Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

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:

Cat | Hare | Alternate Dimension | Duck | Dodo

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

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
Doug Ferris	....	special effects
Ted Samuels	....	special effects
Roy Whybrow	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Doug Ferris	....	visual effects
Gerald Larn	....	matte painter

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 (UK) (theatrical)
• American National Enterprises (USA)
• BMG Kidz UK (1995) (UK) (VHS)
• Castle Communications (1996) (Finland) (VHS)
• Children's Video Library (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Impulse Video (video)
• Reel Media International (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Reel Media International (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Rentertainment Video (video)
• Vestron Video (video)

Other Companies

• Studios CTS  music recording

Also Known As:

Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Australia)

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: When the White Rabbit falls into the small vegetable hutch, after seeing Alice's arm out the window, some of the slats which get broken, reappear intact, and some intact slats suddenly break between shots.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in College (2008)

Soundtrack:

How Doth The Little Busy Bee

Possibly the best film adaptation to date

The costumes in this film are excellent, especially considering the era of film in which this movie was made. The special effects are actually quite good. The actors are good, and Fiona Fullerton makes a great (and very pretty) Alice. She's definitely the best Alice I've seen compared to other film adaptations of this story. It was quite nice to see Peter Sellers as the March Hare, who is easily recognizable because of his eyes and voice, regardless of him being totally covered in fur. The whole film has somewhat of a dreamy mood about it, and the beginning of it is actually reminiscent of some romance films I had seen before due to the music and atmosphere. The music in this movie is usually somewhat soft and dreamy.

There have been many different film adaptations of this story to date, and many of them have been absolutely appalling, but this one is better than acceptable. Steer clear of the 1985 musical starring worn out old American and British actors, unless you have a thing for awful dancing and singing. Other than that, there's also the 1982 version starring Annie Enneking, which is decent, but was made for stage not for film.

Be careful which DVD you buy. The one I purchased was released by Brentwood (white cover with illustration on front). It's an acceptable version, regardless of it being somewhat grainy at parts and having a really fuzzy soundtrack during the beginning credits. But I've read really bad reviews of other versions that people have purchased.