Alice's Adventures In Wonderland

Film and TV productions across the years

Alice's Adventures In Wonderland starring Fiona Fullerton made in 1972

introduction	picnic and rabbit	the pool of tears	caterpillar to duchess	a mad tea party
a game of croquet	the lobster quadrille	the trials beginning	odds and ends	next film

lice comes across the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and the Doormouse having their tea.
"No room. No room!" they cried out when they saw Alice coming. "There's plenty of room!" said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large armchair at one end of the table.

The Mad Hatter is played by Sir Robert Helpman, who was argueably better known as a dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet, although he did act in a fair number of films over the years; as the Child Catcher in "Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang" for example. As the Mad Hatter, he's rather more eccentric than mad. Peter Sellers as the March Hare pulls it off rather better, with a nice line in paranoic schizophrenia.

Dudley Moore plays the Dormouse and it's interesting that, although a relatively minor comedian at the time, he moved to the USA some years later and became something of a superstar with films such as "Ten" and "Arthur". Some re-releases of the "Alice" film, in an attempt to cash in on his bankability, put his picture on the front of the box and claim that he's the "star".

The Tea party sequence is very well mounted and the makeup effects are excellent but it all lacks that dangerous edge which characterises the Alice tales. The Hatter is just a slightly dotty old uncle having tea with two old friends who are only slightly dottier than he is.

The latter part of the scene departs very badly from the Lewis Carroll narrative, as Alice asks for a bun. "We haven't any buns," says the Hatter, "But we do have some puns." The trio then break into the world's unfunniest song (The Pun Song) which has them each telling a 'joke'. For example ... "Which King wore the largest shoes?" ... "The one with the largest feet, of course." The scene ends with an amateurish "frozen tableau" sequence, and Alice takes her leave. For once we're glad she moves on.

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