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Alice in Wonderland (1933)

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27 comments in total

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11 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Fascinating for film buffs, but it's too bad the Fleischer Studio didn't animate the whole thing!, 24 March 2004

Author: wmorrow59 from Tarrytown, NY

Okay, right off the bat, Paramount's all-star costume party is no substitute for the Alice books. Perhaps the eccentric literary genius of Lewis Carroll simply can't be properly recreated in a screen adaptation. No one's managed it yet, at any rate (though I'd like to see the Brothers Quay take a crack at it). Nevertheless this curious film version is worth seeing, especially for animation & special effects buffs, fans of Hollywood stars from the early talkie era, and connoisseurs of offbeat cinema. Even fans of '30s horror flicks should take a look, because this film is closer to those works in spirit than you might expect. Although I haven't seen the Paramount ALICE IN WONDERLAND in years there are elements I recall vividly, and they tend to be the frightening or bizarre moments: Alice's blurry transformations in size; Humpty Dumpty's spindly legs flailing as he tumbles backward off his wall; a puppet-like Alice sailing down the stairs, out the door and landing on the walk; the Mock Turtle sobbing weirdly as he sings of Beautiful Soup; and, most vivid of all, that horrible-looking piece of mutton sprouting a face and complaining when Alice attempts to slice into him.

20 year-old Charlotte Henry is pretty and sweet as Alice, decidedly sweeter than the stubbornly logical Alice of the books. To play the denizens of Wonderland and the Looking Glass World (realms jumbled together into a single patchwork Crazy Quilt here) the studio trotted out most of its contract stars to don heavy disguises, and the result is kind of like seeing all your favorite teachers participate in a school Christmas pageant. Some of them pull it off better than others. Perhaps the best-remembered casting is W.C. Fields as an especially cantankerous Humpty Dumpty. It's a memorable sequence alright, but somehow unsatisfying and even a little disturbing; Fields was too constrained by his makeup and the necessity of following Carroll's famous dialog to make the character his own. Interestingly, according to James Curtis' recent biography, Fields thoroughly hated this assignment and performed his scene in an ugly humor.

The scenario is disjointed, but some scenes are unforgettable. Cartoon buffs will want to tune in for The Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, animated by the Max Fleischer Studio in patented bizarro style. The cartoon is introduced by Tweedle-Dum & Tweedle-Dee (i.e. actors Jack Oakie and Roscoe Karns) wearing such cumbersome-looking rubber masks that we worry about their ability to breathe properly. The cartoon is a treat, and inspires me to wonder what might have been the result if the Fleischer crew had simply been commissioned to animate the whole film and use Paramount's contract stars to supply the voices. This was still several years prior to Disney's feature-length SNOW WHITE, so the Fleischers could have stolen a march on their arch-rival and created something more suited to their idiosyncratic house style than their eventual feature debut GULLIVER'S TRAVELS-- and perhaps more appealing than Disney's own animated "Alice" feature of the '50s. Oh well. As it stands, this live action version features masks and costumes clearly modeled on the books' original John Tenniel illustrations, and offers the enjoyable game of figuring out which actor is under which disguise. Some of the players (Edward Everett Horton, Edna May Oliver) are more recognizable than others (Cary Grant, Sterling Holloway). The casting doesn't always make sense, but Gary Cooper's befuddled White Knight comes off surprisingly well, and arguably steals the show.

The Paramount ALICE IN WONDERLAND has never been available in any official VHS or DVD release, although I believe collectors would snap it up if it were properly restored. One problem I recall from the TV viewings of my childhood was that the picture was badly cropped, cutting off significant amounts of image, a particular problem during the credits that identify the players. This was done in 'Storybook' fashion, with big leaves turning and matching each costumed Wonderland character with the actor playing that character, seen in street clothes. The actors' names are at the very bottom of the frame, and unfortunately when seen on TV the names are almost completely obscured. This isn't such a problem when the actor is well remembered, like W.C. Fields or Gary Cooper, but not many latter-day viewers are going to recognize the likes of Ford Sterling or Louise Fazenda. It would be delightful news for movie buffs if someone (Criterion, are you listening?) could release a fully restored, letter-boxed edition of this flawed but fascinating antique.

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11 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Lewis Carroll's Creation Comes Alive, 1 August 2001

Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

A young girl in Victorian England suddenly finds herself drawn into a kingdom where absurdity rules & illogic is the theme of the day. Bemused by the antics of the strange inhabitants of the place, ALICE IN WONDERLAND continues to keep her dignity & wits about her.

This movie has received a great deal of criticism down through the decades, mainly because it was considered to be a travesty of Lewis Carroll's classic books. But this is to miss the point of the film. It was never meant to be Art. Pure & simple, it was the chance for Paramount to showcase as many of its stars as possible in a light, enjoyable 1933 Christmas release, giving each their moment to shine in front of the cameras . In this it succeeds quite nicely. The Carroll stories, with their colorful, bizarre characters, have always been a favorite for celebrity cameos: the short, vivid roles are real attention grabbers, but require only a minimum investment of time from the majority of the actors.

Great care was taken to be faithful to Carroll's original works and a certain demarcation was respected between Wonderland & the Looking-Glass Country (although the transition between the two, with the Gryphon metamorphosing into the Red Queen, is rather awkward.) The elaborate make-up, costumes, masks, puppets & animation strives to resemble Sir John Tenniel's famous drawings. Paramount at least deserves high marks for their visual display.

In a role difficult by any stretch of the imagination, young Charlotte Henry does very well as Alice, utilizing the character's spunk & determination in holding her own against a supporting cast of seasoned veterans and inveterate scene stealers. Spirited & charming, with few hints visible of Victorian decorum, she is never boring. (Ida Lupino was first slated to play Alice, but upon arrival in Hollywood from England the nabobs at Paramount decided she was too mature for the role. Stardom would have to wait for Miss Lupino.)

W. C. Fields has received much acclaim for his performance as Humpty Dumpty, and, indeed, his raspy voice & personality fit the character perfectly, but Edward Everett Horton's Mad Hatter and May Robson's Queen of Hearts are equally enjoyable - perhaps more so, as we can see their facial expressions. (Listen closely during the penultimate banquet scene to hear Fields' voice again.)

Several of the stars - Leon Errol, Louise Fazenda, Ford Sterling for example - are all but forgotten now, while others (Ned Sparks, Roscoe Ates, Roscoe Karns) are in danger of obscurement, but that shouldn't diminish from their contribution to the overall fun. And where else will you find the likes of Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, Richard Arlen, Edna May Oliver, Polly Moran & Alison Skipworth all gathered for one grand romp? This was a once-in-a-lifetime cast.

Movie mavens will recognize the shamefully uncredited Ethel Griffies as Alice's governess and tiny Billy Barty as both the White Pawn and the Duchess's baby. And although he receives cast credit, Baby Le Roy's turn as the Joker lasts only a few scant seconds.

For children of all ages & those with an uncritical appreciation of old films, ALICE IN WONDERLAND has much to offer.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
ALICE IN WONDERLAND, 17 January 2000
Author: Matt Barry from Baltimore, Maryland

I bought the video of this 1933 classic after hearing about it for years. Evidently, it hasn't been on TV since the 1960s. I really enjoyed the video copy I bought. Charlotte Henry was great as Alice, and the Paramount all-star cast was great too. The fun is spotting all the various stars under the various masks and guises. W.C. Fields and Baby LeRoy should've shared a scene somehow, though. At any rate, I really liked this version-it's probably the best filming of the Lewis Carroll story ever.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Full-length version is a feast for adults!, 14 October 2006

Author: JohnHowardReid

Whilst it's undoubtedly true to say that few (if any) members of the cast were ever again to play such weirdly offbeat roles, the performances generally rate as both captivating and fascinating. Adults will be enthralled. The film may, however, be regarded as too grotesque for children.

Mary Boland, Bing Crosby and Charles Laughton were originally scheduled for the cast, while Jack Oakie was slated to play both Tweeledum and Tweedledee. Charlotte Henry was chosen to play Alice from over seven thousand applicants.

Although the official writing credit is divided between Menzies and Mankiewicz, what Menzies actually did was to illustrate the script which Mankiewicz combined from the two Carroll novels. When I interviewed Mankiewicz, he was justifiably proud of the fact that he used Carroll's original dialogue and followed the original characters and incidents without the slightest deviation, except for the omission of the Lion and the Unicorn, the Live Flowers and the episode on the train in Chapter Three of "Looking Glass". (We were speaking, of course, about the original 90 minutes version, not the ruthlessly truncated parody that formerly plagued television airings).

A striking film in every respect, this version also anticipates Disney with its excellent cartoon sequence, "The Walrus and the Carpenter".

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Don't see it for the stars, 23 December 2001

Author: psteier from New York

The script combines "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" and stays quite close to the original dialog. The sets and costumes are closely modeled on the Tenniel illustrations.

Charlotte Henry does remarkably well as Alice, but the other actors are heavily costumed and made up and rarely add anything distinctive to their roles. Best are W.C. Fields as Humpty-Dumpty and Ned Sparks as the Caterpillar.

It will be enjoyed most by those who have been through the original since some of the language and surrealistic happenings can be hard to follow in the Victorian English that is spoken and satirized.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Quite bizarre--and those costumes!, 17 April 2001

Author: bekayess from Orlando, FL

I remember seeing this film of TV as a child of the 60s, and recently--after much searching and some $$--found a copy of it on ebay. The quality of the VHS tape is good, but the print from which it was struck is poor and not anywhere near broadcast quality.

Still, it's fun to see this strange film again after all these years. My only disappointment is seeing a number of Paramount's contract players (and stars) in what must have been very uncomfortable make-up and costumes. Surely a star like Cary Grant didn't really suffer the indignity of that Mock Turtle costume? Why not an extra in the costume and Grant doing a voice-over? Ah, well, is it any wonder the Screen Actors Guild was organized only a year or two later?

On the other hand, wouldn't it be fun to remake this script with modern puppetry and CGI effects--with big-name stars providing the voices and motion control movements for animators?

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Good adaptation, amazing cast, special effects that hold up 70+ years later, 2 September 2007

Author: dbrown-77 from United States

This film seems very obscure given its production values and amazing cast - I only came across it while scanning Cary Grant's filmography. It seems mostly lost to time.

The film edits together both Alice books into a single narrative (such as it is; the plot remains very episodic). The special effects are still impressive. It made me wonder what the reaction of the public was to this film in 1933 - seems like it would be a major spectacle like the "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" is to present generations.

Part of the fun is seeing major stars together in the same movie (Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, W.C. Fields) and being exposed to many other actors who may have been stars in their day and have disappeared from modern memory.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Alice In Wonderland 1933, 9 March 2007
Author: kadiebel from United States

I remember this movie fondly watching it as a young girl in the 60's and will never forget it...I'm obsessed with viewing this film again...I searched video stores in the Twin cities...searched the internet... talked to anyone who would listen...and finally, sadly, found out that Paramount and another corporation are fighting over the rights to the movie (read that on the internet)... Please resolve your differences so we can all enjoy the classic again..It was aired on TMC to honor W.C. Fields I was told by co-worker...which I didn't see my heart just sank at the thought I missed it...All the baby boomers would love to see it on DVD...HELP

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
All Star Alice, 14 January 2008

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

One of the most unusual projects ever undertaken by a studio was done by Paramount in 1933. Casting young Charlotte Henry in the title role of Lewis Carroll's beloved fantasy, Paramount then cast over 25 of their best known faces, apparently whoever was not working on another film at the moment, as the fantasy creatures she meets on her journey.

Today, these same people would just be called on to lend their voices for animation. In fact in the middle, there is an animated version of The Walrus and the Carpenter, showcased for Henry by Jack Oakie and Roscoe Karns as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Walt Disney later took that easier route in the Fifties with his animated version. But these stars are mostly unrecognizable beneath all that makeup.

Yet the voices of such people as Ned Sparks, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper, and Cary Grant are unmistakable. People like Edna May Oliver, May Robson, and Edward Everett Horton can be recognized. Quite frankly it was a stroke of genius to cast Horton as The Mad Hatter. It's a tossup between Horton and Ed Wynn in the Disney version as to who was the zanier.

Horton is probably my favorite from the film, but running a close second is Cary Grant, hidden underneath all that Mock Turtle makeup. This was at the beginning of his career when he was not an icon as of yet. Probably even five years later Paramount might have had trouble casting him that way. His Mock Turtle song and Mock Turtle crying are something to see and hear.

Paramount almost closed down during the early Thirties because of the Depression. Alice In Wonderland lost money badly at the box office and got tepid reviews. Seen today it's not as bad as all that and really kind of interesting in a way.

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1933 Alice in Wonderland, 22 September 2006

Author: angelagraphics from United States

I was lucky enough to watch this movie on television a couple of times. The first time was as a child in the early 60's. I was totally fascinated. I think it introduced me to the pleasures of black and white film. The second time I saw it was about 20 years later. I was traveling and had just checked into a wonderful old hotel. I turned on the vintage television to entertain myself as I unpacked. To my amazement there it was. The original Alice in Wonderland! What a marvelous afternoon treat to watch this classic in such a perfect setting.

I am so enchanted with this film and so frustrated that such a classic seems to have disappeared entirely. Though I'm sure the animated versions are good, this version is fantastic. For as old as the film is the surreal settings were incredible! I can't imagine this gem is locked away, collecting dust. Its just a shame. It would become a cult classic like Wizard of Oz.

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