (1994)
Tagline: “Never let your friends tie you to the tracks.”
Movie: Trainspotting, dir. Danny Boyle (1996)
