Alice in Wonderland (1966 TV play)

Alice in Wonderland is a 1966 BBC television play, shot on film, based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was adapted, produced and directed by Jonathan Miller, then best known for his appearance in the satirical revue Beyond the Fringe.

Alice in Wonderland
Directed byJonathan Miller
Written byJonathan Miller
Based onAlice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Produced byJonathan Miller
Starring
CinematographyDick Bush
Edited byPam Bosworth
Music byRavi Shankar
Distributed byBBC
Release date
  • 28 December 1966 (1966-12-28)
Running time
72 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Miller's production is unique among live-action Alice films in that he consciously avoided the standard Tenniel-inspired costume design and "florid" production values. Most of the Wonderland characters are played by actors in standard Victorian dress, with a real cat used to represent the Cheshire Cat. Miller justified his approach as an attempt to return to what he perceived as the essence of the story: "Once you take the animal heads off, you begin to see what it's all about. A small child, surrounded by hurrying, worried people, thinking 'Is that what being grown up is like?'"[1]

Unlike many 1960s BBC productions, the play survived destruction, and was issued onto DVD by both the BFI and the BBC themselves.

Cast

Production

Interiors were filmed at Netley Hospital, a mid-19th-century building that was demolished not long after the film was made.[2] Beach scenes with the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle were filmed at Pett Level in East Sussex. The courtroom scene was recorded at the BBC's Ealing Studios and involved the building of the largest set that Stage 2 at Ealing had ever seen.[3]

In July 1966 BBC spent three days at Donington Hall filming the 'Pool of Tears' and the 'Caucus Race' scenes for Jonathan Miller's production. The Caucus Race was filmed in the cellars.[4]

References
  1. Thill, Scott (November 2003). "Jonathan Miller's Alice in Wonderland (1966) on DVD". Bright Lights Film Journal, Issue #42. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  2. Also known as the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, Netley Hospital was the world's longest building at the time it was completed.
  3. David Martin A History of the BBC's Film Department (1983)
  4. Castle Donington Local History Society (1991). Donington Hall and Park, An Illustrated History.
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