 Shortly after the silent shorts, filmmakers began adapting novels to the screen.Adaptation material in New England was especially rich with so many well-known novels being based there.House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter are two such novels based in New England and adapted into motion pictures, and two films that played a role in shaping the cinematic themes that would become part of New England film's identity for the entirety of the 20th century.