Alice in Wonderland (1903)

Alice dozes in a garden, awakened by a dithering white rabbit in waistcoat with pocket watch. She follows him down a hole and finds herself in a hall of many doors. A key opens a small door... See full summary »

Directors:

Cecil M. Hepworth, Percy Stow

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (novel), Cecil M. Hepworth

Stars:

May Clark, Cecil M. Hepworth, Blair

Cast

Credited cast:
May Clark	...	Alice
Cecil M. Hepworth	...	Frog
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Blair	...	Large dog
Geoffrey Faithfull	...	Card
Stanley Faithfull	...	Card
Mrs. Hepworth	...	White Rabbit / Queen
Norman Whitten	...	Fish / Mad Hatter

Storyline

Alice dozes in a garden, awakened by a dithering white rabbit in waistcoat with pocket watch. She follows him down a hole and finds herself in a hall of many doors. A key opens a small door: eventually, she's through into a garden where a dog awaits. Later, in the rabbit's home, her size is again a problem. She tries to help a nanny with a howling baby, then a Cheshire cat directs her to a tea party where the Mad Hatter and March Hare dunk a dormouse. Expelled from the party, Alice happens on a royal processional: all the cards in the deck precede the Queen of Hearts, who welcomes then turns on Alice and calls on the royal executioner. Alice must run for her life.

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Plot Keywords:

death sentence | miniaturization | character name as title | white rabbit character | alice in wonderland | 

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Genres:

Fantasy | Short

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Details

Country:

UK

Release Date:

17 October 1903 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alice im Wunderland

Filming Locations:

Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hepworth

Technical Specs

Runtime:

8 min 10 min (2010 restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only one copy is known to exist, rather damaged with some parts missing. The British Film Institute has restored sections.

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Connections

Version of Juliet of the Spirits (1965)

User Reviews

Alice almost doesn't live here anymore--9/10.

Much in the same way as 'The Blacksmith Scene' from 1893, the first filmed version of 'Alice in Wonderland' from 1903 plays out more as a curious look into the history of film making at that time and the importance of film preservation for today, than a credible film adaptation of the book. However, in its initial release to the public, the film was popular, and at a staggering eight minutes in length, it was the longest movie to date. There are some nifty special effects of Alice shrinking and growing in the doll house, and there's an excellent commentary track on the DVD that talks about the people involved in the production of the film. However, through years of neglect and the natural decline of the nitrate on the film, there are more gaps, breaks and white scratches on the film that make its viewing somewhat difficult. No copies of the film have survived through time, the one used for the DVD is the original and it's in terrible shape.

You can find this movie, warts and all, on the DVD of 'Alice In Wonderland' from 1966 directed by Jonathan Miller, who's version while clean, starring a stellar cast, and looking beautiful, could also be described as viewing that is 'somewhat difficult'.

I'm giving the movie a 9/10. It was a 3, but I took this pill and it grew to a 9.

Clark Richards