Alice in Wonderland (1933 film)

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 Directed by
 Produced by
 Screenplay by
 Based on
 Starring
* W. C. Fields
* Richard Arlen
* Edna May Oliver
* Cary Grant
* Gary Cooper
* Edward Everett Horton
 Music by
 Cinematography
 Edited by
 Distributed by
 Release date
 Running time
 Country
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***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 include W. C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Edna May Oliver as the Red Queen, Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle, Gary Cooper as The White Knight, Edward Everett Horton as The Hatter, Charles Ruggles as The March Hare, Baby LeRoy as The Joker, and Charlotte Henry in 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.

When Paramount previewed the film in 1933, the original running time was 90 minutes. By the time it was shown to the press, it was truncated to 77 minutes. Many reviews, including the savage one in *Variety*, made a point of how long it seemed at an hour-and-a-quarter. Though being released at this shorter time, it is often mistakenly reported that Universal Pictures edited it when it bought the television rights in the late 1950s.[2] Universal released the film on DVD on March 2, 2010, as the first home video release.

It is the only major live-action Hollywood theatrical production 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.

## Contents

* 1Plot
* 2Cast
	+ 2.1Uncredited
* 3Reception
* 4References
* 5External links

## Plot[edit]

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[edit]

* 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[edit]

* 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[edit]

Its status as box office bomb cast doubt on whether a live-action fantasy with strange-looking characters could be successfully presented on the screen, until MGM's *The Wizard of Oz* (1939).

It was banned in China under a category of "superstitious films" for its "strangeness" and unscientific elements.[3]

## External links[edit]

* *Alice in Wonderland* at IMDb
* *Alice in Wonderland* at the American Film Institute Catalog
* *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

* v
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* LCCN: n2019008087
* WorldCat Identities (via LCCN): n2019-008087

Categories:

* 1933 films
* English-language films
* 1930s fantasy films
* American films
* American black-and-white films
* American fantasy films
* Censored 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