Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)
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Alice in Wonderland | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Norman Z. McLeod |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll |
Produced by | Louis D. Lighton (uncredited) |
Starring | |
Cinematography |
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Edited by | Ellsworth Hoagland (uncredited) |
Music by | Dimitri Tiomkin |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 77 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 American pre-Code fantasy film adapted from the novels by Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio.[1]
Stars featured include W. C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Edna May Oliver as the Red Queen, Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle (Grant's star was still on the ascent at the time), Gary Cooper as The White Knight, Edward Everett Horton as The Hatter, Charles Ruggles as The March Hare, and Baby LeRoy as The Joker. Charlotte Henry had her first leading role as Alice.
This adaptation was directed by Norman Z. McLeod from a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It also drew heavily from Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus's then-recent stage adaptation.
The film is occasionally broadcast on cable television channels such as Turner Classic Movies. When Paramount previewed the film in 1933, the original running time was 90 minutes. However, by the time it was shown to the press, it was truncated to 77 minutes (many reviews, including the savage one it received in Variety, made a point of how long it seemed at an hour-and-a-quarter). Despite the film being released at this shorter time, it is often mistakenly reported that Universal Pictures edited it when they bought the television rights in the late 1950s.[2] Universal released the film on DVD on March 2, 2010, marking the film's first home video release.
Plot
Alice (Charlotte Henry) and Dinah live peacefully in her home, Until a White Rabbit is running into a hole. Alice chases the rabbit and falls into the hole leaving herself. Alice becomes transported towards various doors. Alice finds herself into a corridor, Where she drinks a bottle that reads ‘Drink Me, Not Poison. Alice finds herself changing size big. Alice starts to the flood the room while weeping, Alice eats a cookie and turns tiny. Alice swims in her own tears, Alice meets a couple of odd man named Tweedle, Dee and Tweedle, Dum. Alice encounters a tea party, Where the Mad Hatter and Brown Rabbit live. Alice meets the Cheshire Cat, Then Alice meets Humpty Dumpty who tells her what a unbirthday is. She leaves and meets a caterpillar and changes size once again. Alice returns to her size and runs away from the caterpillar and meets ‘The Queen of Hearts’. Alice is welcomed to a castle, Alice realizes that she is Queen/ Princess of the Land. The people of Wonderland start to go crazy. Alice gets choked by the Queen and Wakes up in her room and lives.
Cast
In alphabetical order as
- Richard Arlen as Cheshire Cat
- Roscoe Ates as Fish Footman
- William Austin as Gryphon
- Gary Cooper as White Knight
- Leon Errol as Uncle Gilbert
- Louise Fazenda as White Queen
- W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty
- Alec B. Francis as King of Hearts
- Richard "Skeets" Gallagher as White Rabbit
- Cary Grant as Mock Turtle
- Lillian Harmer as The Cook
- Raymond Hatton as The Mouse
- Charlotte Henry as Alice
- Sterling Holloway as Frog Footman
- Edward Everett Horton as The Hatter
- Roscoe Karns as Tweedledee
- Baby LeRoy as The Joker
- Mae Marsh as The Sheep
- Polly Moran as The Dodo
- Jack Oakie as Tweedledum
- Edna May Oliver as Red Queen
- May Robson as Queen of Hearts
- Charlie Ruggles as March Hare
- Jackie Searl as The Dormouse
- Alison Skipworth as Duchess
- Ned Sparks as Caterpillar
- Ford Sterling as White King
Uncredited
- Billy Barty as White Pawn/The Pig-Baby
- Billy Bevan as Two of Spades
- Colin Campbell as Frog Gardener
- Jack Duffy as Leg of Mutton
- Meyer Grace as the Third Executioner
- Ethel Griffies as Ms. Simpson
- Charles McNaughton as Five of Spades
- Patsy O'Byrne as Aunt
- George Ovey as Plum Pudding
- Will Stanton as Seven of Spades
- Joe Torillo as Second Executioner
Reception
A notable flop at the box office, the film cast doubt on whether a live-action fantasy peopled by strange-looking characters could be successfully presented on the screen, until MGM's The Wizard of Oz (1939). Nevertheless, this film remains as of 2019 as the only major live-action Hollywood production for movie theaters to directly adapt the original '"Alice" stories. The next major live-action Hollywood production to do so was a two-part adaptation for television in 1985, and the second major live-action Hollywood production for movie theaters to use the same title was made by Tim Burton for Disney in 2010 as a sequel to the original story. It was banned in China under a category of "superstitious films" for its "strangeness" and unscientific elements.[3]
References
- ^ "Harman-Ising's Alice". Michael Sporn Animation. September 30, 2010.
- ^ "Alicia en el país de las Maravillas (1933)". IMDb.
- ^ Yingjin, Zhang (1999). Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922–1943. Stanford University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780804735728. OCLC 40230511.
External links
- Alice in Wonderland at IMDb
- Alice in Wonderland at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Alice in Wonderland at the TCM Movie Database
- Review at TVGuide.com Archived April 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- Alice in Wonderland (1933) was released for the first time on DVD on March 2, 2010.
- Reprints of historic reviews, photo gallery at CaryGrant.net
- Alice in Wonderland available for free download from the Internet Archive
- 1933 films
- 1930s fantasy films
- American films
- American black-and-white films
- American fantasy films
- Censored films
- English-language films
- Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin
- Films based on Alice in Wonderland
- Films based on multiple works
- Films directed by Norman Z. McLeod
- Films featuring puppetry
- Paramount Pictures films
- Films with screenplays by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
- Works banned in China