Columbia Pictures adapted Stout’s books for the big screen twice. Meet Nero Wolfe (1936) featured Edward Arnold as Nero Wolfe and Lionel Stander as Archie Goodwin. Stander also portrayed Goodwin in The League of Frightened Men (1937), but Stout was unconvinced that he was right for the role. The reception for Meet Nero Wolfe seems to have been solid; while fans recognized it deviated from Stout’s original work, it was an entertaining and enjoyable mystery. Stout was unhappy with the portrayal of his material in The League of Frightened Men, which influenced his rejection of future requests to bring his work to film or television.