DVD Review: Alice in Wonderland (1933)

Kino Lorber continues to release some of the most elusive vintage films with their blu ray of "Alice in Wonderland" (1933). One of the most fascinatingly bizarre films to come out of a major studio, Paramount's "Alice in Wonderland" features top drawer actors like Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and W.C. Fields in garish makeup playing against Charlotte Henry as Alice in an attempt to recreate the Lewis Carroll classic.

This was generally the vision of art director William Cameron Menzies, whose exotic sets for such films as the "Thief of Bagdad" (1924) and "Two Arabian Knights "(1927) were considered amazing and triumphant in their time. There is a great deal of visual cleverness to the film, and some cinematic tricks that would have seemed rather innovative at the time.

The script for Alice in Wonderland was extremely thick and weighed over seven pounds. Along with the dialog and directions, each page featured elaborate drawings exhibiting Menzies’ vision as to how each scene would be presented. Menzies apparently directed alongside of credited director Norman McLeod, making sure his visual sense was accurate. But it was a tough shoot for the actors playing the various characters.

W.C. Fields, for instance, had absolutely no interest in participating in this movie, but, as he was under contract, he had to appear due to the studio’s insistence. None of the actors were particularly fond of appearing in this movie under heavy makeup, but it was especially difficult for Fields. Highly claustrophobic, Fields suffered a panic attack as the heavy Humpty Dumpty makeup was applied to his face, and he began clawing the matter from his cheeks and eyes. Beneath the Humpty Dumpty makeup, Fields’ angry delivery clearly conveys his disdain for the role. To the end of his days, Fields always would refer to Humpty Dumpty as the worst part he ever had to play in his career. But, all of this works within the context of the movie and his scene is the film's highlight.

"Alice in Wonderland" was only in release for one week during the Christmas season of 1933, and it enjoyed little commercial success. The movie was popular with children, but not so much with adults. Theater exhibitors indicated strong attendance, but not a very good reaction from their audiences. However, in more recent times, the art direction by Menzies, the costumes and makeup by Wally Westmore and Newt Jones, and the music by Dimitri Tiomkin combined with seeing now-iconic vintage actors in these roles.

Kino Lorber's blu ray is striking, and benefits from a typically informative and interesting commentary by Lee Gambin, who always offers such great insight. There are a lot of good reasons to add this bizarre screen version of the classic story to your DVD library.

The blu ray is available here: ALICE IN WONDERLAND