 John Erskine's 1925 bestselling novel "The Private Life of Helen of Troy" portrayed Helen as a "sensible, bourgeois heroine", but the 1927 silent film of the same name, directed by Alexander Korda, transformed Helen into "a shopaholic fashion maven".In 1928, Richard Strauss wrote the German opera "Die ägyptische Helena" ("The Egyptian Helena"), which is the story of Helen and Menelaus's troubles when they are marooned on a mythical island.The 1951 Swedish film "Sköna Helena" is an adapted version of Offenbach's operetta, starring Max Hansen and Eva Dahlbeck In 1956, a Franco-British epic titled "Helen of Troy" was released, directed by Oscar-winning director Robert Wise and starring Italian actress Rossana Podestà in the title role.