Alice in Wonderland, a pre-Code fantasy adapted from the novels by Lewis Carroll, was produced by Paramount, featuring an all-star cast.
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Theatrical release poster
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It is all live-action, except for the Walrus and The Carpenter sequence, which was animated by Harman-Ising Studio.
Stars featured include W. C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty, Edna May Oliver as the Red Queen, Cary Grant as the Mock Turtle (Grant’s stardom was still on the ascent at the time), Gary Cooper as The White Knight, Edward Everett Horton as The Hatter, Charles Ruggles as The March Hare, and Baby LeRoy as The Joker.
Charlotte Henry had her first leading role as Alice.
This adaptation was directed by Norman Z. McLeod from a screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, based on Lewis Carroll’s books Alice in Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through the Looking-Glass (1871).
It also drew actress from Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus’s then-recent stage adaptation.
When Paramount previewed the film in 1933, the original running time was 90 minutes. However, by the time it was shown to the press, it was truncated to 77 minutes.
Credits:
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Produced by Louis D. Lighton (uncredited)
Screenplay by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and William Cameron Menzies, based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass novels by Lewis Carroll
Music by Dimitri Tiomkin
Cinematography: Bert Glennon, Henry Sharp
Edited by Ellsworth Hoagland (uncredited)
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date: December 22, 1933
Running time: 77 minutes
