The most significant adaptation of a Caldwell work is Jack Kirkland's dramatization of Tobacco Road in 1933.

Although more comic than Caldwell liked, the play has become one of the best known in modern theater and is still performed. The dramatic adaptations of Journeyman in 1938 and Georgia Boy in 1945 were both failures. Several of Caldwell's novels have been made into films. In 1941, Tobacco Road, based more on the play than the novel, was directed by John Ford. Caldwell did not approve of the many changes in plot and tone, and most viewers were disappointed by the film. More successful was Anthony Mann's version of God's Little Acre in 1958. This time Caldwell was a partner in the venture (although the screenplay was written by Phillip Yordan) and was pleased with the film, which was listed as one of year's ten best by Time magazine.

Claudelle Inglish appeared as a modestly...