Alice in Wonderland (1933)

Director:

Norman Z. McLeod

Writers:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (screenplay) and
William Cameron Menzies (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

22 December 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Entertainment Miracle Of All Times!

Plot:

In Victorian England a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland populated by even more fantastic characters.

Plot Keywords:

Dream | Flamingo | Mirror | Croquet | Crying

Cast

Richard Arlen	...	Cheshire Cat
Roscoe Ates	...	Fish
William Austin	...	Gryphon
Gary Cooper	...	White Knight
Leon Errol	...	Uncle Gilbert
Louise Fazenda	...	White Queen
W.C. Fields	...	Humpty-Dumpty
Alec B. Francis	...	King of Hearts
Richard 'Skeets' Gallagher	...	Rabbit (as Skeets Gallagher)
Cary Grant	...	Mock Turtle
Lillian Harmer	...	Cook
Raymond Hatton	...	Mouse
Charlotte Henry	...	Alice
Sterling Holloway	...	Frog
Edward Everett Horton	...	Mad Hatter
Roscoe Karns	...	Tweedledee
Baby LeRoy	...	Joker (as Baby Le Roy)
Mae Marsh	...	Sheep
Polly Moran	...	Dodo Bird
Jack Oakie	...	Tweedledum
Edna May Oliver	...	Red Queen
May Robson	...	Queen of Hearts
Charles Ruggles	...	March Hare (as Charlie Ruggles)
Jackie Searl	...	Dormouse
Alison Skipworth	...	Duchess
Ned Sparks	...	Caterpillar
Ford Sterling	...	White King
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Barty	...	White Pawn / The Baby (uncredited)
Billy Bevan	...	Two of Spades (uncredited)
Colin Campbell	...	Garden Frog (uncredited)
Jack Duffy	...	Leg of Mutton (uncredited)
Harry Ekezian	...	First Executioner (uncredited)
Meyer Grace	...	Third Executioner (uncredited)
Ethel Griffies	...	Miss Simpson the Governess (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	The Clock (uncredited)
Charles McNaughton	...	Five of Spades (uncredited)
Patsy O'Byrne	...	The Aunt (uncredited)
George Ovey	...	Plum Pudding (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Seven of Spades (uncredited)
Joe Torillo	...	Second Executioner (uncredited)

Directed by
Norman Z. McLeod		(as Norman Mc Leod)

Writing credits
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		(screenplay) and
William Cameron Menzies		(screenplay)
Lewis Carroll		novels "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" (uncredited)

Produced by
Emanuel Cohen	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Benjamin Glazer	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Louis D. Lighton	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin		(music by)

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon		(photographed by)
Henry Sharp		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Ellsworth Hoagland		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
William Cameron Menzies		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Robert Odell		(settings)

Costume Design by
Newt Jones		(costumes by) (as Newt Jons)

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	masks

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ewing Scott	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gene Merritt	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	technical effects
Gordon Jennings	....	technical effects

Animation Department
Hugh Harman	....	animator (segment "The Walrus and the Carpenter") (uncredited)
Rudolf Ising	....	animator (segment "The Walrus and the Carpenter") (uncredited)

Music Department
Nat W. Finston	....	musical supervisor (as Nathaniel Finston)
Herman Hand	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Howard Jackson	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
John Leipold	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Oscar Potoker	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Max Reese	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Jack Virgil	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
LeRoy Prinz	....	pageantry (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Paramount Productions, Inc,)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1933) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount Productions, Inc,)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• Teakwood Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Emerald (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Silver Screen Archive (????) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Deluxe Digital Studios  DVD transfer

Also Known As:

"Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 | USA:Approved (PCA #1367-R: 31 August 1935 for re-release)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Bing Crosby was originally sought for the role of the Mock Turtle but refused it because he felt the role was demeaning to his career.

Goofs:

Continuity: During Baby LeRoy's brief appearance he initially is walking, but the action cut-in has him running with a different expression on his face.

Quotes:

Alice:I've often seen a cat without a grin - but a grin without a cat!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2009)

Soundtrack:

Hush-a-Bye Lady in Alice's Lap

Good adaptation, amazing cast, special effects that hold up 70+ years later

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.