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Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)

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Alice in Wonderland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNorman Z. McLeod
Screenplay by
Based onAlice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll
Produced byLouis D. Lighton (uncredited)
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byEllsworth Hoagland (uncredited)
Music byDimitri Tiomkin
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • December 22, 1933 (1933-12-22)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

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

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

  1. ^ "Harman-Ising's Alice". Michael Sporn Animation. September 30, 2010.
  2. ^ "Alicia en el país de las Maravillas (1933)". IMDb.
  3. ^ Yingjin, Zhang (1999). Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922–1943. Stanford University Press. p. 190. ISBN 9780804735728. OCLC 40230511.
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