Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

Director:

William Sterling

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (novel) and
William Sterling (written by)

Release Date:

22 April 1973 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

Made in Wonderland, the most magical musical of all!

Plot Keywords:

Alternate Dimension | Hare | Dodo | Punctuation In Title | Cat

Awards:

Won 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

Fiona Fullerton	...	Alice
Michael Jayston	...	Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson)
Hywel Bennett	...	Duckworth
Michael Crawford	...	White Rabbit
Davy Kaye	...	Mouse
William Ellis	...	Dodo
Freddie Earlle	...	Guinea Pig Pat
Julian Chagrin	...	Bill the Lizard
Mike Elles	...	Guinea Pig Two
Ralph Richardson	...	The Caterpillar
Fred Cox	...	Tweedledum (as Freddie Cox)
Frank Cox	...	Tweedledee
Peter O'Farrell	...	Fish Footman
Ian Trigger	...	Frog Footman (as Peter Trigger)
Peter Bull	...	Duchess
Patsy Rowlands	...	Cook
Roy Kinnear	...	Cheshire Cat
Robert Helpmann	...	The Mad Hatter
Peter Sellers	...	The March Hare
Dudley Moore	...	Dormouse
Dennis Waterman	...	2 of Spades
Ray Brooks	...	5 of Spades
Richard Warwick	...	7 of Spades
Dennis Price	...	King of Hearts
Flora Robson	...	Queen of Hearts
Rodney Bewes	...	Knave of Hearts
Spike Milligan	...	Gryphon
Michael Hordern	...	Mock Turtle
Victoria Shallard	...	Lorina
Pippa Vickers	...	Edith
Ray Edwards	...	Eagle
Stanley Bates	...	Monkey
Melita Manger	...	Squirrel
Angela Morgan	...	Lory
June Kidd	...	Magpie
Michael Reardon	...	Frog
Brian Tripping	...	Duck

Directed by
William Sterling

Writing credits
Lewis Carroll		(novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland")
William Sterling		written by

Produced by
René Dupont	....	associate producer
Derek Horne	....	producer
Josef Shaftel	....	executive producer

Original Music by
John Barry

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Unsworth

Film Editing by
Peter Weatherley

Production Design by
Michael Stringer

Art Direction by
Norman Dorme

Costume Design by
Anthony Mendleson

Makeup Department
Biddy Chrystal	....	hair stylist (as Biddy Crystal)
Stuart Freeborn	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Jack Causey	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bert Batt	....	assistant director
Bill Westley	....	second assistant director
Gary White	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Dick Frift	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Bob Jones	....	sound recordist
Ken Ritchie	....	sound recordist
Jim Shields	....	sound editor (as James Shields)

Special Effects by
Peter Biggs	....	special effects technician
Colin Chilvers	....	special effects technician
Doug Ferris	....	special effects
Ted Samuels	....	special effects
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects supervisor
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Gerald Larn	....	matte painter (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Maurice Gillett	....	gaffer
Peter MacDonald	....	camera operator
Cedric James	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ron Beck	....	wardrobe master
Dorothy Edwards	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
Peter Culverwell	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michael Clifford	....	music editor
John Richards	....	music engineer
Denis King	....	vocal instructor: Fiona Fullerton (uncredited)
Sidney Margo	....	music contractor (uncredited)

Other crew
Andy Birmingham	....	production accountant
Terry Gilbert	....	choreographer
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Joseph Shaftel Productions

Distributors

• Fox-Rank (1972) (UK) (theatrical)
• American National Enterprises (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• BMG Kidz UK (1995) (UK) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Children's Video Library (1984) (USA) (video)
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Impulse Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Rentertainment Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Video Communications (VCI) (1980s) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Studios CTS  music recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

101 min | USA:95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:U | USA:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Joseph Shaftel Productions

Trivia:

Hywel Bennett has no dialogue in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Alice grows larger in the White Rabbit's home, some items on the side table disappear between shots, and the vase of flowers on the table in the center of the room vanish between shots as well.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alice:Please, Mr. Dodgson. Just once more.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in College (2008)

Soundtrack:

You've To Know When To Stop

Self-Discovery in a Surreal World

A book which details the strange adventures of a young girl in a surreal dreamworld is perhaps not a natural subject for a film, but Lewis Carroll's classic has been filmed many times. Few if any, however, of those filmed versions have themselves achieved classic status. The one exception is possibly Disney's cartoon version; this live-action British version from the early 1970s is less well known but is, I think, superior.

Unlike the Disney version, this film stays faithful to Lewis Carroll's original text, except in one respect. Carroll probably envisaged Alice as a little girl (although her exact age is not given in the book, and Tenniel's famous illustrations show a strange child-woman with a twenty-year-old head on ten-year-old shoulders). In this film, however, Alice is not a child but a beautiful teenager on the verge of womanhood. Although purists may not approve of this change, in my view it actually strengthens the film, in two ways. The first is that Fiona Fullerton makes an enchanting Alice and brings a wonderful sense of freshness and innocence to the role. Paradoxically, she seems more child-like than would many child-actors, whose stock-in-trade is often a brash knowingness and the ability to seem old beyond their years.

The second reason why the film works better with an older Alice is that it attempts to explore the psychological sub-texts of the original novel in a way that the Disney version, for example, did not. The story has a deeper significance than that of merely an entertaining children's story. Alice's bizarre adventures are symbolic of the process of discovery of oneself and of the wider world which constitutes growing up. No doubt amateur Freudians could have great fun interpreting the various incidents, but it is not my purpose here to comment on these interpretations. It is enough to say that Alice must, as must we all, try to make sense of a world which often seems strange and bewildering. Her world is simply a bit stranger than everyone else's is. Given that adolescence is for many of us a difficult, disorientating period, an Alice who is on the border between childhood and adulthood seems entirely appropriate. The title of the film's best-known song, `The Me I Never Knew', strengthens the idea that the book is about the attainment of self-knowledge.

Miss Fullerton is ably assisted by a splendid supporting cast, including some of the best-known British comedians of the period (Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore, Michael Crawford, Spike Milligan, Roy Kinnear) and some actors better known for more serious roles (Ralph Richardson, Michael Hordern). Perhaps the cost of employing so many well-known names emptied the budget, as the sets look rather cheap and crudely made. That, however, is not a serious criticism; indeed, one could even say that the unreal-looking sets contribute to the strange, dreamlike feel of this film. In a surrealist film, realism is not a virtue. 8/10.