Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - 1972 | 101 mins | Adventure, Fantasy, Musical | Colour

The Production Team

Director: William Sterling.
Producer: René Dupont.
Script: William Sterling. (from the novel by Lewis Carroll)
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth.
Film Editing: Peter Weatherley.
Production Design: Michael Stringer.
Art Direction: Norman Dorme .
Costume Design: Anthony Mendleson.
Makeup Department: Biddy Chrystal and Stuart Freeborn.
Sound Department: Michael Clifford, Bob Jones, John Richards, Ken Ritchie and Jim Shields.
Original Music: John Barry.

The Cast

Fiona Fullerton - Alice
Michael Crawford - White Rabbit
Ralph Richardson - Caterpillar
Flora Robson - Queen of Hearts
Peter Sellers - March Hare
Robert Helpmann - Mad Hatter
Dennis Price - King of Hearts
Patsy Rowlands - Cook
Dennis Waterman - 2 of Spades
Dudley Moore - Dormouse
Ray Brooks - 5 of Spades
Rodney Bewes - Knave of Hearts
Hywel Bennett - Mouse
Spike Milligan - Gryphon
Roy Kinnear - Cheshire Cat
Michael Hordern - Mock Turtle

Plot Synopsis

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland turns out to be a major disappointment due to the episodic scenes and limp, lifeless pacing of writer-director William Sterling. Filmed to mark the centenary of the completion of Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice novels, this faithful adaptation lavishly brings to life Sir John Tenniel's famous illustrations with the aid of Michael Stringer’s imaginative production design, Anthony Mendelson's costumes, a bewitching score from composer John Barry and BAFTA-winning cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth. A young Fiona Fullerton is a pleasantly bland as Alice and the all-star British cast including Spike Milligan, Michael Crawford, Ralph Richardson, Peter Sellers, Roy Kinnear, and Michael Jayston as Lewis Carroll conjure up a assortment of uneven performances.

One summer’s July day young Alice (Fiona Fullerton) is out on a riverbank picnic when she falls asleep and takes a nasty spill down the rabbit-hole. She finds herself in the saurreal kingdom of Wonderland, where she encounters a number of strange and enchanted characters, including the playful White Rabbit (Michael Crawford), the manic March Hare (Peter Sellers), the mysterious Caterpillar (Ralph Richardson), the Doormouse (Dudley Moore), the Cheshire Cat (Roy Kinnear), the imperious Queen of Hearts (Flora Robson), and the quizzical Mad Hatter (Robert Helpmann).