In the 1940s Ayn Rand was under contract to famous Hollywood producer Hal Wallis, writing screenplays based on other authors’ novels for possible film production. The purpose of this course is to acquaint the audience with these new treasures, which sometimes differ so much from the originals that they arguably constitute new works of fiction.

Depending on time, the course covers some or all of the adapted screenplays: “The House of Mist,” “The Crying Sisters,” “You Came Along” and “Love Letters,” as well as the original work “Top Secret.”

Each screenplay bears the unique Ayn Rand stamp: an exciting plot, an unusual situation, larger-than-life characters who are passionate valuers, and a serious, fundamental theme. Dr. Federman discusses these issues, examines how the screenplays differ from the novels, and asks what a novel had to have in order for Miss Rand to agree to use it as the basis of her screenplay.