Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Director:

Mel Stuart

Writers:

Roald Dahl (screenplay)
Roald Dahl (book)
(more)

Release Date:

30 June 1971 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

It's everybody's non-pollutionary, anti-institutionary, pro-confectionery factory of fun!

Plot:

A poor boy wins the opportunity to tour the most eccentric and wonderful candy factory of all.

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Chocolate | Candy | Ticket | Chocolate Factory

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Gene Wilder	...	Willy Wonka
Jack Albertson	...	Grandpa Joe
Peter Ostrum	...	Charlie
Roy Kinnear	...	Mr. Salt
Julie Dawn Cole	...	Veruca Salt
Leonard Stone	...	Mr. Beauregarde
Denise Nickerson	...	Violet Beauregarde
Nora Denney	...	Mrs. Teevee (as Dodo Denney)
Paris Themmen	...	Mike Teevee
Ursula Reit	...	Mrs. Gloop
Michael Bollner	...	Augustus Gloop
Diana Sowle	...	Mrs. Bucket
Aubrey Woods	...	Bill
David Battley	...	Mr. Turkentine
Günter Meisner	...	Mr. Slugworth (as Gunter Meisner)
Peter Capell	...	The Tinker
Werner Heyking	...	Mr. Jopeck
Peter Stuart	...	Winkelmann
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dora Altmann	...	Grandma Georgina (uncredited)
Victor Beaumont	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Rudy Borgstaller	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Tim Brooke-Taylor	...	Computer Operator (uncredited)
George Claydon	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Pat Coombs	...	Henrietta Salt (uncredited)
Frank Delfino	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Malcolm Dixon	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Stephen Dunne	...	Stanley Kael - Second Newscaster (uncredited)
Michael Gahr	...	Reporter in Germany (uncredited)
Rusty Goffe	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Kurt Großkurth	...	Mr. Gloop (uncredited)
Shin Hamano	...	Japanese Candy Store Owner (uncredited)
Ismed Hassan	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Jack Latham	...	First Newscaster (uncredited)
Franziska Liebing	...	Grandma Josephine (uncredited)
Gloria Manon	...	Mrs. Curtis (uncredited)
Norman McGlen	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Angelo Muscat	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Ed Peck	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Pepe Poupee	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Marcus Powell	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Bob Roe	...	Peter Goff (uncredited)
Madeline Stuart	...	Madeline Durkin (uncredited)
Albert Wilkinson	...	Oompa Loompa (uncredited)
Ernst Ziegler	...	Grandpa George (uncredited)

Directed by
Mel Stuart

Writing credits
Roald Dahl		(screenplay)
Roald Dahl		(book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory")
David Seltzer		screenplay (uncredited)

Produced by
Stan Margulies	....	producer
David L. Wolper	....	producer

Cinematography by
Arthur Ibbetson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
David Saxon

Art Direction by
Harper Goff

Costume Design by
Helen Colvig

Makeup Department
Susi Krause	....	hairdresser
Raimund Stangl	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pia Arnold	....	production manager
Renate Neuchl	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wolfgang Glattes	....	assistant director
Jack Roe	....	assistant director
Stefan Zürcher	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Hendrik Wynands	....	construction manager (as Hendrik G. Wynands)
Clarence Fay Konkel	....	carpenter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles L. Campbell	....	sound editor
Richard Portman	....	re-recording (as Dick Portman)
Karsten Ullrich	....	sound
Roger Sword	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Logan Frazee	....	special effects (as Logan R. Frazee)

Visual Effects by
Jim Danforth	....	model animator: Wonkavator (uncredited)
Jim Danforth	....	optical effects (uncredited)
Albert Whitlock	....	optical effects (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Paul Wilson	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ille Sievers	....	wardrobe head

Editorial Department
Melvin Shapiro	....	associate editor (as Mel Shapiro)

Music Department
Leslie Bricusse	....	lyrics and music by
Howard Jeffrey	....	musical numbers staged by
Anthony Newley	....	lyrics and music by
Walter Scharf	....	conductor
Walter Scharf	....	music arranger
Jack K. Tillar	....	music editor (as Jack Tillar)
Diana Lee	....	singing voice: Diana Sowle (uncredited)

Other crew
Frawley Becker	....	dialogue coach
Trudy von Trotha	....	script supervisor (as Trudi Von Trotha)
Betty Walberg	....	dance arrangements
David L. Wolper	....	presenter
Walker Edmiston	....	voice dubbing: Gunter Meisner (uncredited)
Robert Newman	....	location finance advisor (uncredited)
Bob Roe	....	stand-in: Peter Ostrum (uncredited)
Marci Sperling	....	craft service (uncredited)

Production Companies

• David L. Wolper Productions (as A Wolper Pictures, Ltd. Presentation)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1971) (USA) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Cinema International Corporation (CIC) (1971) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1971) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros (1984) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as Warner Bros. Pictures A TimeWarner Company)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (2000) (Finland) (TV)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2000) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV3 (1991) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Marion Dougherty Associates  casting by (as Marion Dougherty Associates - New York)
• Selway Baker  casting by (as Selway Baker Ltd.- London)
• Opticals West/N.J.S.  optical effects (uncredited)
• Pacific Title  optical effects (uncredited)
• Technicolor  color
• The Quaker Oats Company  funding (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

100 min | West Germany:89 min (theatrical version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | France:U | Singapore:PG | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G (Approved No. 22687) | Canada:F (Ontario) (re-rating) (1996) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (original rating) | Portugal:M/6 | Canada:G (Ontario - 2006) | West Germany:6 | Germany:o.Al. (re-rating) (2005) | Finland:K-8 (1971) (uncut) | Finland:S (1971) (cut) | Peru:PT | Spain:T | UK:PG (video rating: additional material audio commentary) (2010)

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

David L. Wolper Productions

Trivia:

At 19:19 in the featurette Pure Imagination: The Story of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' (2001) (V), writer David Seltzer and director Mel Stuart relate that David had left Munich for his vacation cabin in Maine thinking his contribution to the film was completed when Mel realized that the screenplay ended with Grandpa's line: "Yippie!" Mel phoned Maine from Munich and told David that he couldn't finish the picture without a good ending line. Dave responded with the only thing he could think of, that they are flying in the air, Willy Wonka looks at Charlie and says, in a very warning voice, the "happily ever after" lines.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Wonka first allows the children into the chocolate room he makes an umbrella by sticking the bottom of his cane into a "mushroom" top and then holding the cane upside-down. As he twirls the umbrella you can see the stab holes in the Styrofoam bottom from prior takes (at around 18 mins).

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bill, candy store owner:All right, all right, all right, what's it going to be? A Triple Cream Cup for Christopher. A Sizzler for June Marie. And listen!
[the children fall silent]
Bill, candy store owner:Wonka's got a new one today.
Children:What is it?
Bill, candy store owner:This is called a Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Bold and the Beautiful: Episode #1.5278" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Pure Imagination

One of my all-time favourites.

Surprisingly, Roald Dahl (author of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, on which this film is based) reportedly hated this big screen version of his book. There's no denying that the book is sheer genius, but in all honesty this film adaptation is exceptionally well made too. In fact, it comes high up on my list of all-time movie favourites.

The Wonka Chocolate Factory is an amazing building from which some of the most scrumdiddlyumptious sweets are delivered to the world's candy stores. Wonka-mania hits the world when five golden tickets are hidden inside packs of Wonka bars - for the winners will be granted a tour of the top-secret factory. Young Charlie Bucket, a poor boy whose family cottage lies within sight of Wonka's factory, dreams of becoming a winner - but with barely a penny to his name, does he have a chance?

What makes Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory such a success is the way it skillfully blends entertainment and a serious underlying moral. Each winning child is exposed as being rotten-to-the-core, then dealt with harshly and dismissively by Wonka. Seeing these awful brats get their come-uppance is hilarious, enjoyable and - on a serious level - quite eye-opening (it's as if parents in the audience are being told how to prevent their children from turning bad). Gene Wilder was simply born to play Wonka (every eccentric phrase, every bemused expression, and every mischievous glance is judged to perfection). The film's set design is fabulous, with particular high-spots including the chocolate room, the egg room and the wacky corridor which gets smaller and narrower the closer you get to the end. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is simply magic - a film that everyone must see, especially parents whose kids are just becoming that bit too big for their boots!