The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy

David Mamet’s dialogue—abrasive, rhythmic—illuminates a modern aesthetic evocative of Samuel Beckett, and his plots have inspired comparisons to such disperate masters as Alfred Hitchcock and Arthur Miller. The two screenplays included here demonstrate the range and depth of his talent. The Spanish Prisoner, a neo-noir thriller about a research-and-development cog hoodwinked out of his own brilliant discovery, demonstrates Mamet's incomparable use of character in a dizzying tale of twists and mistaken identity. The Winslow Boy, Mamet’s revisitation of Terence Rattigan’s classic 1946 play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. Crackling with wit, intelligent and surprising, The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy celebrate Mamet's unique genius and our eternal fascination with the extraordinary predicaments of the common man.

Praise for The Spanish Prisoner:
“Elegant, entertaining. . . . Mamet’s craftiest and most satisfying cinematic puzzle.”
—The New York Times

Praise for The Winslow Boy:
“One of the most subtly compelling love stories of the year.”
—The New York Observer