Alice no País das Maravilhas

In the depths of the Great Depression, Paramount mounted this spectacular fantasy with a galaxy of top flight stars and just missed creating a classic. Like the stage ALICE IN WONDERLAND Eva LeGallienne had mounted the year before at her Civic Repertory Theatre in New York - only just closed when the film opened - which appears to have inspired this production, the sets and costumes are drawn heavily from the classic and by then in public domain illustrations from the original book by John Tenniel.

The result is a dazzling world - starting with Alice's Victorian drawing room where she is waiting out a snow storm with her cat, Dinah and her aunt before beginning her explorations Through the Looking Glass (the film combines both of Lewis Carroll's most famous books) and continuing through most of the most famous incidents from the books in live action fantasy form.

Only "The Walrus and The Carpenter," delightfully rendered by Max Fleischer's cartoon studio (one would love to have seen the cut footage of the similarly popular "You Are Old Father William" poem!) was deemed too hard to portray with live actors - the baby oysters lured from their bed for culinary conversation - "Shoes and ships and sealing wax" and all that. You've probably seen this cartoon edited from the film and issued separately!

This was a separate Hollywood production, despite similarities with the Broadway play with music, and didn't use the any of that show's Richard Addinsell song score (recorded by RCA during the stage show's 1947 revival) but turned Dimitri Tiomkin loose on it, and it's nice to see that film's premiere composer could also turn out a nice enough song or two too. This was a first class production all the way - and like MGM's WIZARD OF OZ six years later, didn't make money in it's initial release - or initial RE-release in 1935. Lacking ...OZ's Technicolor and popular song score, this ALICE IN WONDERLAND didn't even carve out its classic niche when television came in, and is now almost lost - supplanted in the popular mind by the fine 1951 Disney animated version of the story, but is well worth seeking out for lovers of Lewis Carroll, classic fantasy or classic film.

Technicolor or not, songs or not, the film still has elements which dazzle and only a few serious drawbacks for the "short attention span" set. Charlotte Henry is a fine, natural Alice (in an all too brief career of only 31 films, before retiring during WWII, she also did the Laurel & Hardy BABES IN TOYALAND in 1934 and the best of all the Chans, CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA in 1936 as Boris Karloff's daughter!) and she is ably supported by a cast of great actors - not all of whom have the luxury of costumes revealing their faces like Ned Sparks' Caterpillar, Edward Everett Horton's Mad Hatter or Edna May Oliver's Red Queen, but the voices of rising stars like Cary Grant (a wonderful singing Mock Turtle) and old pro W.C. Fields (Humpty Dumpty) won't really require seeing the faces in their "Tenniel come-to-life" costumes.

The problem, if any, comes in the mad whirl of crazy fantasy that takes Alice deeper and deeper into Wonderland (and its sequel) and after a while can lose the audience's interest as they try clinging to a thru-story line. Stick around though, for Gary Cooper's appearance around an hour into the film as The White Knight (only the name is type casting)! It is one of the greatest treats in a motion picture packed with them - and arguably one of the crowning gems of Cooper's career. Quite wonderful.

Modern audiences may cringe a bit in the opening scene seeing Alice, in a highly starched - and highly FLAMMABLE - dress and apron climbing on the grate in front of a burning fireplace to look in the mirror over the hearth, but someone at the studio did notice (and probably hoped the audience wouldn't). When Alice returns, the fire is out.

After 75 years though, the fire is far from out on this fascinating extravaganza. If you get a chance to see it, grab it.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Paramount, 1933), directed by Norman McLeod, is an interesting screen adaptation to Lewis Carroll's immortal fairy tale mainly for its all-star casting headed by Charlotte Henry in the title role. Although regarded quite faithful to the book, ALICE IN WONDERLAND never achieved the reputation of an immortal motion picture classic as did the better known children's' stories transferred to film, namely Laurel and Hardy's BABES IN TOYLAND (Hal Roach/MGM, 1934) with Charlotte Henry as Bo-Peep; or THE WIZARD OF OZ (MGM, 1939) starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. ALICE IN WONDERLAND did contain more screen adaptations dating back to the silent era than either BABES IN TOYLAND and THE WIZARD OF OZ combined, with the best known "Alice" being the Walt Disney's 1951 animated version. Alice even was paid tribute in a production number scored by Irving Berlin in PUTTIN' ON THE RITZ (UA, 1930) featuring Joan Bennett. This Alice may be noteworthy to some extent but basically a missed opportunity of a great classic.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND gets off on a splendid start with its three and a half minute introduction of hand turning the pages of a book, "Alice in Wonderland" and displaying the sketches of characters on one page followed by the faces of actors who play them on another. Opening shot is at an undisclosed location of a two story house being covered by falling snow as Alice (Charlotte Henry), a 12-year-old girl with long blonde hair and ruffled dress, is seen sitting at home along with her governess, Miss Simpson (Ethel Griffies), and pet cat. Bored with nothing to do, she imagines herself going through the mirror, better known as "The looking glass," where she starts her fun-filled fantasy in Wonderland encountering a handful of characters along the way: Uncle Gilbert (Leon Errol) and her Aunt (Patsy O'Byrne); a talking clock (Colin Kenny); The White Rabbit (Richard "Skeets" Gallagher); Mouse (Raymond Hatton); Caterpillar (Ned Sparks); Dodo Bird (Polly Moran); a stuttering Fish (Roscoe Ates); Frog (Sterling Holloway); a cook (Lillian Harmer): the Duchess (Alison Skipworth); the Cheshire Cat (Richard Arlen); the Mad Hatter (Edward Everett Horton); the March Hare (Charles Ruggles); The Dormouse (Jackie Searle); walking play-cards, The Joker (Baby LeRoy); The Queen of Hearts (May Robson who commands "Off with their heads"); the Five of Spades (Charles McNaughton) and The King of Hearts (Alec B. Francis); The Gryphon (William Austin); the crying Mock Turtle (Cary Grant); The Red Queen (Edna May Oliver); Tweedledum (Jack Oakie); Tweedlum (Roscoe Karns); The White King (Ford Sterling), The White Queen (Louise Fazenda); Sheep (Mae Marsh); Humpty Dumpty (W.C. Fields); the accident prone White Knight (Gary Cooper); Plum Pudding (George Ovey); among others before awakening from her dream.

With such an impressive cast and imaginative production, how could ALICE IN WONDERLAND miss? The selection of Charlotte Henry was just right (better than Ida Lupino as originally intended at one point), as was W.C. Fields in his five minute segment as Humpty Dumpty. Possibly the weakness is somewhere in the script (by Joseph Mankiewicz) where some scenes hold interest while others do not. The special effects of Alice flying through the air, growing and shrinking in mirror-like effect, quite stunning for its time, while sets by William Cameron Menzies are still quite remarkable. One scene involving a crying baby (Billy Barty) being abused may come off as disturbing, followed by his change into a pig while still squirming in Alice's arms. ALICE IN WONDERLAND at 77 minutes is not an overlong production, though it has indications of being a much longer film since Jacqueline Wells, noted for her role as Alice's sister, is mentioned but not existent in the surviving print. Many top-name stars are virtually unrecognizable in their brief roles, though some of their voices, namely Fields, are unmistakable. While BABES IN TOYLAND and THE WIZARD OF OZ relied on song interludes, interestingly none by Miss Henry. Tunes selected include "Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat" (sung by Edward Everett Horton); "Beautiful Soup" (sung by Cary Grant) "The Warus and the Carpenter" (sung/recited during cartoon segment by Jack Oakie) and "Fill Up the Glasses" (sung by cast).

Rarely televised in recent years, there are notable exceptions such as New York City's July 1983 presentation on WNET, Channel 13 (PBS), and June 4, 2001 showing on Turner Classic Movies as part of its star of the month tribute to W.C. Fields. An interesting bit of trivia by TCM host Bob Osborne noting that Mary Pickford was slated to play Alice supported by animated characters. What a worth while Wonderland this might have been! (***)

I remember this movie fondly watching it as a young girl in the 60's and will never forget it...I'm obsessed with viewing this film again...I searched video stores in the Twin cities...searched the internet... talked to anyone who would listen...and finally, sadly, found out that Paramount and another corporation are fighting over the rights to the movie (read that on the internet)... Please resolve your differences so we can all enjoy the classic again..It was aired on TMC to honor W.C. Fields I was told by co-worker...which I didn't see my heart just sank at the thought I missed it...All the baby boomers would love to see it on DVD...HELP

One of the most unusual projects ever undertaken by a studio was done by Paramount in 1933. Casting young Charlotte Henry in the title role of Lewis Carroll's beloved fantasy, Paramount then cast over 25 of their best known faces, apparently whoever was not working on another film at the moment, as the fantasy creatures she meets on her journey.

Today, these same people would just be called on to lend their voices for animation. In fact in the middle, there is an animated version of The Walrus and the Carpenter, showcased for Henry by Jack Oakie and Roscoe Karns as Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Walt Disney later took that easier route in the Fifties with his animated version. But these stars are mostly unrecognizable beneath all that makeup.

Yet the voices of such people as Ned Sparks, W.C. Fields, Gary Cooper, and Cary Grant are unmistakable. People like Edna May Oliver, May Robson, and Edward Everett Horton can be recognized. Quite frankly it was a stroke of genius to cast Horton as The Mad Hatter. It's a tossup between Horton and Ed Wynn in the Disney version as to who was the zanier.

Horton is probably my favorite from the film, but running a close second is Cary Grant, hidden underneath all that Mock Turtle makeup. This was at the beginning of his career when he was not an icon as of yet. Probably even five years later Paramount might have had trouble casting him that way. His Mock Turtle song and Mock Turtle crying are something to see and hear.

Paramount almost closed down during the early Thirties because of the Depression. Alice In Wonderland lost money badly at the box office and got tepid reviews. Seen today it's not as bad as all that and really kind of interesting in a way.

The script combines "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" and stays quite close to the original dialog. The sets and costumes are closely modeled on the Tenniel illustrations.

Charlotte Henry does remarkably well as Alice, but the other actors are heavily costumed and made up and rarely add anything distinctive to their roles. Best are W.C. Fields as Humpty-Dumpty and Ned Sparks as the Caterpillar.

It will be enjoyed most by those who have been through the original since some of the language and surrealistic happenings can be hard to follow in the Victorian English that is spoken and satirized.