Alice in Wonderland (1903 film)

Last updated

Alice in Wonderland
Norman Whitten Mad Hatter 1903.jpg
May Clark as Alice (left) and Norman Whitten (right) as the Mad Hatter
Directed by Cecil Hepworth
Percy Stow
Written byCecil M. Hepworth
Based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll
Produced byCecil M. Hepworth
Herman Casler (exec. producer)
Elias Koopman (exec. producer)
Harry Marvin (exec. producer)
Starring May Clark
Cecil M. Hepworth
Mrs. Cecil Hepworth
Norman Whitten
CinematographyCecil M. Hepworth
Production
company
Distributed by American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
Edison Manufacturing Company
Kleine Optical Company
Release date
  • 17 October 1903 (1903-10-17)
Running time
approx. 8:19 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Play film; runtime 00:08:21.

Alice in Wonderland is a 1903 British silent fantasy film directed by Cecil Hepworth and Percy Stow. [1] Only one copy of the original film is known to exist. The British Film Institute (BFI) partially restored the movie and its original film tinting and released it in 2010. According to BFI, the original film ran about 12 minutes; the restoration runs 9 minutes and 35 seconds. [1] At the beginning of the restoration, it states that this is the first movie adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . [2] It was filmed mostly at Port Meadow in Oxford.

Contents

Called a "landmark fantasy" by the BFI, [3] the film is memorable for its use of special effects, including Alice's shrinking in the Hall of Many Doors, and in her large size, stuck inside the White Rabbit's home and reaching for help through a window. [3] It is now available from several sources, and is included as a bonus feature on a 1996 BBC DVD. It is also included in the Vintage Cinema: Experiments in early film 1900s DVD.

Plot

Alice follows a large white rabbit down a rabbit hole. She finds a tiny door but cannot fit through it. When she finds a bottle labeled "Drink me" she does so and shrinks, but not enough to pass through the door. She then eats a cake labeled "Eat me" and grows larger. She finds a fan that enables her to shrink enough to get through the door to the Beautiful Garden, where she tries to get a dog to play with her. She enters the White Rabbit's tiny house but suddenly enlarges to her normal size. In order to get out, she uses the fan.

She enters a kitchen, in which there is a cook and a woman holding a baby. She persuades the woman to give her the child and takes the infant outside after the cook starts throwing things. The baby then turns into a pig and squirms out of her grip. The woman turns out to be a duchess. The Duchess's Cheshire Cat appears and disappears a couple of times to Alice and directs her to the Mad Hatter's Mad Tea Party. After a while, she leaves.

The Queen invites Alice to join the royal procession, a parade of marching playing cards and others, headed by the White Rabbit. When Alice unintentionally offends the Queen, the latter summons the executioner. Alice boxes the executioner's ears then flees when all the playing cards come for her. She wakes up to realize that it was all a dream.

Cast

Screenshot of May Clark as Alice Alice in Wonderland (1903 film).jpg
Screenshot of May Clark as Alice
ActorsCharacters
May Clark Alice
Cecil M. HepworthFrog
Geoffrey FaithfullPlaying Card
Stanley FaithfullPlaying Card
Mrs. Margaret Hepworth White Rabbit / Queen of Hearts
Norman Whitten Mad Hatter / Fish

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i> 1865 childrens novel by Lewis Carroll

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 English children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics don at Oxford University. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. It is seen as an example of the literary nonsense genre. The artist John Tenniel provided 42 wood-engraved illustrations for the book.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1933 film) 1933 film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1933 American pre-Code fantasy film adapted from the novels by Lewis Carroll. The film was produced by Paramount Pictures, featuring an all-star cast. It is all live action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1985 film) 1985 two-part film directed by Harry Harris

Alice in Wonderland is a 1985 American two-part made-for-television adventure family fantasy musical film of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). An Irwin Allen production, it used a huge all-star cast of notable actors and actresses. The title role was played by Natalie Gregory, who wore a blonde wig for this miniseries. Alice in Wonderland was first telecast December 9, 1985, and December 10, 1985, at 8:00pm EST on CBS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Rabbit</span> Fictional character in Alices Adventures in Wonderland

The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Alice encounters him again when he mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann and she becomes trapped in his house after growing too large. The Rabbit shows up again in the last few chapters, as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1951 film) Animated film by Walt Disney

Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen, and was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske. With the voices of Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, Verna Felton, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Thompson, and Heather Angel, the film follows a young girl Alice who falls down a rabbit hole to enter a nonsensical world Wonderland that is ruled by the Queen of Hearts, while encountering strange creatures, including the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat.

<i>Alice</i> (1988 film) 1988 film

Alice is a 1988 surrealist dark fantasy film written and directed by Jan Švankmajer. Its original Czech title is Něco z Alenky, which means "Something from Alice". It is a loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll's first Alice book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), about a girl who chases a white rabbit into a bizarre fantasy land. Alice is played by Kristýna Kohoutová. The film combines live-action with stop-motion animation, and is distinguished by its dark production design.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1976 film) 1976 film directed by Bud Townsend

Alice in Wonderland is a 1976 American erotic musical comedy film loosely based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film expands the original story to include sex and broad adult humor, as well as original songs. The film was directed by Bud Townsend, produced by William Osco, and written by Bucky Searles, based on a concept by Jason Williams.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1999 film) 1999 television film by Nick Willing

Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4.

<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i> (1972 film) 1972 British musical film by William Sterling

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a 1972 British musical film directed by Australian filmmaker William Sterling, based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel of the same name and its 1871 sequel, Through the Looking-Glass. It had a distinguished ensemble cast and a musical score composed by John Barry with lyrics written by Don Black. In addition, make-up artist Stuart Freeborn created film visuals based on the original drawings by John Tenniel from the first edition of the novel.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (musical) Musical by H. Savile Clarke, Walter Slaughter and Aubrey Hopwood, premiered in 1886

Alice in Wonderland is a musical by Henry Savile Clarke and Walter Slaughter (music), based on Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). It debuted at the Prince of Wales's Theatre in the West End on 23 December 1886. Aubrey Hopwood (lyrics) and Walter Slaughter (music) wrote additional songs which were first used for the 1900 revival.

Knave of Hearts (<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>) Fictional character

The Knave of Hearts is a character from the 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1988 film) 1988 Australian 51-minute direct-to-video animated film

Alice in Wonderland is an Australian 51-minute direct-to-video animated film from Burbank Films Australia originally released in 1988.

<i>Abby in Wonderland</i> 2008 American film

Abby in Wonderland is a 2008 American direct-to-DVD children's film that adapts Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland with the Muppets of Sesame Street. Abby Cadabby stars in the "Alice" role. The feature-length adventure was released on DVD by Genius Products on September 30, 2008. In addition to receiving a DVD release, the film received a limited theatrical run in September 2008 through the Kidtoons family matinee series, and was aired on PBS Kids Feast of Favorites during the week of Thanksgiving 2008. It was aired again on December 29, 2008 on local PBS stations.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1949 film) 1949 French film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Directed by Dallas Bower, the film stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as Lewis Carroll, and Raymond Bussières as The Tailor. Most of the Wonderland characters are portrayed by stop-motion animated puppets created by Lou Bunin.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1915 film) 1915 American film

Alice in Wonderland is a 1915 American silent film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and written by W. W. Young and starring Viola Savoy as Alice.

<i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (1931 film) 1931 film

Alice in Wonderland (1931) is an independently made black-and-white Pre-Code American film based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed by Bud Pollard, produced by Hugo Maienthau, and filmed at Metropolitan Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

<i>Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland</i>

Alice in Verse: The Lost Rhymes of Wonderland (2010) is a reimagining of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland written by British-American author J.T. Holden. It tells the story of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in 19 rhyming poems, each written in the same style as Lewis Carroll's original verse. The book includes 36 illustrations by American artist Andrew Johnson.

Puppy (<i>Alices Adventures in Wonderland</i>) Fictional character

The Puppy is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He appears in the chapter "The Rabbit Sends a Little Bill".

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass is a 2001 stage adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the 1871 novel Through the Looking-Glass. It was written by Adrian Mitchell. A 2 hour adaptation of both of Carroll's novels, it holds the distinction for currently being the most comprehensive stage adaptation of the books yet made, with the endings of both novels intact and only minor changes made for theatrical staging reasons.

References

  1. 1 2 "Alice in Wonderland (1903)". British Film Institute Screenonline.
  2. Mills, Ted (31 March 2016). "The First Film Adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (1903)". Open Culture. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Alice in Wonderland 150th anniversary: eight very different film versions". British Film Institute. Retrieved 4 November 2019.

Further reading