The Fox movie channel programs are an exception to this rule, I think. They were made as television versions of popular movies, but intended, like some of the Playhouse 90 and Studio this-and-that programs of the late 50s and into the 60s to be viable good drama. They chose good actors to reproduce the roles that had been portrayed in the movies. I think it was as much an experiement as anything else, but it was one that has provided some interesting material for posterity.
There are a few remakes that were excellent. The Judy Garland version of A Star is Born is as highly respected as the Janet Gaynor original. And a film like Gaslight with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer is a classic but is also a remake. I had occasion recently to see a portion of the original version, a British film, and it looked interesting, but not as charismatic as the Bergman/Boyer/Lansbury version. (Angela was a very convincing naughty girl in that film!)