Arlene Donovan and Robert F. Cokesberry produced a film version of Billy Bathgate in 1991. Despite a cast of stars including Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman, the able direction of Robert Benton, and a screenplay written by Tom Stoppard, the film did not win critical awards or the approval of a wide audience. The novel is rich in images that are powerfully conveyed on film, but the quick mind of the narrator, which may be of chief interest to readers, is much less evident on the screen. The motion picture oddly resembles a parody of a gangster film. Its current availability in video format, however, does make this version a useful companion for the study of Billy Bathgate.