Pop Culture That's Older Than It Seems

Break out the hipster glasses, because it’s time to appreciate some original, unknown versions.
Pop Culture That's Older Than It Seems

Cracked pays people to make smart memes. Visit the Photoplasty and Pictofacts Workshop to get in on it.

People complain a lot about movie and show reboots and remakes. The thing is, re-using stories is not a new phenomenon. So-called "original" movies, shows, characters, etc. have actually been done multiple times, or were adaptations.

And we're not just talking about arguably similar plots or characters. These are literally the exact same story, from the exact same source material, that were adapted way, way sooner than people realize.

DID YOU THINK ADAM WEST WAS THE FIRST LIVE-ACTION BATMAN? MEET LEWIS WILSON, THE STAR IN 1943 SERIAL VERSION OF BATMAN. (PLEASE IGNORE THE EARS) CRACK
1939's The Wizard of Oz wasn't the first big-deal Hollywood version of that story. The first one came out in 1925, and had a weird plot where all the
CRAC The first animated Aladdin movie, The Adventures of Prince Achmed came out in 1926. The German silent film adaptation of One Thousand and One Nig
2015's Hamilton wasn't the first Broadway show about the man. In 1917, the play Hamilton premiered on Broadway. It was about Hamilton's push to get th

A Little Brain Donation For You

The 1993 hit Salt-N-Pepa single Whatta Man was actually based on Linda Lyndell's 1968 pop song What a Man. WCMGV MOTEL 10 RD0MS TY pO AC PEP ALCKA
Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys was inspired by a bizarre 7962 French film, La Jetee. La letee tells the story of a prisoner JETEE forced to travel through
We think of Al Pacino as Scarface, but he was not the first one. Brian De Palma's movie was a remake, dedicated to Ben Hecht, one of the writers of th
higgs pna Onlhaa sss FALLS MANDRAKE fnns 1898 VRR DRPARTMENT The 2002 Adam Sandler movie Mr. Deeds was a remake of a 1936 film called Mr. Deeds Goes t
The epic historical drama Ben-Hur (1959), which won 11 out of 12 Oscar nominations was the third adaptation of the book Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
Leo's stunning performance in the movie GAIISIBY THE GREAT sure made it memorable, but it was only the fourth film adaptation of the book. The first a
Lady Gaga's and Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born is the fourth rendition of the story. The first one was filmed way back in 1937. CRACKED cO
CRACKED c CON The first film adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was a 1903 British silent movie. In WONDERLAND It was the longest running
ND1C Disney's 1993 pet adventure was the feel' good film of the year, but wasn't an original. HOMEWARD, BOUND THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY It was based on a
CRACKEDOON So, you like the original version of Top Gear the best? The one with Clarkson, Hammond, and May? You might be shocked to know that the TRUE
After watching GEOFGE MATT ANDY BRAD JIU Ocean's 8, the female CLOONEY DAMON GARCIA PITT ROBERTS spinoff of the Ocean's OCEAN'S ELEVEN franchise, we a
Disney's Beauty and the Beast cribbed heavily from the first movie based on the story. In 1946's La Belle et la Bete, when Belle's father enters the c
Shazam (previously known as Captain Marvel) actually made his first on-screen appearance in 1941. Adventures of Captain Marvel was a 12-part black and
In The Pines (famously recorded by Nirvana for their 1994 unplugged album with the title Where Did You Sleep Last Night) is So old, its roots are
House of Cards is a remake of a British TV series from 1990... BBC THE HOUSE OF RDS which was in turn based on a 1989 book by the same name. CRACKEDcO

The Sound of Music

The 1965 film The Soundof Music was based on the 1956 German film The Trapp Family. In the German version, the von Trapp family and RODGERS. HAMMERSTE
CRACKEDcO COM The 2016 Doctor Strange isn't the superhero's first live-action film. The 1978 Doctor Strange TV movie was initially created for CBS as
Cinderella CRACKEDCe COM Disney made in 1950, but animation innovator Lotte Reiniger had made the first animated version almost three decades earlier.
Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

Forgot Password?