Book Vs. Movie: La Cage Aux Folles & The Birdcage The Original Film and Broadway Musical Vs. the 1996 Film The “Month of Musicals” continues with the 1996 film The Birdcage , which took its influence from the play turned into Broadway musical La Cage Aux Folles . The original 1973 french play takes place in Saint-Tropez, where a gay couple meets an ultra-conservative family member. It was a huge hit in Paris, playing for over a year in 1973, and was made into a film in 1978. Originally writt...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Book Vs. Movie: Hairspray The 1988 John Waters Movie Vs. the 2007 Adaptation “Musicals in March” The Margos continue their look at “Musicals in March” with the John Waters classic Hairspray , which started with the 1988 movie starring Rikki Lake , Divine , and Debby Harry . Based on his experiences of being a fan of the 1957-1964 Baltimore teen dance TV program-- The Buddy Deane Show , Waters was a huge fan of R&B music. On the Buddy Deane show, the dancers were integrated, unlike Dick Clark...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Book Vs. Movie: Hedwig and the Angry Inch The 1999 Off-Broadway Musical Vs. the 2001 Movie“Musicals in March” The Margos kick off “Musicals in March 2023” with one of the best rock musicals based on a gender-bending lead c character-- Hedwig and the Angry Inch created by multi-hyphenates John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask . Created in the late 1990s Off-Broadway, is the tale of misfit Hedwig Robinson who began life as Hansel Schmidt in Germany and became a famous-ish rocker in middle Americ...
Mar 05, 2023•1 hr 21 min
Book Vs. Movie: BlacKkKlansman The True Story Ron Stallworth The Margos visit the world of nonfiction with the too-nutty-to-not-be-true story of retired police officer Ron Stallworth who in the late 1970s infiltrated the Kuy Klux Klan in Colorado Springs, Colorado. On his journey, he met racists throughout the region who were not precisely clever but had designs of terrorizing nonwhites and Jewish people. After his assignment, he transferred to work at the Utah Department of Safety--never speaki...
Feb 26, 2023•1 hr 13 min
Book Vs. Movie: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom The August Wilson Play Vs. the 2021 Movie Pittsburgh native August Wilson (1945-2005) is one of the most successful playwrights of the 20th Century; with a collection of works that came to be known as The Pittsburgh Cycl e, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice in his career and was inducted into American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006. His 1984 work Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is the subject of today’s episode. Gertrude Pridgett (Ma Rainey’s birth name) w...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 7 min
Book Vs. Movie: Duel The Richard Matheson Short Story Vs. the Steven Spielberg TV Movie In 1971, a 24-year-old budding director named Steven Spielberg was given a story by his assistant. This fiction story appeared in a recent issue of Playboy magazine, written by one of his favorite Twilight Zone writers, Richard Matheson . The story Duel was about a man driving through the California desert being chased by an evil trucker with a big rig with murder on its mind. Matheson based it on an incident...
Feb 05, 2023•1 hr 18 min
Book Vs. Movie: 12 Angry Men The 1954 Teleplay Vs. the 1957 Classic Film The Margos close out a month of theatre vs. films with 12 Angry Men , which began as a teleplay in 1954 and was adapted to film by Sidney Lumet, with Henry Fonda serving as the lead actor and producer of the 1957 movie. The story centers on a young man who is accused of stabbing his father to death, and a group of 12 jurors must decide if he is guilty of premeditated murder, which carries a death sentence. Writer Reginald R...
Jan 29, 2023•1 hr 11 min
Book Vs. Movie: Casablanca The 1940 Play Vs. the 1942 Classic Film This January, we are saluting plays that were turned into films, and this episode covers one of the most beloved and celebrated films of all time-- Casablanca. Yes, it was a play first by playwrights Murray Burnett and Joan Allison , who was offered $20,000 in 1940 (over $300,000 in today’s costs) for their story about a cafe in Africa helping refugees seek asylum in America during WW2. The timing between the movie’s release in 1...
Jan 22, 2023•1 hr 34 min
Book Vs. Movie: Biloxi Blues The 1984 Neil Simon Play Vs. the 1988 Mike Nichols Film The Margos continue their month of plays in January (we have “Musicals in March”) with Neil Simon’s middle offer of the “Eugene Chronicles” with 1984’s Biloxi Blues . The story is a fictionalized version of the life of Simon about Eugene Morris Jerome of Brooklyn, NY, and his time as an enlisted soldier in Biloxi, Mississippi. Starring Matthew Broderick (who played the role of Eugene in every chapter), the play ...
Jan 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Book Vs. Movie: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf The Edward Albee 1962 Play Vs. the 1966 Mike Nichols Film The three-hour anger fest that is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf is one of the most celebrated and controversial of the 1960s. Edward Albee’s 1961 play is about middle-aged couple George & Martha, who have been drinking and battling for years, and one unfortunate evening they have with new friends Nick & Honey. It caused a stir at the time for its “racy” language, the three-hour runtime...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 14 min
Book Vs. Movie: "The Poseidon Adventure" (1971) The differences between the super gross book and the entertaining movie (We are not going to hide our bias here!) At Book Vs. Movie, whenever people say, "Duh--the book is always better than the movie!" the Margos would say, "yeah--have you ever read Jaws ?" Well, now we have another book-to-movie adaptation that features a horrible, racist, sexist, homophobic, and misogynistic novel that became a fun hit film. Sportswriter Paul Gallico helped many...
Dec 29, 2022•1 hr
Book Vs Movie: “ The Homecoming: A Christmas Story” (1971) The Basis of the Waltons TV Series Started as a TV Movie! The Margos decided to get into the Depression-era holiday spirit with a look at “ The Homecoming: A Christmas Story ,” which was written by author & creator of The Waltons TV series-- Earl Hamner, Jr. Hamner has a fascinating career as a writer with several scripts of “The Twilight Zone” including the famous The Bewitchin’ Poo l, (the very last episode of the original American...
Dec 21, 2022•59 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Little Mermaid The Hans Christian Anderson Story Vs. the 1989 Disney Classic The Margos continue “Disney in December” with the all-time classic 1989 animated feature The Little Mermaid , which began as a fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson in 1837. The film was responsible for bringing Disney studios back into animation leaders after decades of so-so films and losing top artists to rival companies. The original story is about a mermaid who lives in an underwat...
Dec 19, 2022•54 min
Book Vs. Movie (2019 Replay) The Polar Express The Margos take a wild ride into the classic 1985 children’s book and compare it to the 2004 Robert Zemeckis Film. It’s our last new episode of the year, and we had to celebrate with one of our most requested titles ever-- The Polar Express from author/illustrator Chris Van Allsburg . The book has sold millions of copies since its 1985 release (one million by 1989 alone!), and it's only 32 pages, so we only have a few beautiful things to say about i...
Dec 16, 2022•34 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Bishop’s Wife The 1928 novel by Robert Nathan Vs. the 1947 Classic Cary Grant Film It’s December at Book Vs. Movie, and we are excited about covering holiday-themed films, including this selection--The Bishop’s Wife. The original novella was written by Robert Nathan in 1928 and is the story of a preacher, Henry Boughman, who dreams of building a huge cathedral at the expense of his relationship with his wife, Julia. An angel, Michael, appears to help Henry and his family lear...
Dec 14, 2022•54 min
Book Vs. Movie: Snow White The Grimms Fairy Tales Version Vs. the 1937 Disney Classic In December, we cover Disney and what better adaptation to discuss than one of the greatest feature-length animated films of all time? 1937’s Snow White is considered a masterpiece of storytelling by Walt Disney, who believed in the future of animation and created a studio empire with the popularity of the film’s release. The original story starts with Grimm’s Fairy Tales, a collection of 1800s and earlier stor...
Dec 11, 2022•1 hr 3 min
Book Vs. Movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” (2018 replay ep) The Margos get out their hankies and talk about another holiday classic “No man is a failure who has friends.” The Margos wanted to fit in one more holiday movie this year, and what better way to celebrate than with the number one weepie of all time--It’s a Wonderful Life? (Yes, it was based on a short story The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern and you can read it for yourself in under 15 minutes.) The Greatest Gift is the story of a...
Dec 07, 2022•46 min
Book Vs. Movie: Freaky Friday The Mary Rogers Children’s Classic Vs. the 1976 & 2003 Disney Adaptations In December (because we have covered just about every holiday-themed Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, and Hannukah film we can find)! The Margos turn our attention to all things Disney, and this year we begin with the classic Freaky Friday by Mary Rogers, which has been adapted a few times since its 1972 publication. Rogers, whose father was composer Richard Rogers, had a full career as ...
Dec 04, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Book Vs. Movie Christmas With the Kranks Yes, the 2004 movie is based on a book! The Margos have more holiday spirit than Luther & Nora Krank, the main characters of the John Grisham novel Skipping Christmas. Luther & Nora normally go all out during the holidays in equal zeal with their neighbors, who seem to think Christmas celebrations are THE most important thing in the world. (One Margo liked the movie more than the other!) But with their daughter spending the holidays in Peru for th...
Dec 01, 2022•51 min
Book Vs. Movie Podcast "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens the 2009 Jim Carey Animated Movie Plus, the Margos Pick Their "Top 5 Scrooge Performances" The Margos continue their holiday celebrations with the all-time classic "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. There have been hundreds of adaptations on the theme of Scrooge and his ultimate salvation, but only one features stop-motion animation and Jim Carey so we pair the discussion with Disney's A Christmas Carol, directed by Book Vs. Movi...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Year Without a Santa Claus The Rankin/Bass 1974 Classic Special Based on a Light Verse Book For many 70s kids, the Rankin/Bass specials with their catchy music and stop motion animation, were high art. From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to Santa Claus is Coming to Town, their specials garnered big ratings and helped popularize holiday music. One of their most iconic specials was based on a 1956 Phillis McGinley book, The Year Without a Santa Clause which told the story of a ...
Nov 29, 2022•40 min
Book Vs. Movie: Last Christmas The George Michael Classic Song Vs. the 2019 Holiday Film Happy Holidays! The Margos have covered so many Christmas-themed episodes in the past that we had to reach out and use a classic holiday song, Last Christmas, written and produced by the late great George Michael, and talk about the adorable 2019 film adaptation written by the revered Emma Thompson. The song is one of those “earworm” ditties that you either hate or love (similar to Paul McCartney's Wonderful...
Nov 27, 2022•1 hr
Book Vs. Movie: Eyes Wide Shut The 1999 Classic Stanley Kubrick Film Vs. The 1926 Short Story by Arthur Schnitzler Do you know the password? The inside password? The Margos look at the 1999 Stanely Kubrick film Eyes Wide Shut, which was released after the director’s death in March and at the SAME time as The Blair Witch Project and is one of the most debated of his works. A sex drama about an impossibly beautiful couple (then married Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman), the film explores the themes of...
Nov 21, 2022•1 hr 25 min
Book Vs. Movie: Searching for Bobby Fischer The true story of a chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin, his father’s New York Times article, and the 1993 film The Margos gently enter into the world of chess (a game neither of us knows very well so, please be patient!) with Searching for Bobby Fischer. Josh Waitzkin was considered a chess prodigy when he played in tournaments around thew country as a young child. In 1985 his father, Fred Waitzkin, wrote an article for The New York Times “Fathering a Chess P...
Nov 15, 2022•55 min
Book Vs. Movie: Persepolis Marjane Satrapi's Comic Autobiography Vs. the Animated Feature The Margos this week delve into the complicated history of Iran via the life story of artist and writer Marjane Satrapi who wrote several comics under the banner of Persepolis from her early childhood to her later years as an activist. The original work was published in French as Satrapi is part French and Iranian and spent much of her adult life in France. She had a first-hand look at the Islamic Revolutio...
Nov 06, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Witches Roald Dahl’s 1983 Children’s Novel Vs. the 1990 Nicolas Roeg Cult Classic Film The Margos finish October’s month of spooky books and movies with 1983’s The Witches by Roald Dahl (a favorite of this podcast!) This is one of his last works before his death in 1990 and is based on his love for his mother, Sofie Dahl. Stephen Roxburgh edited the work, and Quentin Blake’s illustrations received great praise at the time though the story was thought to be “misogynistic.” It’...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Book Vs. Movie: Rosemary’s Baby The Ira Levin Novel Vs. 1968 Classic Film It’s October, and the Margos are filling the month with scary, spooky films based on creepy books, and few have a more sinister premise than Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin. The story of a 1960s housewife who is married to a struggling actor who will make a deal with the devil himself in order to succeed. Released in 1967, the story is set in NYC, where Guy and Rosemary settle into the Gothic Bramford apartment building with ...
Oct 20, 2022•1 hr 15 min
Book Vs. Movie: Don’t Look Now The Daphne DuMaurier Short Story Vs. the Nicolas Roeg Film It’s October, and the Margos are feeling excited about watching spooky movies! This week we talk about the ever-amazing Daphe DuMaurier, and her short story Don’t Look Now, which was published in 1971 and later adapted by director Nicolas Roeg and starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. The story and film are considered classic tales of horror for the tale of parents dealing with the loss of a child ...
Oct 09, 2022•1 hr
Book Vs Movie Coal Miner’s Daughter The Margos Head to Butcher Hollow to Talk About One of the Top Country Music Artists of All Time Loretta Lynn is a multi-hyphen: singer, songwriter, musician, wife, mother, and author. The Margos were thrilled to discover that the 1980 movie Coal Miner’s Daughter was based on her 1976 autobiography of the same name. As superfans--we needed to bring this episode to our followers--you are all welcome! Loretta began her life in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky and later ...
Oct 04, 2022•45 min
Book Vs. Movie: The Adeventures of Captain Underpants The First Children’s Book by Dav Pilkey Vs. the 2017 Movie The Margos end their Banned Book Month with a children’s media empire, the Captain Underpants series, that has helped millions of kids who were not big fans of reading learn to love books. For some reason, this book and many of its sequels have been banned from libraries in America. In this episode, we try to dig into the popularity, the story behind Dav Pikley’s creations, and why pe...
Oct 02, 2022•57 min
