"Alice In Wonderland - with Viola Savoy as Alice"

Film and TV productions across the years

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Alice In Wonderland silent feature film starring Viola Savoy made in 1915

ack to the very early days of film making and our featured Alice is VIOLA SAVOY in the 1915 'Non Pareil' production made in the USA. This was the third film version of the Lewis Carroll story and, while it adds it's own spin on the plotline, is very well put together. The director, W. W. Young, avoids special effects for which he didn't have the budget or the technology, and uses real-life backgrounds in an ingenious way.

Characterisation is first class and despite the lack of sound, the story is easy to follow, helped by the occasional title card which was the way movie makers in the silent era made clearer what was happening on the screen.
Although she was a prolific stage actress, Viola Savoy isn't a name which features very often on the movie screen, in fact the IMDB records she made only one other film.

The film opens in the kitchen, Cook is baking tarts and Alice is tempted, but plays with the cat instead. Her sister arrives to take her on an outing.

Alice plays with Dinah until her sister arrives

Alice and her sister head for the riverbank

"Things we do and things we see shortly before we fall sleep are most apt to influence our dreams" says a helpful title-card, and besides the tarts, Alice has also seen a cat in a tree, a baby pig AND a rabbit on her way to the riverbank, so we know what's to follow. "Alice enters Dreamland", says another title card, and in it she follows a well-dressed White Rabbit.
(NOTE: this is only a story, NEVER follow strangers!!!)

Alice spots a notice which gives us a subtle hint as to where she's heading!

Going after the Rabbit, Alice falls down a deep well, at the bottom of which is a corridor full of locked doors.
All these doors, and all locked

She finds a very small door, looks through and sees a beautiful garden. Unable to get through, she weeps a torrent of tears and asks a passing mouse how to get into the garden.

The Mouse and Alice emerge from the torrent dripping wet. The Mouse mentions that a caucus race is supposed to be good for getting dry, and they join other animals going to an "Animal Convention". The White Rabbit drops by The White Rabbit comes home

and asks Alice where his gloves and fan are. She goes to look for them and sneaks past into his house.